Trendwatch: IMO emissions talks resume with focus on port fuels; Shipowners stay cautious on Hormuz despite hopes of a peace deal; EU agreement on US trade deal within reach, says top lawmaker

Shipowners stay cautious on Hormuz despite hopes of a peace deal 

Shipping companies are taking a cautious approach to sending vessels through the Strait of Hormuz after signs that some kind of reopening of the vital oil channel might be possible. 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on May 6 that with “new protocols in place, safe, stable passage” through the waterway will be ensured. That came soon after it emerged that the U.S. had proposed a peace deal that Tehran is now considering. 

Five industry executives, including shipowners, vessel managers and security consultants, said that it was too soon — and too unclear — for crossings to resume. Two cited an attack on a container ship on May 5 as one reason to be wary. 

IMO emissions talks resume with focus on port fuels 

Outcomes from the 84th session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) carry direct implications for ports, terminals and fuel supply chains. 

Held in London from 27 April to 1 May 2026, the meeting saw Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General, IMO, call for renewed alignment among Member States on mid-term greenhouse gas measures. 

Dominguez said: “We are back on track, but we have to rebuild trust. I encourage you to maintain this momentum through your intersessional work and to prepare submissions that can bring the membership together.” 

‘There is a need for collective action’: Middle East crisis to dominate ASEAN Summit in Cebu 

Under the sweltering heat in this central Philippine province known for its beaches, convoys swept down palm-lined roads carrying South-east Asian leaders bound for the ASEAN Summit. 

Cebu was chosen in part to highlight the country’s tourism appeal, but is now hosting a shortened summit dominated by mounting anxieties over fuel prices, inflation and supply chain disruptions triggered by the Middle East conflict. It is being closely watched to see how the regional grouping responds to the external shocks threatening to strain fragile economies. 

EU agreement on US trade deal within reach, says top lawmaker 

An agreement to implement the EU’s trade deal with the United States is on track to be finalized later this month, senior lawmaker Bernd Lange told POLITICO. 

Lange, the European Parliament’s top trade negotiator, said an intra-EU deal was within reach, even though the EU institutions failed to reach a compromise in talks that stretched into the early hours of Thursday morning. 

The meeting between negotiators from the European Commission, EU capitals, and the Parliament took place under pressure from President Donald Trump, who, infuriated by the bloc’s foot-dragging, had threatened to hike tariffs on European cars to 25 percent from 15 percent. 

G7 trade talks target critical minerals as US-EU tariff rift strains unity 

Group of Seven trade ministers meeting in Paris on Wednesday sought common ground on securing critical mineral supplies that are ‌dominated by China, but fresh U.S. tariff threats against European Union-made cars risked straining unity. 

France wants critical minerals supplies to be among the most concrete deliverables during its G7 presidency as ministers prepare for a leaders' summit in mid-June, Foreign Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier said as he arrived for talks.