iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Bizarrely the price of 10 year old oil tankers is now getting more expensive than new ones as values of available tankers to ship oil from the Gulf go "bananas" www.ft.com/content/a2c2...

0121

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

EXCL: Houthis have assured the EU that they are not trying to hit European ships while extending their control over the Bab al Mandeb strait www.ft.com/content/a255...

ft.com

Houthis promise not to target European ships

Pledge comes as container shipping through key Bab al-Mandeb Strait reaches highest level in almost three years

021

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

ArcelorMittal has said it will shut Ukraine's biggest operational steel plant after four strikes in five weeks killed five employees and injured 17 www.ft.com/content/218f...

ft.com

ArcelorMittal to shutter Ukraine plant after Russian strikes kill workers

Steel giant faces $1bn impairment charge in wake of attack on Kryvyi Rih operations

000

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

EXCL: Trafigura is planning to list an oil tanker business with a fleet of the largest size of tankers, taking advantage of record high rates thanks to the Middle East. www.ft.com/content/a1c9...

ft.com

Trafigura to float supertanker arm in first IPO of a business

Commodities trader to take Volare Shipping public in Oslo as Gulf crisis drives tanker rates to record highs

1114

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The US billionaires lining up to bankroll Republicans’ election push - www.ft.com/content/2285...

43822

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

EXCL: A group of 18 of major seafaring nations have published a statement for the first time in its 60ish year history to underline their concerns that the maritime system as we know it is at risk of collapse www.ft.com/content/c651...

ft.com

Global shipping rules are collapsing, say maritime nations

Wars and the growth of the shadow fleet are causing a ‘structural shift’ in global trade, according to 18 maritime authorities

064

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Decarbonising steel production with electric arc furnaces is good for the planet but will it ever make a profit for companies like ArcelorMittal? as.ft.com/r/ffed1805-0...

as.ft.com

ArcelorMittal faces green steel price test at flagship low-carbon plant

Company has ‘no real visibility’ over whether its new electric-arc furnace will be able to pass on added costs to buyers

031

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

On the mining and demining of the Strait of Hormuz, by @financialtimes.com’s Bob Haslett, Charles Clover, and Alice Hancock. www.ft.com/content/0403...

ft.com

The risky mission to de-mine the Strait of Hormuz

US Navy divers, boats and robots made covert night-time trips to dispose of explosives in the crucial channel

042

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Jebel Ali is the 9th largest port in the world and the biggest in the Middle East but the war has had a major impact and could well threaten its future: www.ft.com/content/daab...

ft.com

The port that built Dubai: war exposes a dangerous dependence

Jebel Ali faces ‘existential risk’ as Strait of Hormuz disruption stifles marine traffic to the Gulf

020

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Iran has listed 46 vessels that it says are "non-compliant" with its rules for transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Those listed are mostly ships deployed on shuttle runs for oil and gas in and out of the Gulf. TBC whether Iran's threats will put them off. www.ft.com/content/9ebc...

ft.com

Iran threatens 46 ships in Strait of Hormuz transit crackdown

Tehran said vessels violated protocols for travelling across waterway and could face fines or confiscation

010

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Emma Jacobs @emmavj.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Great piece by Gill Plimmer - who has been on water companies for years giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... The fight to save England’s rivers

29454

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Meanwhile in tanker world, asset prices are nearing record highs as owners buy ships to take advantage of rocketing freight rates in the Middle East. And, interestingly, Gulf countries buy up more ships to gain better control of their exports: www.ft.com/content/a805...

ft.com

Demand for tankers soars as Gulf oil producers search for ways to export cargoes

Middle Eastern countries looking to secure their own fleets are driving up prices

011

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The shipping container is just a simple steel box that can carry around 120,000 bananas. Yet it has transformed global trade, enabled China's manufacturing dominance - and is now pushing the global shipping network to its absolute limits: www.ft.com/content/b88c... @pmdfoster.bsky.social

ft.com

The box that built globalisation

Containers have transformed ports, cities and trade. Now the revolution is reaching a limit

042

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Christopher Miller @christopherjm.ft.com · 13/08/2026

The Caruzo, a 28-year-old tanker sanctioned by EU and UK governments, sailed out of the Black Sea through the Bosphorus on Tuesday with anti-drone nets and stackable water tanks hung off its sides, according to footage filmed by shipping analyst @yoruk.bsky.social. w/ @alicemhancock.bsky.social

ft.com

Russian ghost fleet tankers use ‘Mad Max’ nets to fend off Ukraine’s drones

Defences on vessels under sanctions aim to protect against Ukraine’s vast maritime drone campaign

48422

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Back from summer hols with a story about the ice: While Arctic sea ice is melting at record rates, Chinese shipping companies are eyeing up a route to reach Europe in half the time via an ‘Ice Silk Road’ www.ft.com/content/4456...

ft.com

China bypasses shipping chokepoints with ‘Ice Silk Road’ through Arctic

First scheduled container service between Europe and Asia will significantly reduce voyage times

073

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

It appears that Iran has taken a third ship if satellite imagery is to be believed... This time belonging to the Greek shipping company Dynacom: www.ft.com/content/0c0b...

ft.com

Greek tycoon’s tanker towed into Iranian waters

Shipping group Dynacom ‘trying to verify’ whereabouts of vessel hit in Strait of Hormuz

010

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Great piece on Venezuela's missing billions of oil money that appears to have disappeared into the US www.ft.com/content/0e56... from excellent @financialtimes.com LatAm and data colleagues

ft.com

The US has collected about $13bn of Venezuela’s oil money. Where is it?

Washington has given diverging accounts of where the earthquake-shattered country’s funds are going

010

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Henry Foy @henryjfoy.ft.com · 19/07/2026

EU approaching “peak sanctions” as France, Germany, Greece & others demand measures against Russia be cut to protect their companies “Around the table, the moral imperative is functioning less and less” said one diplomat w @alicemhancock.bsky.social & @chriscook.news as.ft.com/r/b8082481-c...

as.ft.com

EU faces crumbling support for new Russia sanctions

National capitals refuse to support measures that could hurt big companies

22617

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Henry Foy @henryjfoy.ft.com · 15/07/2026

⛴️ Athens blocks EU sanctions against Moscow to protect Greek billionaire shipping tycoon that built fleet to serve Putin’s Arctic gas projects w @alicemhancock.bsky.social & @chriscook.news as.ft.com/r/793a4480-5...

as.ft.com

Athens opposes new EU sanctions on Russia to shield Greek shipping company

George Prokopiou’s Dynagas specialises in transporting cargoes from Moscow’s Arctic LNG

0713

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Christopher Miller @christopherjm.ft.com · 14/07/2026

Ukraine said it has hit more than 110 Russian vessels in nine days in the Sea of Azov, making it one of the most concentrated series of attacks on shipping ever to take place. www.ft.com/content/6d5e... w/ @alicemhancock.bsky.social

ft.com

Ukraine targets Russian shipping in ‘unprecedented’ drone assault

Over the past week, Kyiv has struck vessels in the Sea of Azov at a faster pace than during the 1980s Iran-Iraq tanker wars

110521

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

NEW: Dubai plans new port to bypass Strait of Hormuz in the latest sign of this crisis having much longer term impacts for trade and shipping: www.ft.com/content/1f97... Story with Middle East colleagues @financialtimes.com

ft.com

Dubai plans new port to bypass Strait of Hormuz

Project to build capacity on UAE’s east coast represents a major shift after US-Iran war

021

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 07/07/2026

FT Exclusive: Of the top 20 companies that have earned the most from Russian shipments since June 2023, eight are Greek, led by Dynacom Tankers, which was founded by shipping billionaire George Prokopiou. ft.trib.al/CwxPNRR

67034

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

There's a lot more interest building around nuclear-powered ships as shipowners lose faith in green fuels coming to fruition. Other ideas are Co2 capture on ships - and trad fossil fuels... I took a deep dive in here: www.ft.com/content/2eb3...

051

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

NEW: Iran has said it could seek "insurance fees" for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as it looks for ways to monetise its leverage over the waterway. www.ft.com/content/e106...

ft.com

Iran to seek ‘insurance fees’ for passage through Strait of Hormuz

Vessels must hold Tehran-approved insurance policy to use vital waterway, says government agency

3135

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

As the Strait of Hormuz opens up, will the 100+ day crisis result in any changes for seafarers who spend months at sea on low pay and in cramped conditions? www.ft.com/content/73a2...

ft.com

Better internet, more pay: will Hormuz crisis improve life at sea?

Months stuck on stranded vessels have exposed mental and physical strains on shipping crews

121

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Ships have had to sail as far as Japan to Korea or east India to Singapore to find increasingly scarce supplies of fuel: www.ft.com/content/1a54...

ft.com

Ships hunt far and wide for fuel after Iran war hits supplies

Bosses warn of continued disruption despite deal to end conflict and open Strait of Hormuz

033

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Shipowners warn that the situation in the Gulf is still "volatile" and that clearing the backlog of ships wanting to get out could take weeks in spite of any peace deal. It appears (from Iranian reports) that after 60 days they will also start trying to charge tolls www.ft.com/content/c2d4...

ft.com

Oil falls on US-Iran deal but Hormuz backlog may last weeks

Prices slip even as analysts warn that flows may be slow to recover and remain vulnerable to renewed disruption

053

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Around 15 ships per day are going in and out of the Strait of Hormuz under cover of darkness and with their GPS signals off, raising the very real possibility of a crash: www.ft.com/content/3145...

ft.com

Oil tankers increase ‘dark’ transits through Strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump says US launched ‘secret mission’ to help move crude through the waterway

052

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 02/06/2026

Greek shipping tycoon Evangelos Marinakis said he would be ready to pay fees to transit the Strait of Hormuz if that would keep the waterway open to shipping. ft.trib.al/gNQD4q2

43312

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Yesterday Greek shipping tycoon George Prokopiou came as close as he’s come publicly to admitting that he has sent ships through the Strait of Hormuz and now he’s readying more… as.ft.com/r/37082f61-d...

as.ft.com

Greek tanker operator Dynacom readies vessels for possible opening of Hormuz

The group, one of the few to transit the strait since the conflict, has moved six ships in the vicinity

020

Reposted by Alice Hancock

RazomWeStand 🇺🇦 @razomwestand.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

It is important that the @financialtimes.com, and @alicemhancock.bsky.social continue to shine a light on the loopholes that allow Russian LNG exports to benefit from Western services. www.ft.com/content/945c...

1136

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Denmark’s Fayard is the only remaining shipyard in Europe to service ice-class LNG tankers that export from Russia’s Yamal LNG. It’s not a sanctioned activity but has provided a critical lifeline for Russian gas to reach the EU. as.ft.com/r/37f4ddb1-d...

as.ft.com

Danish shipyard still servicing LNG tankers for Russia trade

Fayard is only remaining EU yard taking on dry-dock work for ships carrying gas exported from Siberia

021

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Henry Foy @henryjfoy.ft.com · 25/05/2026

How Europe learned to stop worrying and love… state aid @bmoens.bsky.social & @alicemhancock.bsky.social on the dangerous weapon with the power to break the EU single market as.ft.com/r/c3275d69-c...

as.ft.com

How Europe learnt to love subsidies

EU state aid has increased. Will that fend off China or fragment the single market?

076

Reposted by Alice Hancock

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 17/05/2026

Shipping companies are turning to trucks to move cargo across the Gulf as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz sends freight rates soaring and leaves goods stranded across global ports. Tap the link here to read more: ft.trib.al/QLBa69f

22310

Alice Hancock @alicemhancock.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Trump’s Hormuz ship insurance facility has done $0 business — partly because it was designed for naval escorts that have not materialised Story with @leeharris.ft.com as.ft.com/r/ad660c84-6...

as.ft.com

Trump’s Hormuz ship insurance facility has done $0 business

US president’s $40bn scheme has had zero uptake due to absence of naval escorts through key waterway

097