2025-05-21 11:00
Russian 'shadow fleet' ship seen near power cable Poland says its military intervened NATO has stepped up security in Baltic Russia denies allegations of undersea sabotage WARSAW, May 21 (Reuters) - Poland's military intervened after a ship from the Russian "shadow fleet" was seen performing suspicious manoeuvres near a power cable connecting Poland with Sweden, the Polish Prime Minister said on Wednesday. NATO has stepped up security in the Baltic following a string of incidents in which power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines have been damaged in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Sign up here. "A Russian ship from the 'shadow fleet' covered by sanctions performed suspicious maneuvers near the power cable connecting Poland with Sweden," Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X. "After the effective intervention of our military, the ship sailed to one of the Russian ports." The term "shadow fleet" refers to vessels used by Russia to ship oil, arms and grains in violation of international sanctions imposed after the invasion. Speaking later to reporters, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said a patrol flight scared the ship off and Polish Navy Polish Navy's ORP Heweliusz was sailing to the scene. Vice Admiral Krzysztof Jaworski, Poland's Maritime Component Commander, told Reuters that the tanker in question was called Sun and that it sailed under the Antigua flag. The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. In the past, Moscow has denied its involvement in undersea sabotage in the Baltic, saying the West was using such claims to curb its sea-borne oil exports. The 600-megawatt undersea cable links the Swedish coast near Karlshamn with Ustka in northern Poland and allows both grids to rely on cross-border supplies when electricity is cheaper in the other system. A spokesperson for Polish grid operator PSE said the cable was working. PSE data showed over 600 megawatts were flowing to Sweden through the cable at 1130 GMT. "This shows how dangerous the times we live in are, how serious the situation in the Baltic Sea is," Kosiniak-Kamysz told a news conference. "Since Sweden and Finland joined the North Atlantic Alliance, the Baltic Sea has become a key marine area, where the largest number of incidents occur, the most common incidents related to cable breaks... and sabotage." He vowed a "firm response" from Poland and NATO to any attack on Baltic Sea infrastructure. Sweden's coast guard declined to comment. Reuters was not immediately able to reach Sweden's minister for civil defence. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-says-russian-ship-performed-suspicious-manoeuvres-near-cable-sweden-2025-05-21/
2025-05-21 10:59
TANGERANG, Indonesia, May 21 (Reuters) - Gas producers in western Indonesia have signed a swap deal with state-owned distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara and Singaporean buyers Sembcorp Gas and Gas Supply Pte to shore up domestic gas supply, state energy firm PT Pertamina said on Wednesday. The gas swap scheme aims to ensure demand from Indonesia's power sector and industry is met in anticipation of declining natural gas production in Sumatra, Pertamina said in a statement. Sign up here. Under its terms, Indonesian gas producer MedcoEnergi - whose units operate within the West Natuna Supply Group and Corridor Block, which are also parties to the deal - will replace flows to Singapore from the Corridor Block with those from the WNSG, Medco said in a separate statement. Flows from the Corridor Block will be re-diverted to meet Indonesia's domestic gas needs, with Perusahaan Gas Negara as a domestic buyer. Medco also signed a separate gas sales agreement with PGN. The collaboration will ensure adequate gas supply in the domestic and international markets, said Ronald Gunawan, MedcoEnergi's director and chief operating officer. Indonesia's oil and gas regulator SKK Migas had previously said it was aiming for a gas swap to begin in June. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indonesian-gas-firms-sign-gas-swap-deal-meet-domestic-demand-2025-05-21/
2025-05-21 10:55
DUBAI, May 21 (Reuters) - A hijack signal sent from a Panama-flagged petroleum products tanker off Iran was a false alarm, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday. Ambrey first reported the incident south of the busy Strait of Hormuz shipping lane on Tuesday without naming the "UAE-linked" vessel. It said it took place some 51 nautical miles northwest of the Iranian port of Bandar-e Jask. Sign up here. It dubbed the incident a "false hijack distress call" on Wednesday, adding that it "understands that the vessel had previously conducted similar actions". Ambrey said it believed the vessel was part of a "shadow fleet" of tankers used by Iran, noting a sister ship was on a sanctions list issued by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hijack-call-ship-off-iran-false-alarm-security-firm-ambrey-says-2025-05-21/
2025-05-21 10:52
Russia briefly detained Greek-owned oil tanker There are concerns over potential escalation in Baltic Sea MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia would defend its ships using the Baltic Sea with all means available and that a failed Estonian attempt to seize a tanker there recently showed that Moscow could respond with tough action if it had to. Estonia said on Thursday last week that Moscow had briefly sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an Estonian attempt to stop a Russian-bound oil tanker thought to be part of a "shadow fleet" defying Western sanctions on Moscow. Sign up here. Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, on Sunday then detained a Greek-owned oil tanker in Russian waters after it had left an Estonian port, Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on Tuesday. The detention of the vessel, since released by Russia, fuelled concerns about potential shipping disruption in busy Baltic sea lanes used to transport oil. Asked what Russia could do to protect its shipping interests in the Baltic Sea from what Moscow has described as hostile action from EU member states and Britain, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "As the latest events related to the attempted pirate attack on one of the tankers showed, Russia demonstrated it is capable of responding quite harshly." Peskov said Russia was ready to use "all means" at its disposal in future to respond to such incidents within the framework of international law and had a wide range of response options to choose from. A spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused NATO of carrying out what she called aggressive actions in the Baltic Sea that impeded the freedom of shipping after Estonia tried and failed to seize the Russia-bound tanker. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kremlin-says-russia-will-defend-its-ships-baltic-sea-with-all-means-available-2025-05-21/
2025-05-21 10:50
LONDON/GDANSK, May 21 (Reuters) - News and data company Bloomberg said its systems were returning to normal on Wednesday after a brief disruption earlier in the day that delayed numerous government bond sales and affected customer activity. "Our systems are returning to normal operations and Terminal functionality has been restored following a service disruption earlier today," a Bloomberg spokesperson said. Sign up here. The deadline for an auction of UK government debt was delayed, although that sale has now gone ahead, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO). A bill auction in Portugal was postponed until 14:30 CEST (1230 GMT) because of the outage, while Sweden delayed its scheduled bond auction due to "technical issues". "Bids in the auctions are (...) submitted electronically via the Bloomberg auction system," the Swedish debt office website said. It was not immediately clear if Wednesday's delay had been caused by the outage. The European Union also postponed its deadline for Wednesday's sale of EU Bonds by one hour to 1300 CEST (1100 GMT). Traders and market sources had earlier reported that live pricing and market data had stopped functioning and screens went blank. "You can't load anything new, you can't update spreadsheets, some of the auctions have been delayed," Peter Schaffrik, chief European macro strategist at RBC and a Bloomberg terminal user, said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/bloomberg-terminal-suffers-outage-delays-uk-gilt-sale-uk-dmo-traders-2025-05-21/
2025-05-21 10:25
BI revises down 2025 GDP growth range at 4.6% to 5.4% BI asks banks to reduce interest rates on loans, lend more BI ready to intervene again if pressure on rupiah emerges JAKARTA, May 21 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank cut its key interest rate on Wednesday as the market expected, resuming its monetary easing to support the slowing economy after pressure on the rupiah receded. Bank Indonesia (BI) lowered the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate (IDCBRR=ECI) , opens new tab, known as the BI Rate, by 25 basis points to 5.50%, as expected by 20 of 32 economists polled by Reuters. It also cut two other policy rates by the same amount. "This decision is consistent with the forecast of low and manageable inflation in 2025 and 2026 within target to maintain the stability of the rupiah in accordance with its fundamentals, and to contribute to economic growth," Governor Perry Warjiyo told a press conference in Jakarta. Sign up here. He said growth needed to be strengthened to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs, and policies needed to support household demand and exports. Southeast Asia's largest economy grew an annual 4.87% in the first quarter, its weakest pace in more than three years. BI slightly revised down its forecast for growth this year to a range of 4.6% to 5.4% compared with 4.7% to 5.5% previously. The government has set a 5.2% growth target this year and President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to lift growth to 8% by the end of his term in 2029. In the press conference, Governor Warjiyo urged banks to do more to support economic growth by lowering their lending rates and giving out more loans. "Let's lower our interest rates, especially lending credit to support growth," Warjiyo said. BI also said it would allow banks to source up to 35% of their capital from foreign funds with effect from June 1. The current level is 30%. The moves follow a slowdown in loans growth in April to 8.88%, from 9.16% in the previous month. BI also revised down its 2025 loan growth target to 8% to 11% compared with 11% to 13% previously. BI cut rates in September last year and again in January. It then held steady at the next three meetings as market volatility sparked by global trade tensions weighed on the rupiah, which plunged to a record low against the U.S. dollar in April. It has since recovered by more than 3%. Warjiyo said pressure on the rupiah had eased due to improved global market conditions and BI's intervention, but the bank was ready to take action, including intervention in the offshore market, if pressures reemerged. Analysts said BI could make more cuts in the coming months given the low inflation outlook, and depending on the rupiah's performance. "My sense is BI is likely to deliver at least two more rate cuts in 2025 to 5.00% as the economy needs to be supported by easing the monetary policy if USD/IDR continues to move lower to 16,000," SMBC economist Ryota Abe said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/indonesia-central-bank-cuts-rates-expected-2025-05-21/
