Latest shipping traffic data points toward a rise in Suez Canal transits, with authorities in Egypt hoping the recent truce announced by the Houthis will lead to a full-scale return to normal traffic on the artery connecting trade between Asia and Europe. The Houthis officially announced on November 10 that they have paused maritime attacks in the wake of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. China and the US put their tit-for-tat port fees on hold for a year on November 10, much to the relief of many shipping organisations, while trade unions in the US have hit out at the Trump administration for rowing back on a policy that had been intended to bolster American shipbuilding. The controversial port fees, introduced by Washington and Beijing on October 14, came to an end following a recent summit between Donald Trump and his counterpart, Xi Jinping. The White House The long-awaited Simandou iron ore project finally roared to life — a $20bn gamechanger set to shake up global dry bulk flows, stretch tonne-miles, and tilt the balance of the iron ore market away from Australia and Brazil. Guinea officially launched the vast Simandou project in the middle of this month — Africa’s largest greenfield mine and infrastructure development — in a ceremony at the port of Morebaya, marking a turning point for both the West African nation and the dry bulk trades. Diana Shipping has made its move on New York-listed Genco Shipping & Trading, tabling a cash offer this week to acquire all remaining shares it does not already own at $20.60 per share. The Athens-based owner, led by chief executive Semiramis Paliou, holds 14.8% of Genco after steadily building its position since first disclosing a 7.7% stake in July. Iran detained a commercial vessel for the first time since April last year. The Marshall Islands-flagged product tanker Talara was released after five days by Iranian forces. The Talara had been en route to Singapore with a cargo of high-sulphur gasoil when Iranian forces directed the ship to waters near Bandar Abbas. The threat of Somali piracy reemerged in the Indian Ocean, with recent incidents highlighting the increasing sophistication and reach of pirate groups. Recent activity points to reconstituted Puntland-based pirate action groups using hijacked fishing dhows as motherships, enabling attacks far offshore and well into the Indian Ocean, armed with RPGs and automatic weapons. The National Transportation Safety Board in the US said that a single loose wire on the 300 m long containership Dali caused an electrical blackout in March last year that led to the vessel veering and contacting the nearby Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which then collapsed, killing six highway workers, in one of this decade’s most high-profile shipping casualties. The price tag to rebuild the bridge has blown past early projections, with Maryland officials now warning the final bill could exceed $5.2bn and the reopening pushed back to late 2030—a full two years later than originally promised. NTSB The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, together with AIM Horizon Investments, the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), ING and DBS Bank, have closed the Fund for Energy Efficiency Technologies (FEET), securing total commitments of up to $35m, surpassing initial targets. FEET is the world’s first vessel retrofit fund to use a pay-as-you-save repayment mechanism, directly linking repayments to verified fuel and regulatory savings. The backers of the new fu