GMS Week 17 – INDEFINITE, NOT RESOLVED in Weekly Demolition Reports 24/04/2026 The Week 16 view that a temporary memorandum had narrowed the diplomatic off-ramp has already been overtaken. On April 22, President Trump extended the US-Iran ceasefire indefinitely after Pakistan-hosted talks failed to convene. Within hours, Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and claimed seizure of two, following a US Navy interdiction of an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel earlier in the week. The US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains fully in force, while the Pentagon now estimates mine clearance in Hormuz will take approximately six months. More than thirty countries are assembling a multinational task force at an RAF base outside London, though deployment remains contingent on a durable ceasefire. The extension is indefinite. The resolution is not. Energy markets have responded accordingly. Brent rallied about 5 percent to USD 94.90 per barrel on April 20 on seizure headlines, with WTI at USD 88.44. The prior week’s slide on IEA demand concerns has reversed as geopolitical risk reasserts itself, and the recent inventory draw now reflects tightening supply rather than weakening demand. Freight continues to diverge. The Baltic Dry Index closed at 2,673 on April 23, up about 150 points from 2,523 a week earlier, extending a twelve-session rally before easing marginally. Capesize earnings are at a four-month high on sustained Brazil to China iron ore flows, with Panamax and Supramax also firmer. The expected Q1 tonnage release has now been deferred for a third consecutive week as owners continue to favour trading over recycling. Currencies reflect re-embedded risk. USD to INR has weakened to 93.80 after partial RBI unwinding, approaching the March 27 low of 94.86. USD to BDT remains rangebound at 122.70 to 123.00, USD to PKR has edged to 279.70, and the Turkish lira has hit a fresh low near 44.92. The Dollar Index has softened to about 98.2. This does not alter sub-continent pricing dynamics. It reinforces them. With five weeks remaining before the monsoon window closes, Bangladesh’s LC pipeline is clearing, Pakistan’s Gulf proximity advantage is strengthening, and India retains its HKC compliance edge. Aliaga remains structurally uncompetitive outside EU tonnage. Across all destinations, the constraint remains unchanged. Owners are not releasing tonnage, and the indefinite ceasefire offers no incentive to do so. The Week 16 question of whether supply returns before the monsoon or rolls into backlog has been provisionally answered in favour of backlog. Week 17 closes with the ceasefire indefinite, the blockade intact, mines six months from clearance, and the beaching window narrowing by the day. For Week 17 of 2026, GMS Market Rankings / vessel indications are as below. Download PDF Source: GMS,Inc. https://www.gmsinc.net/gms_new/index.php/web 2026-04-24 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",