Daily Supply Chain Report

Australia and Japan sign four bilateral deals on energy and critical minerals; Australia commits AU$1.3 billion. Japan and Australia signed four bilateral agreements on May 3, 2026 covering energy security, defense and critical minerals; the package includes a declaration to share information and consult on "economic contingencies" in response to geopolitical events, a pledge to cooperate on rare-earth and critical-mineral projects, a statement on aligning national defense strategies and an energy-security cooperation deal; Australia committed AU$1.3 billion (about US$930 million) to joint critical-minerals projects with minerals described as "a core pillar of our economic security relationship," explicitly aiming to build a non-China processing alternative; Japan sources roughly 95% of its oil from the Middle East and around 40% of its LNG from Australia; Anthony Albanese framed the deals as a way to navigate the Hormuz-driven energy crisis together and keep open trade flows of essential energy goods.

In the same period, EU's 20th Russia sanctions package uses anti-circumvention tool against Kyrgyzstan for the first time; EU Today documents trace aircraft parts flow into S7 Engineering and Siberia Airlines via the UAE-Jordan corridor. The EU's 20th Russia sanctions package was adopted in April 2026, using the anti-circumvention tool against Kyrgyzstan for the first time to restrict metal-cutting machinery and modem-router exports and adding 120 new individual listings; EU Today-reviewed commercial papers trace 2022-2023 shipments of aircraft parts, APUs and test equipment from UAE-based Golden Falcon Aviation, Casper Aviation and U.C.A Aviation and Jordan-based Aerospace Technical Services into S7 Engineering and Siberia Airlines at Domodedovo and Tolmachevo airports; OFAC had previously designated an ATS-linked entity in December 2023.

Elsewhere, Swedish Coast Guard boards Russian shadow fleet suspect Jin Hui off Trelleborg. Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin announced on X that Jin Hui, listed by the EU, UK and Ukraine, was sailing under a false flag with seaworthiness and insurance issues; the case marks a second major boarding off Trelleborg after the Caffa bulker stopped in March 2026.

Then, Istanbul Strait two-way traffic suspended after bulker Zaltron suffers engine failure. A 185-meter bulker Zaltron, sailing from Egypt to Russia, suffered an engine failure off Kuruçeşme; Türkiye's Coastal Safety General Directorate dispatched the rescue tugs Kurtarma-3, Kurtarma-5 and Kurtarma-9, two-way Bosphorus traffic was temporarily suspended and the vessel was successfully recovered.

Continuing on, Ukraine strikes 2 Russian shadow fleet tankers off Novorossiysk and the Primorsk oil terminal. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck two Russian shadow fleet oil tankers at the entrance to Novorossiysk in the Black Sea; the same day, the Baltic Sea Primorsk oil export terminal (1 million bpd capacity) suffered a brief fire from a drone strike, with 334 drones launched overnight; Russia returned with 268 drones and one Iskander-M missile, killing two in Odesa including a port truck driver.