Mercuria, one of the world's largest commodity traders, has sued the
282‑year‑old Baltic Exchange; the UK High Court will hear the case on Monday.
The dispute centers on whether the Baltic should have continued publishing its
flagship tanker route benchmark TD3C for voyages via the Strait of Hormuz after
US and Israel opened hostilities with Iran. Mercuria says voyages fell sharply
and Iran declared a blockade, and argued the Baltic should have suspended TD3C;
it initially alleged losses of "hundreds of millions of dollars" but amended its
filing to drop monetary damages and now seeks declaratory relief that
publications since early March are invalid. The Baltic Exchange says short‑term
inactivity on a route is not uncommon, brokers continued to provide rates, and
warns a Mercuria victory would have "chaotic market‑wide consequences" and could
force the unwinding of hundreds of trades. TD3C underpins pricing and hedging
for billions of dollars of freight derivatives.
