Greek shipping tycoon defies Hormuz blockade

Billionaire shipowner George Prokopiou sent at least five tankers through the Strait of Hormuz this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, in one of the boldest moves of his long shipping career as freight rates surged amid rising military tension in the Middle East. 

The report said Prokopiou’s vessels were among the very few commercial ships to pass through the strategic waterway after the conflict escalated, leaving thousands of ships stranded and raising fears over global energy supplies.