Good morning, friends. We have some updates for you today from across the region, with a lot of movement happening on regional railways and a few new courier service companies popping up.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- TheSaudi Ports Authorityhas inaugurated new projects at Jubail Commercial and Industrial Ports to boost throughput capacity and upgrade infrastructure, including a railway connecting the ports. Over in Iran, the country has launched its Hamedan-Sanandaj Railway in another move towards setting up the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

^^ We have everything on this story and more in the news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Panama Canal is set to reduce ship transits in the coming months as an ongoing drought continues to impact the canal’s ability to accommodate vessels, the Financial Times reports. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is looking to impose additional limits to only allow 25 ships to pass through daily, eventually decreasing the number of vessels to 18 by February 2024. The canal had most recently cut daily crossing from 32 vessels to 31 as of 1 November.

The drought is holding up energy deliveries and driving shipping rates at the canal to record highs, Hellenic Shipping News reports. Shipping rates for Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) rose to USD 250 a ton in the last week of September, the highest since 2016, pulling up prices for shipping liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) coming from the US.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1-Inceptio has plans to expand to GCC: Inceptio Technology, a Chinese developer of autonomous driving technologies for heavy duty trucks, has revealed plans to expand into the Gulf within the next year, according to a press release. Inceptio will conduct road tests in the UAE or Saudi Arabia and potentially open a regional AI software development center, according to the release. The pool of talent and interest in green technology investment makes the region a logical hub for the company’s global expansion, Inceptio CEO and founder Julian Ma said. Inceptio also expects to enter partnerships with two truck original equipment manufacturers (OEM) next year, Ma added.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafrah is looking to tender the Mugharaq Port-Jabel Al Dhannah road project by 1Q 2024, Zawya reports, citing a source in the know. The contract will involve building a road linking Mugharaq Port to Jabel Al Dhannah Road in Al Dhafrah by 4Q 2025 at an estimated cost of USD 40 mn.

DISRUPTION WATCH-

Air travel to the Middle East has dipped since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza, Reuters reports. Flight bookings to Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon have fallen since 7 October, with ticket prices to Egypt falling 26% y-o-y, 49% to Jordan, and 74% to Lebanon, the newswire cites vice president of insights at ForwardKeys Olivier Ponti as saying. Several airlines, including United Airlines, Turkish AIrlines, Wizz Air, Air Canada, and Air France have halted flights to Tel Aviv until further notice. Other airlines, including Royal Jordanian, have been seeing higher costs due to flight diversions for security reasons since the beginning of the conflict.

Israel deploys missile boats to Red Sea’s Eilat Port after Houthi attack from Yemen:The Israeli military has stationed missile boats in the Red Sea after the Houthi movement in Yemen released a statement saying it had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel, Reuters reports. Israel says it intercepted an “aerial threat” over the Red Sea, with Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi describing the Houthi attacks as intolerable, without elaborating on how Israel plans to respond.

MARKET WATCH-

OPEC crude oil output has risen for the third straight month, led by Nigeria and Angola, despite ongoing cuts by KSA in efforts to support the market, according to a Reuters survey. OPEC pumped 27.9 mn barrels per day in October, an increase of 180k barrels per day from last month, the survey found.

HELP SUPPORT GAZANS-

Want to support relief efforts in Gaza, but don’t know how? We’ve got you. More than a mn people in Gaza have been thrown from their homes and every human being there lacks access to food, water, and fuel amid the most intense bombardment any population has endured this century. The charities we’re listing below are Egyptian organizations working on Gaza relief that we think you can trust if you want to make a donation.

#1- Egyptian Red Crescent Society is one of the nation’s leading providers of humanitarian and emergency medical services. The Egypt Red Crescent accepts donations in EGP online and is on Fawry with the service code 99981. You can also donate to the organization through this Banque du Caire account: 49/403/30 (EGP) or 1065/601/30 (USD — code: BCAIEGCX030).

#2- Egyptian Food Bank: The food bank has launched “Aid Gaza,” a hunger-relief campaign to supply essential food items to the people of Gaza. You can make an online donation through EFB’s website or the unified bank account number 888777 at every bank in Egypt. Do you live abroad? The EFB has a list of its verified accounts at major institutions (along with account numbers) here.

#3- The Mersal Foundation is a non-profit medical organization running medical aid convoys to Gaza. It is on Fawry using service code 9200 or you can donate through its EGP accounts at major national banks including CIB (100034654454), Banque Misr (5450001000003297), Emirates NBD (1019409332701), National Bank of Egypt (1953071376769426268), AAIB (1015996610010201), QNB (7352031181714268). The group lists other ways you can donate on its Facebook page.

#4- Lifemakers: The NGO, which has a record of providing medical, educational and social care services to Palestinians, has been helping to prepare aid convoys ahead of dispatch to deliver food, medical supplies, water, blankets, clothing, and other essentials to the besieged Gaza strip since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Donate through the foundation’s website or use Fawry code 950. Lifemakers also accepts donations for Gaza relief in EGP via CIB (account 100034226827) and NBE (0773070478998401017).

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

AD Ports kicked off the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) World’sPorts Conference 2023 yesterday, which runs through 2 November, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, under the theme ‘Reinventing Ports.’ The event will bring together more than 100 speakers, from port operators to influential figures in the industry, to network and share expertise on the industry.

The two-day Abu Dhabi Smart City Summit (ADSCS) kicked off yesterday in Abu Dhabi. The event is organized by the Department of Municipalities and Transport and is being attended by government officials and industry experts to discuss AI, urban planning and smart mobility.

Dubai Business Forum is set to take place on 1-2 November at Madinat Jumeirah, in Dubai. The event will bring together top business leaders to boost business partnerships and networking.

Transport Logistic Southeast Asia is taking place between 1-3 November at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore. The event is the largest trade show for transportation and logistics, mobility, IT, and supply chain management in the Southeast Asia region. The exhibition will bring together service providers to meet, network and trade with top buyers from the region, and feature expert speakers who will provide insight on future topics.

The Smart Transport, Logistics Infrastructure & Traffic Fair & Forum for the MEA Region(TransMEA) will kick off next week in Cairo, Egypt from 5-8 November. The event will bring together international regional players and some 350 exhibitors from 20 countries from the railway, metro, monorail, electric transport, roads, bridges, maritime transport, shipping, and logistics sector, to showcase solutions, trends, new products and technologies.

The third Caspian Economic Forum is set to be held in mid-November in Iran, state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency reports. The event is set to focus on transportation, joint ventures, oil and gas, finance, banking and technical cooperation in Iran, with Alireza Jahangiri, Iran’s deputy foreign caspian sea affairs minister, calling on economic institutions to attend, IRNA adds. The exact location and dates of the forum have yet to be confirmed.

The Dubai Air Show will be held from 13-17 November at DWC, at the Dubai Airshow site, in Dubai. The event will feature over 180 aircraft including business jets, drones, commercial airlines, military jets, helicopters, and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The event will also gather decision makers to discuss the latest trends and challenges across the aviation industry, and how to drive sustainable aviation operations.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

Tags: