SHIPPING + MARITIME-

KSA’s Mawani adds five new shipping services to its ports: Saudi Arabia’s Mawani has added five additional shipping services under Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk’s Gemini Cooperation, with a combined capacity of 19.8k TUEs, connecting to Jeddah Islamic Port, Dammam’s King Abdulaziz Port and Jubail Commercial Port, according to a statement published on Saturday. The new services link the three Saudi Ports to Egypt’s Port Said, Morocco’s Tangier, Jordan’s Aqaba, UAE’s Jebel Ali, Oman’s Salalah, Spain’s Algeciras and India’s Mundra and Pipavav ports.

DEBT WATCH-

Egypt-based Agrana Nile Fruits secured a EUR 3 mn senior unsecured loan from EBRD to expand production and its export base, which currently covers customers in MENA and West Africa, according to the bank website. The company — an export-focused JV between Austrian food company Agrana and the UAE’s Naama Investment Holding — will also use the funds to finance a new production line and refurbish the company’s Obour City factory.

TRADE-

Dubai Trade launches Trade+ platform: DP World subsidiary Dubai Trade has launched Trade+ — a revamp of its digital delivery order (DDO) platform — making the platform available on its Single Window for Trade and Logistics in a bid to expedite trade operations across Dubai’s supply chain and logistics sectors, state news agency Wam reported on Thursday. The move aims to streamline the digital exchange of cargo release documents between shipping lines, freight forwarders, and consignees, process higher trade volumes, and facilitate cross-border trade. It also could cut some of the transaction times by 90% and complete paperwork tasks that usually took two days in 10 minutes.

SHIPPING + MARITIME-

UAE’s Adnoc L&S introduces seagliders into its fleet: Adnoc L&S has partnered with an unnamed Abu Dhabi-based operator to integrate Regent Craft ’s all-electric seaglider technology for offshore crew transfers in the UAE, the Maritime Executive reported last week. The seagliders — which will be certified as maritime vessels — aim to reduce operations costs, cut transport times, and boost efficiency for the offshore energy logistics industry.

What else we know: Abu Dhabi Maritime partnered with the US-based seagliders manufacturer to explore the feasibility of electric seagliders as a mode of transportation on Abu Dhabi waterways, according to a statement published two weeks ago. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) also inked an agreement with Regent back in April of last year to develop and construct all-electric seagliders for cargo transportation at the Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industry (SAVI) cluster in Masdar City.

About Regent’s seagliders: The vessels are capable of serving routes of up to 180 miles (300 km) with existing battery technology and up to 500 miles (800 km) with next-gen batteries.

AVIATION-

Jordan + Iraq update aviation agreement: Jordan’s Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission and the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority inked an updated air services agreement to boost their air transport and civil aviation partnerships, according to a statement released on Thursday. The agreement aims to strengthen bilateral ties in air transport by reducing tariffs, boosting code-sharing agreements, and streamlining air transport regulations.

Boosting connectivity: Jordan and Iraq also signed an executive memorandum, which targets an increase in cargo flights between both countries and outlines operational arrangements for bilateral air services and measures to introduce new airline routes, particularly flights from Aqaba to any destination in Iraq and from Amman to Kirkuk.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING THIS MORNING-

  • Air India to restart Tel Aviv service: Air India is relaunching direct flights from Delhi to Israeli’s Ben Gurion Airport, operating five weekly services, on 2 March. (Statement)
  • Etihad Airways partners with India’s Wipro for modernization plan: UAE’s Etihad Airways has tapped Indian IT consulting services company Wipro to lead its technology modernization plan through a five-year multi-mn USD contract. (Press Release)
  • Etihad Cargo boosts European belly capacity: Etihad Cargo will now operate 14 weekly double flights and four weekly freighter flights to Frankfurt to boost European belly capacity. (Statement)
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