Good morning, friends. It’s a brisk read as we inch closer to the weekend, with air and sea ports updates from Iraq and Tunisia. We also have the latest on rising Red Sea route disruptions, as well as a slew of smaller trade, aviation, and shipping news from around the region and globe. Shall we?

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Another vessel struck in the Red Sea: A Liberian-flagged and Greek-operated bulk vessel, the Eternity C, was attacked on Monday by a drone and a speedboat off the coast of Yemen, killing three crew members and wounding two, the Associated Press reports, citing the European Union naval force. As of the early hours this morning, the remaining crew is still aboard the vessel as it drifts in the Red Sea. The Houthis have yet to claim the attack.

This is the second attack on commercial ships in the waterway after over six months of relative calm in the waterway. Earlier this week, 22 people aboard the Magic Seas vessel were rescued by an AD Ports-operated vessel after Houthis attacked it with gunfire, rockets, and explosive-laden remote-controlled boats.

The disruptions could derail efforts to bring back global shipping lines to the Red Sea waterway, one of Egypt’s top sources of foreign currency. Egypt’s transit receipts from the Suez Canal dropped 62.3% y-o-y to USD 1.8 bn in 1H FY 2024-2025, on the back of Red Sea disruptions that pushed ships to reroute away from the canal. Tonnage through the canal was down some 70% y-o-y to 117.5 mn tons in 2Q of this year — despite the Suez Canal Authority offering a 15% discount on containership fees.

#2- Egypt is still facing some connectivity disruptions after the Ramses telecoms data center fire on Monday, with banking and internet services continuing to be unreliable for individuals and businesses. Four employees died, and 27 others were injured in the fire, according to a Health Ministry statement.

The EGX called off yesterday’s trading session as a result, saying the move was aimed at ensuring market fairness for all participants, seeing as traders could not access live market data. “No one could see the prices,” EGX boss Ahmed El Sheikh told Asharq Business.

But there is gradual recovery: Connectivity levels across the country have climbed to 68% yesterday, up from 44% on Monday, according to the most recent update from Netblocks, which tracks global internet connectivity. Services on digital payment platforms including InstaPay, Vodafone Cash, and Fawry mostly also resumed yesterday. But ATMs and digital banking services remain spotty.

REMEMBER- The outage disrupted air flights at Cairo International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday, but operations have since returned to normal at the airport and all flights delayed by the outage departed.

#3- The UAE is set to invest in Brazil’s infrastructure, transport, and trade sectors as part of a USD 100 bn investment push in the country, according to a press release issued on the sidelines of the 17th BRICS Summit. The investments — first pledged in December 2024 — would cover a wide range of other sectors, including industry, agriculture, real estate, technology, environment and recycling, energy, retail, healthcare, education and training, and public debt instruments. Abu Dhabi Investment Group (ADIG) and Banco do Brasil inked an MoU to launch the development investment fund earlier this week.

#4- Riyadh-based Desert Dragon Data Centers entered into a 15-year partnership with XDS Datacenters, agreeing to provide the Dubai-based data center developer and operator some 10 MW of immersion-cooled segment, according to a statement.

More details: Desert Dragon will deliver 3 MW of immersion-cooled infrastructure by June 2026 and the remaining 7MW in 2027. It also plans to expand its immersion cooling capacity to 50 MW across four Saudi cities, the Saudi Gazette reports.

IN OTHER RELATED UPDATES- French AI and data centers startup Mistral is reportedly in talks to raise as much as USD 1 bn from Abu Dhabi AI investor MGX and others, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. It’s also in talks for debt financing with existing investors like Bpifrance, which could reach hundreds of mns of EUR.

REMEMBER- Mistral and MGX are already working together on the 1.4 GW AI data center campus in Paris, set to be Europe’s largest, alongside Nvidia, with MGX set to bankroll a big portion of the project. It forms part of the UAE’s pledge to invest USD 30-50 bn in French AI and data infrastructure. MGX has also backed OpenAI and xAI, and is helping fund the USD 100 bn “Stargate” AI initiative in the US.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices went down slightly this morning as markets await US tariff policy updates and an expected rise in US stockpiles, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures dropped USD 0.07 to USD 70.08 a barrel by 04.00 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures dipped by USD 0.08 to trade at USD 68.25 a barrel. The slight drop came after prices rallied to a two-week high in earlier sessions.

The latest output boost from Opec+ could tip global oil markets into surplus later this year, Bloomberg reports, after the group blindsided traders with a decision to accelerate the return of more crude to the market. The hike of 548k barrels per day in August will benefit consumers, who could see lower fuel costs in the short-term, but could weigh on producers in the long term.

Even before the new barrels were announced, the International Energy Agency was already forecasting a 1.5% global supply surplus for 4Q. The market was already looking shaky, with Brent futures down 11% over the past two weeks and big banks like Goldman and JPMorgan forecasting a drop toward USD 60/bbl largely due to weak Chinese demand and economic hits from tariffs.

Yes, but: Some analysts believe the real supply impact will be more muted. “The official return of barrels is one thing, but actual new supply versus the headline numbers is another,” RCMA Capital CEO Doug King told Bloomberg. Diesel premiums suggest persistent market tightness and unless inventories visibly rise, crude prices may hold.

#2- Baltic index rises once again: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — was up 0.4% to 1,431 points on Tuesday. The capesize fell 4.1% to 1,751 points, while the panamax gained 2.5% to 1,569 points. The small supramax index climbed 2.3% points to settle at 1,125.

DATA POINT-

Jordan’s Aqaba Container Terminal handled around 235k inbound containers in 1H 2025, rising 18.8% y-o-y, the Jordan Times reports, citing data by the Jordan Logistics Association (JLA). Outbound containers jumped 8% y-o-y to reach 52k in the same period. The surge is attributed to an uptick in transit shipments to Syria and better shipping conditions in the Red Sea, which have boosted maritime traffic, the news outlet reports, quoting JLA President Nabeel Khatib.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Intermodal Africa will kick off on Tuesday, 22 July and run till Thursday, 24 July in Beira, Mozambique. The forum will host over 300 senior government officials, industry leaders, academics, senior executives, and harbor masters in the ports, shipping, and logistics sector. Attendees and speakers will be coming from countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Transport Middle East 2025 will kick off on Monday, 1 September and will run till Wednesday, 3 September in Salalah, Oman. The conference will host 35 international speakers and over 50 exhibitors from the maritime sector to discuss global transportation and logistics.

The Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference will take place on 3-4 September at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jeddah. The event is set to gather over 60 speakers and more than 3k participants to discuss maritime decarbonization, digital transformation, regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and sustainable practices.

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

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