Good morning, nice people. We’re kicking off the week with a busy issue, led by Adnoc’s XRG finalization of its stake acquisition of Rio Grande’s LNG export facility. The issue also features big fleet expansions updates from Turkey and Oman, as well as freezone projects from Egypt. Shall we?

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Global Freight Summit kicked off yesterday and runs until Wednesday, 1 October, in Istanbul, Turkey, and will host independent freight forwarders for an open networking event. The goal is to have over 350 attendees exchange agency recommendations, learn from industry leaders, and build new networks.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

The GlobalRail Transport Infrastructure Exhibition and Conference will kick off this Tuesday, 30 September and run until Thursday, 2 October in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. The event will be hosted by Etihad Rail and is set to welcome over 200 global speakers that include top executives from Dubai Airports, Korea National Railway, Keolis, DHL Global Forwarding, Parsons, Saudi Arabia Railway, and Talgo. It will also include upwards of 20k industry attendees to share innovative solutions and develop partnerships.

The Saudi Maritime andLogistics Congress will kick off on Wednesday, 1 October and wrap up on Thursday, 2 October in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. It will host over 200 registered exhibitors and some 15k attendees from over 90 countries to discuss AI-powered fleet optimization, shifts in global trade, and intelligence-driven infrastructure. Speakers include the Kingdom’s Transport Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Bahri CEO Ahmed Alsubaey, King Abdullah Port CEO Jay New, and Transport General Authority maritime transport deputy Essam M. Alammari.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Pakistan pitches ports, shipping sector plan for Saudi backing: Pakistan’s Maritime Ministry is looking for Saudi support for a set of planned maritime projects as part of its bid to serve as a bridge connecting the Gulf with Central Asia and China, according to a statement released on Friday. The proposal centers around improving the connectivity between Pakistan’s key ports — Karachi, Qasim, and Gwadar —via new regional rail, road, and air transport corridors, Minister Junaid Chaundhry said.

The pitch? The proposed projects with the Kingdom include the development of a Karachi-Saudi and Gwadar-Saudi gateway terminal, as well as the launch of direct shipping lines connecting Jeddah to Karachi and Dammam to Gwadar. Pakistan is also planning to tap Saudi to expand its National Shipping Corporation’s fleet and set up 20 green ship recycling yards at Gaddani.

REMEMBER- Pakistan said it was shopping for Gulf backing for its long-delayed USD 2.5 bn rail upgrades earlier this month. Regional backers to the country’s rail include DP World, which is investing USD 400 mn into a freight corridor running from Pakistan’s Karachi Port and Port Qasim — which together handle about 90% of the country’s trade.

#2- UAE launches AED 750 mn Dubai-Ras Al Khaimah road project: The Energy and Infrastructure Ministry (MoEI) has launched a new AED 750 mn Emirates Road enhancement and upgrade project — set to be implemented over a two-year period, Wam reported on Friday. The project is scheduled to cut travel time by up to 45% between Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai — easing traffic congestion and streamlining the flow of goods and services between the emirates.

#3- PIF-owned AviLease is reportedly in talks with JP Morgan and Citigroup to prepare its first-ever USD-denominated bond issuance, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two sources it said are in the know. The aircraft lessor could raise at least USD 500 mn from its initial bond under a USD 2 bn program, which is set to hit the market by year-end, one of the sources said.

ICYMI- Launched three years ago, AviLease aims to be one of the top 10 in the industry by more than doubling its balance sheet to USD 20 bn by 2030, CEO Ted O’Byrne said last month. With a USD 8 bn portfolio of up to 200 aircraft leased to 50 airlines in 30 countries, the jet lessor targets expanding its footprint to include the US, India, and Asia, focusing on Saudi Arabia, which holds 20% of its booked aircraft.

#4– LNG tankers idling off Egypt amid cooling demand: As the weather cools and so does energy demand, Egypt is left with a queue of LNG vessels looking to unload their supplies and get on their way. At least three LNG vessels are idling off Egypt’s LNG import facilities in Ain Sokhna, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing ship-tracking data. Another vessel, the Gaslog Gladstone, unloaded on Thursday after waiting some two weeks, while two more ships are en route to the Red Sea terminals, Bloomberg reported. Data from VesselFinder confirms Bloomberg’s reporting.

The queue could get longer, with two more ships currently en route to the Red Sea terminals. “The congestion arises as Egypt, which became a net importer of the fuel in 2024 and more than doubled its LNG imports this year, is struggling to correctly assess its demand and schedule deliveries,” Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are in the know.

We saw it coming? Egypt’s incoming LNG shipments are set to fall by a third in the last quarter of the year, with the country initially expected to receive around 40 shipments in the post-peak summer period, a government source told EnterpriseAM earlier this month. But the country may not need to follow through on all these shipments, as the contracted shipments have flexible terms in the event of fluctuating local production and demand, our source told us.

ALSO- Egypt is set to receive its fifth floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) tomorrow — the 450 mcf/d Energos Winter owned by US-based New Fortress — CNN Business reports, citing a government official. The vessel will undergo preparations before moving to the United Gas Derivatives Company (UDGC) berth in Damietta, where it will be connected and made ready to receive cargoes starting in October, the official said.

A backup plan: The Oil Ministry aims to operate four regasification units to receive LNG cargoes, while keeping the fifth unit on standby as backup in case any units are out of service, the official added.

#5- Spain-Morocco maritime link seeks new operator: The Port Authority of Motril, in southern Spain, is looking for a new shipping company to operate its route to Morocco’s Tanger Med, after ferry operator Balearia’s exit, Morocco World News reported on Thursday.

The route, in numbers: Between December 2022 and August 2025, the Motril-Tanger route handled 1.3 mn tons of cargo and 49k intermodal units. Traffic grew from about 11k tons at launch to 444k tons in 2023 and 456k tons in 2024, before reaching around 362k tons in the first eight months of 2025.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices slipped this morning on the back of news of a possible Opec+ production hike and Iraq’s resumption of oil exports to Turkey, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures fell by USD 0.34 to USD 69.79 / bbl as of 03.30 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped by USD 0.43 to trade at USD 65.29 / bbl.

The drivers: Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has at last restarted its 970-km Kirkuk-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline, exporting about 189k–190k bbl / d from the Kurdish region to Turkey’s Ceyhan port, Reuters reported on Saturday. Meanwhile, Opec+ is potentially gearing up for a modest production hike of about 137k bbl / d for November at its meeting on Sunday, 5 October, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing a survey of oil traders and analysts. The cartel has been increasing output since April, adding some 2.5 mn bbl / d, and will continue monthly hikes through September 2026 — fast-tracking the return of 1.65 mn bbl / d that was previously set to stay offline until end-2026.

#2- Baltic index dips once again: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — fell 7 points to 2,259 on Friday, across all vessel segments. The capesize index declined 14 points to 3,627, while the panamax index fell by 3 points to 1,832. The smaller supramax index shed 4 points at 1,479.

#3- The Drewry World Container Index fell by 8% to USD 1,761 per 40-ft container on Thursday, according to the latest index readings. The drop comes on the back of market turbulence driven by the ongoing flurry of US tariffs since April. The container forecaster projects the supply-demand balance to fall in 2H 2025, causing spot rates to fall further.

PSA-

Hapag-Lloyd hikes FAK rate: Hapag-Lloyd has raised its tariff rates for Freight of All Kinds (FAK) on cargo bound from the Far East to Egypt, Turkey, and the West Mediterranean, according to a statement released last week. The rate increase applies to cargo transported in 20-ft and 40-ft dry and reefer containers, including high cube equipment, and takes effect on 15 October.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UK will host the Marine Environment Protection Committee Extraordinary Session from Tuesday, 14 October until Friday, 17 October at the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) HQ in London. The session is set to see the intergovernmental body formally adopt its Net-Zero Framework — rolling out new fuel standards for ships and a global pricing mechanism for emissions.

Belgium will host the AntwerpXL on Tuesday, 14 October until Thursday, 16 October in Antwerp. The expo will host 3.8k project cargo, break bulk, RoRo, heavy lift, and industry experts to expand collaborations. It will co-locate with the Transport & Logistics conference and exhibition.

Morocco will host the International Forum and Expo on Mobility, Transport and Logistics (Logiterre) on Thursday, 16 October until Saturday, 18 October in Casablanca. Logiterre will host main operators within the industry from West and Central Africa.

The UAE will host the Adipec Maritime and Logistics Exhibition and Conference on Monday, 3 November until Thursday, 6 November in Abu Dhabi. The conference will host over 250k attendees working in government entities, finance, and tech.

The UAE will host the Air Cargo Forum on Tuesday, 4 November until Thursday, 6 November in Abu Dhabi. The forum — hosted by Etihad Cargo — will bring together air freight industry leaders, policymakers, innovators, and stakeholders to discuss industry solutions, tech, strategies, and collaborative initiatives for global air logistics.

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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