Good morning, nice people. The news cycle has slowed down a bit, leaving us with a brisk read this Monday. Still, we have big investment updates from Egypt and the UAE, with Lunate’s launch of a new GCC-focused logistics platform and fundraising updates from recycled oil startup Tagaddod. Shall we?

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

The Quantum Maritime Conference 2025 will kick off tomorrow and run until Thursday, 9 October in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. The conference will discuss how quantum tech can be leveraged in the maritime sector to reduce vessel turnaround times, improve fuel efficiency, and enhance overall navigation.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- DAE tests the waters for FCY sukuk: ICD-backed aviation services provider Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) is sounding out investors for a potential benchmark fixed-rate USD sukuk, with international and regional banks arranging calls ahead of a possible Reg S- and Rule 144A-compliant issuance under its trust certificate program, Zawya reports. The five-year senior unsecured notes are structured as a wakalah/murabaha, with the use of proceeds still under wraps. The sukuk is expected to be rated Baa2 by Moody’s and BBB by Fitch.

REFRESHER- DAE has been steadily boosting liquidity and reshaping its fleet ahead of the planned sukuk. In June, the company secured a USD 300 mn three-year unsecured loan from Bank of China for general corporate purposes. It has also been rebalancing its portfolio, offloading 75 aircraft while purchasing 17 for about USD 1 bn, and recently committed to acquiring 100 new aircraft from Airbus, Boeing, and ATR. It also recently onboarded 10 new Boeing 737-9 aircraft from United Airlines under a purchase-leaseback agreement.

Meet the banks: HSBC, along with Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Goldman Sachs International, will act as active bookrunners. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Ajman Bank, Bank ABC, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Dubai Islamic Bank, Fifth Third Securities, JP Morgan Securities, Mizuho, Natixis, and Truist Securities are set to serve as passive bookrunners or managers.

#2- ADX-listed Eshraq Investments expands maritime exposure: Eshraq Investments has signed a conditional agreement to acquire Shine SPV 1 Limited from TIL Partners SPV, it said in a statement (pdf). The transaction remains subject to regulatory and third-party approvals. Shine’s subsidiaries are engaged in offshore support vessel operations, shipbuilding and maintenance, and crane operations across the UAE.

#3- Boeing has high hopes for 737 monthly supply: US manufacturer Boeing is notifying suppliers that 737 Max output could potentially hit a 42-jet monthly rate as early as October, sources familiar with its plans told Bloomberg. The manufacturer is preparing to boost its manufacturing pace again in April and once more in late 2026, with hopes of raising production to 53 jets per month by the end of 2026, the sources added. The firm plans to keep its 42-aircraft-per-month rate for nearly six months before approaching the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the next rate hike.

REMEMBER- Boeing’s 737 Max production has been capped by US regulations as the model’s reputation fell under scrutiny amid ongoing safety concerns — following two major fatal crashes on Lion Air in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines in 2019. It also had a mid-flight incident on an Alaska Air flight in 2024.

DISRUPTION WATCH

Qatar halts night maritime traffic due to GPS issue: Qatar’s Transport Ministry ordered all maritime vessel owners to cease navigation due to a technical error with the GPS, according to a statement published on Saturday. Partial return began yesterday evening, with the ministry saying that morning navigation is allowed but is still banned at night, adding that the technical problem is still ongoing.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices continued to go up this morning after Opec+ announced a less-than-expected production hike for November, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures rose by USD 0.23 to USD 65.70 / bbl as of 03.56 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased USD 0.21 to trade at USD 61.90 / bbl.

Over in our region, Saudi Arabia kept the price of its main crude grade bound to Asia unchanged for November, maintaining the official selling price (OSP) of Arab Light crude at a premium of USD 2.20 per barrel above the Oman-Dubai benchmark, Bloomberg reports, citing a price list.

Beyond expectations? Saudi was expected to raise November’s OSP for Arab Light to Asia by USD 0.20-0.40 a barrel from October, bringing it to USD 2.40–2.60 above the regional benchmark.

Riyadh is expected to hold back from larger price hikes, as it continues negotiations with buyers over the 2026 term supply. Elevated freight costs are also squeezing margins, limiting the room for Asian refiners to absorb higher crude prices, according to Bloomberg.

#2- Egypt slashes planned LNG shipments for October: The Egyptian Oil Ministry plans to reduce the number of agreed-upon LNG shipments scheduled for shipment this month to six, from an initially planned 19, a government source told EnterpriseAM. Egypt welcomed only 14 LNG shipments last month, marking a dip from initially planned shipments amid falling domestic consumption, the source said. This comes as Local natural gas output has risen to 4.2 bn cubic feet per day, marking an increase of 110 mn cubic feet per day compared to June, according to the source.

Egypt is now expected to import between 20 and 24 shipments during the final quarter of the year, compared to a previous target of 40 shipments, the source said. The reduction in imports comes amid strong indications of growing local output, the source added, pointing to additional volumes being added from newly discovered wells, foreign partners ramping up field development, and injecting significant new investments that will strengthen domestic production.

REMEMBER-Last week, we reported that the country has been left with a queue of LNG vessels looking to unload their supplies and get on their way after energy demand fell. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg at the time that Egypt is “struggling to correctly assess its demand and schedule deliveries.”

#3- Baltic index snaps losing spiral: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — inched up 31 points to 1,932 on Monday. The capesize gained 104 points to 2,828, while the panamax index shed 8 points to 1,654. The smaller supramax index eased 4 points to 1,443.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Egypt’s nine public freezones have attracted some USD 38.7 bn worth of investments, spread between some 1.2k separate projects, Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib said. The zones have created 228k jobs and contribute around 20% of the country’s entire non-petroleum exports.

#2- Qatar’s Mawani sees port traffic jump in 9M 2025: Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) handled 1.1 mn TEUs in 9M 2025 — recording a 2% y-o-y increase, according to a statement. Qatar’s ports have transported upwards of 1.34 mn tons of general and bulk cargo, more than 91k RoRo units, and 488k tons of building materials.

PSAs-

#1-Turkey extends ban on Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah Airport: Ankara has extended its suspension on flights and airspace access to Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah Airport until 6 January 2026, Shafaq News reports, citing Turkey’s civil aviation authority. Turkish officials linked the decision to security concerns related to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Ankara designates as a terrorist organization.

FYI– Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah Airport has officially been renamed Jalal Talabani International Airport — following a request from the Jalal Talabani Foundation, according to a statement.

#2- Hapag-Lloyd rolls out new GRI: Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd is set to implement a general rate increase (GRI) of USD 1k per 20-ft and 40-ft dry, reefer, and special containers, as well as high cube equipment from the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East to North America, according to a statement released last week. The GRI will apply to containers coming from the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, starting 3 November, until further notice.

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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 and Logistics conference and exhibition.

Iraq will host the Iraq International Transportation & Airports & Logistics Expo & Conference on Wednesday, 15 October until Friday, 17 October in Baghdad. The expo — Iraq’s first platform focused exclusively on transport and logistics services — is expected to feature over 100 exhibitors, including ports, aviation, road, and rail players as well as logistics tech firms.

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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