Adnoc adds 11 vessels to its fleet

Adnoc adds 11 more vessels under its own export chain

Adnoc Logistics & Services acquired 11 large carriers for around USD 1.3 bn — five modern very large gas carriers (VLGCs) and six very large crude carriers (VLCCs), it said in a press release.

The details: Nine vessels — six VLCCs and three VLGCs — were acquired on the secondary market and are set to enter service immediately upon their delivery in 3Q of this year. The remaining two VLGCs were acquired from a Chinese shipyard on a resale and are set to be delivered in 4Q.

The acquisition nearly doubles Adnoc’s fleet of both vessel types to 14 VLCCs and 12 VLGCs, coming right after it purchased five VLCCs and three VLGCs last week. The expansion comes as Abu Dhabi has more oil to move — and more ways to move it as it ramps up alternative export options via Fujairah.

Someone else’s merger, DP World’s windfall

GXO Logistics will hand over six UK grocery warehousing sites to DP World in September, according to a statement. The sites, five in England and one in Northern Ireland, add more than 2 mn sq ft of ambient, chilled, frozen, and bonded warehousing serving Asda, Sainsbury’s, and the Co-op.

Behind the move: The Competition and Markets Authority forced the divestment after finding GXO’s GBP 762 mn takeover of Wincanton would have left UK grocers with just two real options for dedicated warehousing, risking costs that pass through to shoppers. DP World is the regulator-approved buyer, picking up capacity for roughly 46k SKUs it didn’t have to build or bag commercially. GXO keeps the transport operations tied to these sites, so the gain for DP World is warehousing, not haulage.

Move-in ready

Qantara West got another wave of ready industrial space. The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) signed an agreement with Capital for Factory Management and Development to build 150 sq km ready-to-use industrial and storage units for rent at West Qantara Industrial Zone, backed by EGP 2.4 bn in investment, according to a statement. The units target textiles and ready-made garments, packaging, travel goods, food industries, logistics, and poultry equipment.

Another layer for Qantara West: This follows an earlier EGP 1 bn push by SCZone’s Main Development Company to develop 200k sqm of ready-to-operate and prefabricated factories in the zone for SMEs in textiles and garments, food and agro-processing, and textile-based medical supplies.