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Good morning, friends — a good mix this morning, from crude flows to canal traffic to a buyout that's basically wrapped up.
Saudi Arabia just walked back into the room it spent the war trying to avoid. Aramco sold about 20 mn barrels to Asian refiners this week for pickup just outside Hormuz — proof that even the workarounds have limits when the demand is there.
Meanwhile, AD Ports Group is about to stop being a group with outside shareholders at all. ADQ's tender offer pulled in nearly the entire free float, pushing L'imad's stake past 98.50% — enough to force out whoever's left holding on
Elsewhere, Cosco just caught up to the rest of the pack. The line made its first Suez transit since the Red Sea crisis began yesterday — joining Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and MSC, who've all already been sending ships back through the canal in recent weeks.
And the Houthis just quietly drew their own line in the sand. They told US officials meeting them in Oman that they won't target American or Israeli ships, pledging to leave commercial vessels alone too — except Saudi-owned ones — and to keep honoring the 2025 ceasefire with Washington, Reuters reports. The meeting, which Oman helped organize, took place over the weekend at the US Embassy in Muscat. US Vice President JD Vance previously said Washington was in direct contact with the group.
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- Where AI fits on the list of topics keeping CEOs awake at night
- What AI means for your company, your team, your job, and your family
- What's the AI opportunity for Egypt
- Building the AI infrastructure
And more panels to come.
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Fifth line’s the charm?
Cosco made its first transit through the Suez Canal since the Red Sea crisis began, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said in a statement yesterday. The OOCL Portugal, a Cosco-group vessel with a 24k TEU capacity, crossed from Belgium toward China on an Ocean Alliance service, carrying 247k tons of cargo.
There’s been a broader return to Suez recently, but it’s still selective. CMA CGM sent its Vendome through the canal in June, marking the first southbound transit of its FAL3 service since January. MSC said it would partially restore Suez transits for its Indusa service, westbound only, while Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced that four more Gemini services would switch from the Cape of Good Hope to Suez.
The carrier-by-carrier return is beginning to show up in canal traffic. Container ships moved 72.1 mn tons of net tonnage through Suez in the first eight months of 2026, up 54.2% y-o-y from 46.7 mn tons. The uptick is positive, but regional tensions are still a near-term concern as containers return.
dnata wants in on Damascus airport’s rebuild
dnata is pushing an exclusive contract to manage and operate services at Damascus International Airport, Al Bayan reports, citing CEO Nabil Sultan as saying. The UAE-based aviation services provider has sent a delegation to Damascus to discuss potential investments and an operating model with Syrian officials and develop an operating and investment model. No agreement has been announced yet.
BACKGROUND- The airport already has a major redevelopment: A consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Holding signed final concession agreements last November covering the development, expansion, and operation of Damascus International Airport. The USD 4 bn project aims to increase capacity to 31 mn passengers annually through phased terminal upgrades and new facilities, including cargo centers.
Syria is part of a broader expansion push targeting developing markets in the Middle East and Africa, with the dnata eyeing potential investments that offer long-term growth, Sultan added.The strategy also includes an Azerbaijan cargo venture targeting a 2028 launch. The company also plans to establish a cargo services company at an unnamed new airport there, aiming to position it as a hub for freight moving between East Asia — particularly China and Vietnam — and Eastern Europe.
Flydubai pushes past 100 aircraft
Flydubai is adding more aircraft to the mix: Dubai-based carrier Flydubai will take delivery of 11 additional Boeing 737 Max aircraft in 2026 — seven 737-9 Max jets and four 737-8 Max jets — taking its fleet beyond 100 aircraft, Wam reports. The new aircraft will replace older jets while giving the carrier more flexibility to expand its network, increase capacity on existing routes and support future growth.
The fleet is getting an upgrade, too: The carrier is kicking off a retrofit program this month covering 21 Boeing 737 Max jets, replacing recliner Business Class seats with lie-flat seats and installing larger overhead storage over the next 12 months, The National reports.
IN CONTEXT- Flydubai is expanding capacity across both cargo and passenger operations. The carrier has restored operations to around 85% of its network, and will launch its first dedicated freighter operations on 1 October with three wet-leased Boeing 737-800 freighters. The move will add dedicated cargo capacity alongside the belly-hold space available on its passenger fleet.
Adnoc goes shopping for cheap Iraqi crude
Adnoc Trading has emerged as the biggest lifter of Iraqi crude in August and September, snapping up heavily discounted barrels as the Iran war reshapes regional oil flows, Reuters reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. Adnoc agreed to buy 32 mn barrels for August and another 40 mn for September, with discounts ranging from USD 18 to 27 a barrel, although export constraints meant it lifted less than the full August allocation.
The trade works both ways: Adnoc plans to process most of the imported Gulf crude at Ruwais, freeing more of its own barrels for sale internationally, one source said. That fits a broader wartime strategy we’ve been tracking: Adnoc has expanded its tanker fleet, leaned on Fujairah and ship-to-ship transfers, and used its east-coast pipeline to circumvent the Hormuz disruption.
IN CONTEXT- The UAE’s workaround has been getting more elaborate as the war drags on. Adnoc has chartered roughly 15 crude carriers and committed bns to new vessels, while the government is pushing toward “zero Hormuz dependency” with additional east-coast export infrastructure.
The Iraqi purchases add another lever to that strategy: buy cheaper Gulf crude for Ruwais, then push more UAE barrels into higher-value export channels. The question is how scalable that trade becomes if Iraqi export bottlenecks persist and whether Adnoc keeps using outside crude as a way to protect its own export volumes.
Market watch
Oil prices fell this morning as Saudi Arabia’s offer of extra crude cargoes via Oman eased Middle East supply concerns, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures eased USD 1.24 to USD 104.59 / bbl by 00.49 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined USD 1.14 to USD 101.29 / bbl.
The Baltic Index extends its decline: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — was down 1% to 3,327 points on Wednesday. The capesize index decreased 1.3% to 5,612 points, while the panamax declined 1.6% to 2,325 points. The smaller supramax rose by 0.7% to 1,748 points.
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