Good morning, nice people. We have a compact issue this morning as we head off into the weekend with more news on AD Ports deepening ties with India and a breakdown of Mawani’s proposed new port regulations. Let’s jump right in.

PSA-

Jordan is bracing for heavy rain and thunderstorms, with slippery roads and lower visibility expected,Petra reported citing reports from the Jordan Meteorological Department. Valleys and low-lying areas such as Aqaba are also at risk of flooding, the report said.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1-China-based e-commerce giant Alibaba is looking to partner with UAE and KSA firms, as part of a general trend that is seeing boosted China-GCC economic ties, Bloomberg reports, citing comments made by Alibaba’s president Michael Evans. “We’ve just finished doing something very interesting in Saudi,” Evans said, adding that local partnerships can help Alibaba keep up with the region’s developments. GCC countries have been bolstering ties with China in recent years as they pursue investments to diversify their non-oil economies, with the move seeing pushback from Washington, Bloomberg added.

#2-A Venezuelan aircraft seized earlier this week by US authorities has no links to Iran, and is not owned by Iran’s Mahan Air, IRNA reports, citing a statement by the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Mohammad Mohammadibakhsh. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) seized a US-built Boeing 747 freighter that was “previously owned by Mahan Air,” a sanctioned Iranian entity, according to a statement released earlier this week. The aircraft was sold to a Venezuelan carrier by Mahan Air, in a move that violated export restrictions, the DOJ said.

DISRUPTION WATCH-

US-listed, Greece-based dry bulk carrier Star Bulk is exiting the Red Sea route,after seeing two of its vessels attacked inside of a week, Bloomberg reports. The shipping company’s Star Iris was hit on Monday — taking damage to its starboard — with the attack closely following the targeting of another company vessel, the Star Nasia. The company’s US-listing has apparently made it a target for Houthi attacks, driving it to divert its shipments away from the Red Sea route, Bloomberg said citing Star Bulk CEO Petros Pappas.

DanishShipping giant Maersk has warned that Red Sea distributions could extend into this year’s second and third quarters, and has urged customers to factor longer lead times and higher agility into their supply chains, CNBC reports. Maersk has also supplemented its routes with a 6% boost in vessel capacity in a bid to bridge the gaps caused by disruptions, van der Steene also said.

Houthis claim victory on blocking Israel-linked shipping: The group has successfully blocked all ships with links to Israel from entering the Red Sea via the Gulf of Aden, Reuters reported earlier this week, citing televised statements by the Iranian-backed group’s leader Abul Malik al-Houthi. “The Americans and the British failed to secure the passage of any ship heading to Israel. They were unable to protect these ships. They can no longer protect even American-British ships, and this is a real and major victory for us,” the newswire cited al-Houthi as saying.

Edison has reworked Qatari LNG delivery schedules to account for disruptions:Italian energy firm Edison is now receiving regular LNG shipments from Qatar after rescheduling deliveries until the end of April to account for longer routes around the Cape of Good Hope on the back of Red Sea disruptions, Edison Chief Executive Nicola Monti told Reuters earlier this week. “All deliveries for February, March and April are confirmed and have been rescheduled according to the new route cargoes have to follow,” Monti said. Edison has adapted to the new situation after suffering delays in early February and is in close contact with Qatari suppliers, Monti explained, adding that he hopes that regular trade routes would re-open after April.

MARKET WATCH-

Baltic index extends recent gains: The Baltic Exchange’s Dry Bulk Index – which tracks rates across the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments – bumped up 0.8% to 1585 points on Tuesday, its highest since 10 January, Reuters reports. Gains in capesize and panamax rates buoyed the index, with the capesize subindex rallying 0.9% to 2476 points, its highest in one month, and the panamax subindex growing 1.6% to 1550 points, the newswire said. The smaller supramax segment lost 1 point settling at 1047 points.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Morocco’s Ports saw a 7.4% y-o-y increase in port traffic to 209.4 mn tons in 2023,according to a statement released earlier this week. Transshipments represented almost half of the country’s port traffic, boosting 14% y-o-y to 96.7 mn tons, imports and exports via ports increased 1.9% and 3.5% during the period to 57.2 mn and 36 mn tons, with cabotage and bunkering operations accounting for the remaining tonnage. The year also saw a 12.8% increase in the volume of container turnover to 10 mn TEUs, the statement said.

#2-Iran’s trade with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)’s member states surged to USD 37 bn for the 10 months between March 21, 2023 to January 22, 2024, up 41% y-o-y in volume and 5.5% y-o-y in value, Tasnim reports. Iran’s non-oil exports to SCO states during the period totaled USD 18 bn. The country’s top SCO export partners for the period were China (USD 11.5 bn), India (USD 1.8 bn), Pakistan (USD 1.7 bn), Afghanistan (USD 1.5 bn), and Russia (USD 760.4 mn), the report said. The period also saw Iran import USD 19 bn in goods from SCO states.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host The World Trade Organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference from Monday, 26 February to Thursday, 29 February in Abu Dhabi. The event will gather ministers from around the world to assess the operation of the multilateral trading system and make key decisions regarding the future tasks of the WTO.

The UAE will host the TradeTech Forum on Tuesday, 27 February in Abu Dhabi. The forum will see some 180 trade leaders and experts discuss the technologically advanced trade environment and a showcase of trade tech solutions.

The UAE will host the Future-Proof Technologies Conference on Thursday, 29 February Dubai. The event will unite industry experts to discuss strategies for adopting sustainable supply chain operations through cross-sector collaboration, advanced technologies, and integrated logistics.

The UAE will host the MRO Middle East on Tuesday, 5 March and Wednesday, 6 March in Dubai. The two-day event will bring together key decision makers from airlines, MROs, OEMs, lessors, and suppliers spanning all aspects of the airline supply chain.

The UAE will host The Logistics Middle East Award on Wednesday, 6 March in Dubai. The awards ceremony brings together industry experts to celebrate the sector’s biggest accomplishments over the previous 12 months.The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, 19 January.

The UAE will host Abu Dhabi Mobility Week from Wednesday, 24 April to Wednesday, 1 May in Abu Dhabi. The event, organized by The Department of Municipalities and Transport – Abu Dhabi (DMT), will feature announcements, forums, and introduce a mobility strategy for the emirate.

KSA will host a special World Economic Forum event from Sunday, 28 April through to Monday, 29 April in Riyadh. The event will focus on global collaboration and energy.

The UAE will host The Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit from Monday, 20 May to Wednesday, 22 May in Abu Dhabi. The event will see industry leaders come together to discuss sustainable mobility and tapping into groundbreaking advancements in electric vehicles while engaging with key decision-makers.

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