Good morning, nice people. It is another brisk read today, with updates on Egypt’s long-anticipated plan for airports’ privatization, as well as an M&A update from UAE’s DP World. But first, we have an update on the Black Sea maritime safety…

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, following days of US-backed talks in Riyadh, according to a White House statement. Ukraine said it would begin observing the maritime truce immediately, while Russia hinged its participation on lifting alleged sanctions on agricultural and fertilizers exports, as well as reconnecting key banks to the global banking system SWIFT.

Assuring Russia: The US said it would support Russia in restoring “access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.” While Russian agricultural exports are not officially sanctioned, Moscow has said financial sanctions have hindered its ability to sell its goods.

Why does it matter? The main ports of Ukraine and Russia — the world’s top exporters of grains like wheat — are located on the coasts of the Black Sea, which plays a critical role in the flow of grain shipments and trade.

The story grabbed a lot of attention in int’l press: Reuters | Associated Press | Bloomberg | Financial Times | BBC | CNN | New York Times

CORRECTION- In a recent story about a planned USD 700 mn solar factory, we got a little lost in translation and mistakenly wrote that the company was called Xinyi Glass. The company is in fact called SBH Kibing Solar New Energy. The story has been amended on our website.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Kuwait’s Public Authority for Roads & Transportation (PART) is working up to issue a tender for the main contract of the Kuwait National Rail Road (KNRR) in 2025, MEED reports, citing industry sources. The tender will reportedly be offered as an engineering, procurement, and construction contract, with the chosen bidder set to undertake civil works and the installation of tracks as well as supply trains. The KNRR project is reportedly valued at KWD 300 mn (c. USD 973 mn).

About the project: The 111-km rail project will connect Kuwait City to the Saudi border and is part of the larger USD 200 bn GCC railway initiative, which is expected to launch in December 2030. Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tender tapped Turkish engineering and consulting firm Proyapi earlier this year to design the project.

#2- Turkey's state-owned Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (Botas) is looking to buy or charter two LNG vessels from industry players, rolling out invitations for indicative offers earlier in February, Bloomberg reports, citing a document it has seen. The invitations were set to expire in mid-March.

What’s in store? The vessels will be used to fulfil recently signed contracts and are slated to begin US-Turkey voyages in 2027, Bloomberg reports. The carriers will also be utilized for trade prospects in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

Not Bota’s MO: Botas’ use of LNG carriers has so far only involved floating storage and regasification units that receive and process cargoes at Turkish seaports, Bloomberg writes.

Botas leading Turkey’s LNG space: The company inked a 10-year agreement with French oil giant TotalEnergies last year to supply Turkey with 1.1 mn tons of LNG per year starting in 2027. The agreement allows for the option to redirect cargoes to Europe and Egypt, which adds to Botas’ gas trading portfolio with global firms. The company also signed a 10-year LNG supply agreement with Shell last year.

#3- US, Morocco to boost agri-food trade relations: A US trade mission — including representatives from federal agencies and 15 states — is heading to Morocco in May to discuss agri-food trade cooperation and investment opportunities, Morocco’s ambassador to the US Youssef Amrani said in a statement on X.

The state of Agri-food in Morocco: The agri-food industry in Morocco has historically catered to local consumption, mainly processing agricultural and fishery products, but has recently seen the emergence of new players catering to exports, such as Zine Group, Anouar Invest Group, according to Morocco’s Industry and Trade Ministry. It employs nearly 21% of the industrial workforce and contributes to 24% of the country’s total industrial growth.

Trade in numbers: The US’ exports of agricultural and food products to Morocco reached USD 619 mn in 2023, with the country’s market share making up 16% of Africa’s market, according to data from the US Agriculture Department. The US total exports to Morocco reached USD 5.3 bn in 2024, with the top items exported being mineral fuels, oil, distillation products, aircraft, organic chemicals, machinery, nuclear reactors, and edible fruit, according to Trading Economics data. Morocco exported USD 1.6 bn in products to the US in 2023, according to OEC data.

IN OTHER MOROCCO NEWS- Gov’t to extend wheat import subsidies amid drought: Morocco is set to extend the duration for its current subsidy program for soft wheat imports from 1 May until 31 December 2025 in response to an extreme drought that has affected the country’s upcoming harvest, Reuters reports, citing state grain agency ONICL. The extended subsidies aim to stabilize the domestic supply as local production struggles to meet the country’s demand.

ICYMI- Morocco authorized the import of 55k tons of rice to address a severe shortfall in domestic production caused by the ongoing drought. The first shipments were expected to arrive in January 2025.

#4- Crude, gasoline shipments land in Syria: Two tankers carrying 100k tons of crude and 5.6k tons of gasoline have reached the port city of Baniyas, Syrian state news agency SANA reports. The source of the shipments was not disclosed.

There’s more on the way? A sanctioned tanker is en route to Syria and is hauling around 1 mn tons of Russian crude, Attaqa reports. The vessel — the Russian-flagged Sakina — reportedly indicated a route headed to Egypt’s Port Said before changing course, a tactic used in illicit trade shipping to evade surveillance.

In context: Russia reportedly shipped diesel to Syria earlier this month on board a US-sanctioned tanker, the Barbados-flagged Prosperity. The nation also secured natural gas agreements with Qatar to revive its weakened power grid earlier this month.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices rise for the fifth day amid reports on tightening global supply driven by a drop in US stockpiles and rising pressure on Venezuelan crude trade, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures gained USD 0.20 to USD 73.22 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also surged by USD 0.20 to USD 69.20 a barrel by 04.04 GMT.

MEANWHILE- Opec+ to stick to its guns on boosting oil output: Opec+ will likely follow through with its plan to raise oil output by 135k barrels per day (bbl/d) in May, setting it for the second consecutive monthly increase on the back of stable oil prices, Reuters reported, citing four sources it said are in the know. Low crude inventories support the easing of output cuts, as oil demand is expected to climb in line with seasonal summer demand. The cuts will also make it easier for the group to proceed with monthly hikes, an Opec+ delegate told the newswire.

The caveat: The oil group plans to pressure some members to cap production in order to compensate for exceeding quotas in the past months, while boosting output for members that have consistently met their monthly targets.

REMEMBER- Opec+ has set a new plan for seven members to cut oil production beyond the agreed limits to make up for previous overproduction, with monthly reductions ranging from 189k to 435k barrels bbl/d until June 2026. Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Russia are set to make the largest compensation cuts, while the Kingdom will make small cuts of 6k-15k bbl/d over three months.

#2- Baltic index snaps winning streak: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — was down 0.6% to 1,642 points on Tuesday. The capesize fell 2.2% to 2,630 points, while the panamax index climbed 2.5% to reach 1,423 points. The smaller supramax index rose 2 points to 1,015.

#3- Copper prices are anticipated to rise to USD 12-13k per ton amid expectations of another round of US tariffs, Mercuria Energy’s metals trading head Kostas Bintas told Bloomberg. The forecast follows concerns that US President Donald Trump’s probe into copper could lead to another wave of tariffs on copper imports to curb China’s alleged moves to dominate the global market. Although no tariffs have been implemented so far, US copper prices are trading 1.5k per ton above other markets. The projected hike is pushing US imports of the metal, with 500k tons of copper currently headed to the US, compared to the typical monthly import rate of 70k tons, Bloomberg reports, citing figures by Mercuria.

DATA POINT-

Qatar’s freight and logistics market size is projected to grow at a 5.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2025 and 2030, to reach a market size of USD 13.5 bn by 2030, according to data by Mordor Intelligence. The market’s size is expected to stand at USD 10.1 bn in 2025.

The logistics sector for the W: Qatar’s annual LNG production capacity is expected to reach 142 mn tonnes by 2030, the data adds. The manufacturing sector has a 25.6% market share in Qatar’s logistics market. Qatar’s maritime sector has also been boosting its logistics landscape, with Mwani Qatar ports handling 51.7K TEUs, processing 367k tonnes of general bulk and cargo, and recording 19.2k RoRo vehicles in 1Q 2024.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the Gulf Ship Finance Forum on Thursday, 10 April in Dubai. The forum will host shipping and finance executives from around the region and the world to host presentations, interviews, and panel discussions on ownership, management, chartering, legal, and trading in shipping.

The UAE will host the CargoIS Forum on Monday, 14 April in Dubai. The event will discuss industry insights and strategies from leading logistics players, including Emirates SkyCargo and Lufthansa Cargo.

The UAE will host the IATA World Cargo Symposium from Tuesday, 15 April to Thursday, 17 April in Dubai. The event will host sessions, specialized streams, workshops, and summits related to technology, security, customs, cargo operations, and sustainability for over 1.4k industry leaders.

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