BlueFive doubles down on autonomy with CargoX agreement

1

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

TODAY: BlueFive backs CargoX expansion + Ascom board advances Ostool buyout

Good morning, ladies and gents. We're ending the week with two moves worth watching. First up, BlueFive Capital is doubling down on the future of last-mile operations, leading a USD 250 mn raise for autonomous delivery startup CargoX. Meanwhile, Ascom is edging closer to taking control of Raya’s Ostool — an agreement that could bring the logistics player full circle, back under Qalaa Holdings.

Adnoc braces for tougher flows

UAE’s oil giant Adnoc resumed naphtha exports using a different route through Oman’s Sohar port, driving prices down to their lowest levels since the start of the war, traders told Reuters. The alternative route opens up a way to ship exports to Asia and comes as Adnoc pushes to develop similar routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

The route has eased price pressures as well: Prices for naphtha delivery in the second half of July dipped to USD 788 per ton in Asia, down from USD 1.3k in March for a region which is heavily dependent on Gulf imports. Adnoc had been holding on to around 1 mn tons per month of naphtha since April on account of the Hormuz disruption.

Adnoc is also offering up barrels in a spot tender, Reuters reports elsewhere. Up to 2 mn barrels of Upper Zakum, Das, and Umm Lulu crude are available per customer.

Our take: Spot tenders are usually used to clear surplus barrels, which are likely sitting due to the blockade. Still, some Adnoc LNG tankers have passed through the strait with their tracking systems off.

Timing is of the essence: This comes as Philippe Khoury, Adnoc’s executive vice president for sales and trading, says he sees August as a potential tipping point for oil prices if demand increases and the Iran war keeps Hormuz flows below pre-war levels, Reuters reports. Economies have been absorbing the supply shock by reducing demand, keeping prices around USD 100 / bbl, but that buffer will be tested if demand rises in August with no resolution to the crisis, he said.

IN CONTEXT- Recovery has a long tail: Global oil flows could take at least four months after the war ends to recover to 80% of pre-conflict levels, while a full return to normal Hormuz volumes may not come before 1Q or 2Q 2027, Adnoc CEO Sultan Al Jaber also stated.

Beyond the chokepoint

Adnoc is also now planning on building a multi-fuel pipeline to hedge against future disruptions to shipping through Hormuz, the Financial Times reports, citing comments Khoury made at a conference.

The plan: The pipeline will be able to export refined oil products, including gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel. Khoury didn’t specify a timeline or an exact location for the pipeline, but Adnoc has increasingly been looking to the UAE’s east coast to develop export alternatives to complement its existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline.

The grain game

Egypt’s Supply Ministry is in technical talks with Russian agricultural firms to establish a grain storage and distribution hub in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), Supply Minister Sherif Farouk told Hapi, adding that a Russian firm has already dispatched a technical delegation to evaluate one of the ministry’s logistics zones, with feasibility studies on potential sites still underway.

The talks are the latest move in a playbook the Egyptian government has been running with Russia, Ukraine, and Brazil — positioning Egyptian ports as a regional food supply-chain hub for the Middle East and Africa. The ambition is real, but so are the headwinds: as we examined, grain storage and re-export is an ultra-low-margin, freight-sensitive business. Experts say processing capacity and value-added exports may be the more compelling play.

The quieter way through Hormuz

The US is moving from public escort to lower-profile passage support in Hormuz — with ships reportedly switching off AIS, keeping close to Oman’s southern coast, and relying on US forces to intervene if the passage is challenged.

The loud version failed first: Project Freedom was rolled out in early May as a named effort to guide stranded vessels through Hormuz. The move was framed as humanitarian for ships running low on supplies.

What changed? The new version appears to be coordinated without branding. Centcom has denied restarting formal escort, but the latest signals point to support when a transit is threatened, with US forces shooting down Iranian drones aimed at civilian mariners.

Market watch

Oil prices edged lower this morning as diplomatic and political efforts fueled hopes of a broader regional truce, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures fell USD 0.67 to trade at USD 97.14 / bbl by 00.15 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down USD 0.62 to USD 95.04 / bbl.

The Baltic Index maintains its downward trajectory: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — fell 2.5% to 3,124 points on Wednesday. The capesize index decreased 3.8% to 5,253 points, while the panamax index was down 31 points to 2,290 points. The smaller supramax index was up 6 points to 1,583 points.

PSA

MSC rolls out new PSS: MSC will apply a peak season surcharge (PSS) from 1 July on two outbound Europe trades, adding USD 200 per TEU for cargo moving from the North West Continent, ScanBaltic, West Mediterranean, and Adriatic regions to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In addition, these exports will be subject to a surcharge of USD 250 per 20-ft container and USD 400 per 40-ft container, applicable to both dry and reefer boxes.

***YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Logistics, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the industry that connects producers and retailers to global markets. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 9:15am in Cairo and Riyadh, and 10:15am in the UAE.

EnterpriseAM Logistics is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Hassan Allam Utilities and Transmar.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Logistics.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on [email protected].

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE ? ***

Hands off the wheel

UAE-based autonomous delivery startup CargoX has raised USD 250 mn fresh out of stealth from an investor group led by Abu Dhabi’s BlueFive Capital, according to a press release. The startup has already piloted its driverless delivery vehicles — spanning last-mile, middle-mile, and long-haul logistics routes — on public roads in the UAE. It is now preparing for commercialization in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and engaging with regulators including Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and Abu Dhabi Mobility.

Where will the money go? The funding will go toward expanding CargoX’s logistics network inside and outside the UAE, alongside investing in vehicle technology, operations infrastructure, and partnerships.

Based on the tagline “bringing autonomous to the world,” CargoX looks set on taking the platform global, though it’s not yet clear which markets beyond the UAE it will prioritize first.

Who’s at the helm? None other than former Talabat CEO Tomaso Rodriguez (LinkedIn), who spent six years leading the delivery service platform and later steering the company through its USD 2 bn IPO in 2024.

What to watch: CargoX says it has already lined up anchor relationships with e-commerce, retail, and logistics operators as it prepares to scale, without disclosing who the partners are. We’ll be keeping an eye out for updates on its regulatory status, partnerships, and commercialization.

The Ostool pursuit

Egypt’s Ascom’s board of directors approved a fair value study to acquire a 90% stake in Raya Holding’s Ostool Transport and Logistics, bringing Qalaa Holdings’ mining arm one step closer to executing the EGP 641 mn buyout, according to two EGX filings (here, pdf and here, pdf). The board greenlit the purchase of nearly 77.9 mn shares, offering EGP 8.22 apiece — a 30.5% premium over the EGP 6.3 fair value (pdf) set by independent financial advisor Fact.

REMEMBER- This is Raya’s latest attempt to exit the land logistics sector after a previous agreement to sell the unit to Paradigm Logistics, which collapsed in 2022 after the buyer failed to transfer funds. Raya then reversed course in late 2023, consolidating its ownership in Ostool to 90% before Ascom submitted its initial buyout offer in June 2025.

A homecoming of sorts: Founded in 2010 as a joint venture between Raya and Qalaa, Ostool is essentially returning home. The firm — which provides fleet and transport services to industrial, energy, and construction players — will slide back under Qalaa’s umbrella following a six-year divestment orbit.

What’s next? Both Ascom and Raya’s shareholders will likely still need to sign off before the parties can move forward with the actual ownership transfer and any remaining regulatory approvals.

MARKET REAX- Raya’s stock closed down 0.13% yesterday at EGP 7.47, while Ascom gained 14.1% to EGP 57.1.

ADVISORS- Fact served as the independent financial advisor for the fair value study, which was audited and signed off by Zarrouk & El Salawy.

Keeping the lights on

Another Egyptian LNG buying spree: Egypt is tapping global markets for another six LNG shipments this month, bringing its total June deliveries to 28, Al Arabiya reports, citing unnamed government officials. The move aims to offset a supply shortfall from maintenance shutdowns at Israeli gas fields and shore up reserves ahead of heightened summer demand.

BACKGROUND- The Egyptian government is looking to secure 130 LNG shipments starting June to ensure we see no blackouts this summer. A big chunk of our LNG imports come from the US, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritania, and Nigeria — we were the top destination for US LNG cargoes last month, securing 16 of the 153 cargoes delivered throughout the month.

How much gas are we talking about? According to initial estimates, May’s LNG shipments cover 23-26% of Egypt’s local demand (around 1.5-1.7 bcf / d), while June’s planned cargoes should provide close to 2 bcf / d. To put things in perspective, Egypt imported nearly 2.35 bcf / d of natural gas in 1Q, accounting for 38% of the country’s total available gas supply. As summer consumption edges toward 7 bcf / d, imports are set to play an even larger role, covering nearly 45% of peak consumption.

Wanna go deeper? We unpacked the country’s gas balance sheet over the last three years earlier this week.

More sea, less oil to see?

Regional disruptions are redrawing tanker trade flows — creating longer, more complex routes that boost ton-mile demand and support freight rates. Oil-on-water volumes — a key measure of tanker requirements — fell to 1.07 bn barrels in April from 1.24 bn barrels in January, according to S&P Global Commodities data.

Alternative routes are cushioning the blow but not replacing lost volumes: Tanker operators indicate that certain displaced Gulf exports have been rerouted onto longer-haul routes, including higher Saudi crude shipments from Yanbu, the release of Russian barrels previously stored at sea, and inventory drawdowns. These shifts have supported ton-mile demand and freight earnings, but they have not come close to offsetting the collapse in flows through Hormuz.

Freight rates remain elevated, but the underlying market is weakening. The Platts VLCC benchmark stood at USD 278.7k per day by the end of May, well above the USD 75.9k per day average since the index launched in March 2024.

Could trade inefficiencies outlast the conflict? They might. The industry is likely to embed some of the new trade patterns even after hostilities end, Frontline CEO Lars Barstad notes. Yet the longer disruptions drag on, the more the market's underlying weakness comes into focus, as excess vessel supply continues to weigh on tanker demand.

Base case versus worst case: Bimco’s worst-case scenario — which assumes disruptions continue through 2026 and 2027 — projects that crude tanker demand could contract by 11-13% next year and by a further 8.5-10.5% in 2027. Even under its base case, which assumes the strait reopens by the end of this month, crude tanker demand is expected to fall by 4-6% in 2026 before recovering in 2027.

Product tankers face an even steeper challenge: Fleet growth continues to outpace cargo demand, leaving the segment particularly exposed. Higher freight rates may provide temporary support, but they are unlikely to offset a structurally weaker supply-demand balance.

Why this matters: Oil-on-water metrics measure the volume of crude and refined products currently floating aboard tankers, whether in transit to buyers or held offshore in storage. More barrels on the water typically mean more ships are required to move them. The recent decline suggests that, despite the longer trade routes and elevated freight rates created by the disruption, fewer barrels are actually moving through the global tanker system — a warning sign for vessel demand if the disruptions persist.

Calendar

JUNE

4-5 June (Thursday-Friday): Supply Chain and Logistics Summit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

6-8 June (Saturday-Monday): IATA World Air Transport Summit, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

10-11 June (Wednesday-Thursday): Black Sea Ports and Logistics, Istanbul, Turkey.

21-24 June (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Smart Logistics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

22-23 June (Monday-Tuesday): Decarbonizing Shipping Forum, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

AUGUST

30 August-1 September (Sunday-Tuesday): Air Cargo Middle East, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

30 August-1 September (Sunday-Tuesday): Saudi Warehouse and Logistics Expo, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

SEPTEMBER

16-17 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

22-24 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Seamless Middle East, Dubai, UAE.

28-30 September (Monday-Wednesday): Transport Logistics Middle East, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

OCTOBER

12-14 October (Monday-Wednesday): The Airport Show, Dubai, UAE.

21-22 October (Wednesday-Thursday): Global Ports Forum, Singapore.

26-29 (Monday-Thursday): Air Cargo Forum, Miami, US.

27-29 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Routes World, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

NOVEMBER

2-5 November (Monday-Thursday): ADIPEC Maritime and Logistics Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Sections

About

Privacy & Support

Get EnterpriseAM daily

BlueFive doubles down on autonomy with CargoX agreement

An independent publication supported by

Today at a glance

TODAY: BlueFive backs CargoX expansion + Ascom board advances Ostool buyout