Good morning, folks. It’s a brisk read this morning, with news emerging on Adnoc plans to take XRG public. We also have the latest analysis on how Trump tariffs could impact aircraft producers. But first, an update on German airports' recent strike action…

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Strike cripples 13 German airports: A one-day warning labor strike across 13 German airports caused a mass cancellation of most flights scheduled on Monday in the airports. Public sector employees — as well as ground and security workers — staged a walkout that began in Hamburg on Sunday before spreading to hubs including Frankfurt, Berlin, and Düsseldorf.

Halted operations: Airports in Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Hannover, Dortmund, Cologne/Bonn, and Leipzig-Halle were affected. Hamburg’s strike alone canceled around 300 flights, Frankfurt’s walkout canceled over 1k of its 1.1k scheduled flights, and all of the flights out of Berlin were reportedly canceled as well.

The call to action: The warning strikes — announced on Friday — are part of an effort by the German trade union Verdi to push for an 8% wage hike — or at minimum a EUR 350 raise — as well as higher bonuses and three additional days off. Verdi is negotiating the pay bump on behalf of 2.5 mn workers, with airport operators rejecting the demands as financially unfeasible.

Pay negotiations between the union and the federal and local governments are due on 26 March.

A turbulent year for German airports? Last month’s strikes at Cologne-Bonn Airport andDüsseldorf, also part of Verdi’s push to improve worker compensation, saw hundreds of scheduled flights canceled over 24 hours.

The story grabbed lots of ink in int’l press: Reuters | Associated Press | CNN | Deutsche Welle | New York Post | Euro News | BBC | NPR

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Gulfnav is still mulling the Brooge acquisition: DFM-listed maritime player GulfNav will review two separate valuation reports for its acquisition of Brooge Energy’s companies and assets during an upcoming general assembly meeting on Thursday as it mulls whether or not to proceed with the acquisition, according to a disclosure (pdf) to the DFM. One of the valuation reports was prepared by an independent advisor appointed by the Securities and Commodities Authority, and values the company at a higher share price than the other report, which was prepared by GulfNav’s advisor. The board recommends the approval of the latter valuation, and said the “outcome of the votes on these two valuations will be critical in deciding whether the acquisition moves forward.”

REMEMBER- GulfNav’s board greenlit the possible acquisition of Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company from Brooge Energy last September.

The structure: The acquisition — which was initially expected to close in 4Q 2023 — will be executed through a share swap agreement: Gulfnav plans to issue 358.8 mn new shares to Brooge Energy with a one-year lock-up period, alongside AED 2.3 bn in mandatory convertible bonds set to be converted into shares. Additionally, a separate AED 500 mn convertible bond issuance will be allocated to existing shareholders with the rump offering, if any, set to be limited to major shareholders. The company will also pay AED 460 mn in cash to settle the transaction.

#2- KSA is set to become MENA’s data center powerhouse: Saudi Arabia is expected to spearhead MENA’s data center growth over the next three years, with a compound annual growth rate of 37% through 2027, Bloomberg reports, citing analysis from real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). This rate is almost twice that of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and well above the global average of 15%.

Fueling the expansion: The Kingdom’s drive to become an AI hub is fueled by government policies, tax incentives, and economic free zones. The push has attracted major firms like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Equinix to invest in data center capacity, alongside a USD 1.5 bn Groq-Aramco partnership for the world’s largest AI inference node. Saudi Arabia is also planning a USD 100 bn AI project to turn the Kingdom into a technological hub to rival the UAE.

Pushing forward despite global hurdles: Saudi has “the ambition and the capital” necessary to become the region’s data center leader, despite challenges including US restrictions on advanced AI chip exports present challenges, rising energy costs and lengthy construction timelines, Stephen Macdonald, managing partner at Proptech, told Bloomberg.

#3- Egyptian furniture manufacturer Mobica and an unnamed British partner plan to invest EGP 1 bn in an export-bound healthy food factory, CEO Mohamed Farouk told Al Arabiya. The alliance — which intends to set up a joint-stock company with USD 20 mn in capital — will earmark all production for exports to the UK and France.

The details: The project — set to begin once the partnership agreement is signed — will be developed on a 28k sqm plot in the Sixth of October Industrial Zone and is expected to be completed within a year. The investors are in talks with local and international banks to secure EGP 500 mn in financing, with the remaining funds set to be self-financed.

ALSO FROM EGYPT- Updates on Tahya Misr 1 container terminal in Damietta: Egypt’s Damietta Alliance — a JV between Hapag Lloyd, Eurogate and Contship Italia — has begun additional superstructure work at the Tahya Misr 1 container terminal in Damietta, according to a statement. 20 rubber-tyred gantry cranes — part of a 40-crane order — have also arrived in the country and are set to be installed in the cargo handling yards

REFRESHER- Tahya Misr 1 — one of three terminals planned in the Damietta port development project — received its first five quay cranes designed to handle mega-container ships back in December 2024 as part of a 12-crane order from China’s Qingdao Haixi Heavy-duty Machinery Co. The terminal will have handling capacity of 3.5 mn TEUs annually and is planned to kick off operations in April 2025. The remaining two container terminals are slated for completion by 2027.

#4- Iraq pivots to Gulf gas: The Iraqi government is ramping up efforts to finish a gas pipeline project connected to Basra to move Gulf natural gas, the Iraq-based Shafaq News reports. The country is already 30 days into the pipeline project and predicts the pipeline could be operational within 120 days, Parliament's Oil and Gas Committee spokesperson Ali Shadad told Shafaq News.

What’s in the cards? The government is in the process of securing a floating platform that will be connected to the pipeline, which would transport 200 mn cubic ft per day to the platform for processing to power several energy plants, Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani told INA.

Iranian gas is a non-starter, says US: Iraq is opting for other sources of energy in light of the USabrogating a waiver that allowed the country to import Iranian electricity yesterday. The move aimed to crack down on the Islamic Republic’s revenues, its alleged nuclear weapons program, and support of US-designated terrorist groups.

#5- Houthis naval attacks could resume tomorrow: Yemen’s Houthis are threatening to resume naval attacks in the Red Sea if Israel does not lift the blockade preventing food, electricity, and medicine from entering Gaza, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday. The four-day warning — issued on Saturday — expires tomorrow, 12 March. Since the start of Israel’s latest war on Gaza, the Houthis have launched over 100 attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

REFRESHER- Yemen’s Houthis have vowed to target only Israeli-linked commercial vessels, and have pledged to cease attacks entirely once the terms of the Gaza ceasefire are fulfilled to their final phase. Maritime security firms raised the risk level for ships calling at Israeli ports in September, as terminals face the possibility of missile attacks from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices went up this morning despite continued uncertainty on the outlook of global growth and rising production from Opec+, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures increased by USD 0.18 to USD 69.46 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) inched up by USD 0.09 to USD 66.12 a barrel by 06.40 GMT. 

#2- Baltic index on a rising trend: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — gained 24 points to 1,424 on Monday. The capesize jumped 56 points to 2,478, while the panamax index was up 19 points to 1,014. The smaller supramax index was flat at 864 points.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Cargo handling volumes at Saudi ports fell 3.66% y-o-y in February to 22.5 mn tons, according to the Saudi Port Authority (Mawani). The ports handled 983k of general cargo, 4 mn tons of solid bulk cargo, and 11.6 mn tons of liquid bulk cargo. The number of exported containers increased 18.25% y-o-y to 215.4k, while the number of imported containers fell 4.95% y-o-y to 215.7k.

#2- Oman’s transport and logistics sector is expected to contribute OMR 14 bn to the nation’s GDP by 2040, Muscat Daily reports, citing Oxford Business Group data. The country’s logistics sector contributed 6.1%, valued at OMR 1.7 bn, to the national GDP during 9M 2024.

#3- LNG carriers have reduced their speed by 2% in 1Q 2025 to move at 14.6 knots compared to the averaged speed in 2024, Splash reports, citing Clarksons Research data. The decline comes on the back of efforts to cut costs by reducing fuel consumption, as well as reduce climate impact and comply with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) certification requirement set via Carbon Intensity Indicator — a rating system for ships by the IMO to determine whether a ship’s operational carbon intensity is within acceptable range. Bulk carriers’ speed has also decreased by 1.7% y-o-y at 10.7 knots, while product tankers have slowed 1.7% y-o-y at 11.2 knots during the same time period.

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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.