Good morning, friends. It’s a relatively quiet morning in the regional logistics playing field as the first weekend of Ramadan rolls in. We have some storage and warehousing news emerging from both UAE and KSA, and speaking of the kingdom… Are you an Enterprise KSA subscriber yet?

PSA-

Temporary road closure in Bahrain: The slow and middle lanes on Zallaq Highway in Bahrain will see closures from 15 March to 17 March, due to roadwards, BNA reports, citing the Ministry of Works.

DISRUPTION WATCH-

Many seafarers working the Red Sea route are looking to be released from their contracts, following the attack on the True Confidence that killed three and seriously injured others, The National reports. Many of the vessels still braving the Red Sea routes are carrying consignments of perishable cargo that can’t be redirected via the Cape of Good Hope, ISWAN international operations manager Chirag Bahri said. Recent lobbying by the seafarer groups have seen the Red Sea categorized as a “high-risk” area, giving seafarers the choice to opt out of journeys and receive two-months compensation.

Emissions liabilities under the EU’s new emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) have surged as Cape of Good Hope reroutes rack up greater emissions, Splash reports, citing reports by Hamburg-based maritime technology outfit OceanScore. Alternative routes have stretched journey distances by some 80%, while also compelling vessels to boost sailing speeds 25% to 20 knots, tripling fuel consumption, AIS tracking of container vessels showed. This implies a near threefold increase in carbon offset costs to some EUR 285k per voyage, at the current carbon price of EUR 55 per tonne, a number which could double if carbon prices revert to the EUR 100 per tonne price range seen last year, OceanScore’s models showed.

The UK will deploy the HMS Diamond to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to replace the HMS Richmond, taking over its assignment to defend commercial shipping, Reuters reports, citing a UK government statement.

MARKET WATCH-

#1-Baltic index dips, ending 3-session winning streak: The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — was down 2.6% to 2,315 points on Tuesday, breaking a 3-session winning streak, Reuters reports. Declines in the capesize and supramax vessel segments weighed down the index, with capesize falling 5.2% to 4,092 points, while supramax shed 10 points to 1,306 points, the newswire said. Meanwhile panamax gained 3% to 1,949 points, marking its highest since 14 December 2023.

#2-Oil prices rose 2% on Wednesday, shored up by potential disruption to supply following Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries this week, a strong outlook for demand, and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates despite sticky inflation in the US, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures for May gained 1.9% to USD 83.44 a barrel by 13.00 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contracts for April were up 2.1% to USD 79.18 a barrel, the newswire said. US crude and oil inventories according to the American Petroleum Institute Tuesday report, further buoying the market, an analyst told the newswire.

DATA POINTS-

#1-Kuwait International Airport handled some 20k tonnes of air cargo in February, up 25% y-o-y, KUNA reports, citing the General Administration of Civil Aviation (GACA). Incoming freight amounted to 16.7k tonnes, while outgoing freight came in at 4k tonnes for the period. Meanwhile, aircraft movements saw a 17% increase over the period to 10.7k flights, while passenger movements saw an 11% hike to 1.3 mn passengers, GACA said.

#2- Egypt’s merchandise exports bumped up 6% y-o-y to USD 6.12 bn in January and February, according to a statement. Turkey was the largest receiver of Egypt’s merchandise exports at USD 551 mn, followed by KSA at USD 511 mn, and Italy at USD 395 mn, the statement said. Building materials represented the largest export category, worth some USD 1.17 bn, followed by agricultural and food products, which stood at USD 939 mn and USD 873 mn.

#3-Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) supervised ports saw 16.9 % y-o-y growth in imported containers in February 2024, reaching next to 266.7k TEUs compared to 193.9k TEUs a year prior, according to a statement. Total containers handled fell 9.85% y-o-y to 561.5k TEUs, while transshipment containers also decreased 34.8% y-o-y, at 152.8k TEUs. Exported containers dropped 6.3% during the period to 181.9k TEUs, Mawani also said. Mawani’s ports also saw a 1.4% y-o-y increase in cargo throughput tonnage in February, handling some 23.39 mn tons. The breakdown of the cargo handled includes 830.6k tons of general cargo, 3.6 mn tons of solid bulk cargo, 12.6 mn tons of liquid bulk cargo, and 899.2k heads of livestock, up 166.7% when compared to the same period last year.

#4- Some AED 61 bn in local industrial exports passed through Abu Dhabi’s Ports during 2023, Albayan reports, citing data from Statistics Center Abu Dhabi. Some 20.5% of the year’s industrial exports — worth AED 12.5 bn — were concentrated in 4Q 2023. Heavy industries accounted for the lion’s share (46%) of total exports, amounting to AED 28.1 bn.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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.

Iran will host the second Iran-Africa International Summitfrom Wednesday, 24 April through to Friday, 26 April in Tehran. The event will see Iran receive trade ministers from more than 40 African countries.

Saudi Arabia 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 23rd edition of the Airport Show from Tuesday, 14 May through to Thursday, 16 May in Dubai. The 23rd Airport Show will see representation from airport suppliers, airport service providers, aviation executives, and regional decision makers. The event will highlight current innovations and new technologies, while emphasizing this year’s "Sustainability and Innovation," theme.

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.