Good morning, ladies and gents, and happy Monday. Hormuz is closed again, Iran says. Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard ​Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz shut late Saturday, citing Israeli “crimes” in Lebanon and what it called US violations of commitments to establish a ceasefire.

This followed a window when the waterway was open. US Central Command claimed that 55 merchant ships moved vital cargo and over 17 mn barrels of oil through Hormuz on Saturday, and that US forces remain committed to keeping the shipping lane open. The strait had officially opened on Thursday, hours after the US and Iranian presidents digitally signed a 14-point MoU to end the war, Reuters reports. During that period, three Saudi-flagged supertankers carrying 6 mn bbl of crude sailed through.

The talks are pressing ahead regardless. Iran’s delegation — led by chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — landed in Switzerland on Saturday. US Vice President JD Vance is currently on his way, with negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff already on the ground.

This morning's issue is also Egypt-heavy. Egyptian National Railways signed EUR 690 mn in rail modernization contracts with Alstom, Toshka is getting a USD 120 mn agricultural logistics zone in Aswan, and the Transport Ministry is keeping its stake in ALCN. Let’s dive in.

It’s a no-go

Egypt’s Transport Ministry confirmed it has “no intention” to offload stakes held by its affiliates in Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling (ALCN), according to a statement. The decision comes after AD ports — owned by Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ — attempted to take control of the EGX-listed port operator through a mandatory tender offer of up to 90% of the company last week.

We called it: A senior government official told EnterpriseAM exclusively last week that the Transport Ministry was set to reject AD Ports’ MTO, despite the sweetened agreement. The Emirati port operator, bidding through subsidiary Black Caspian Logistics, offered EGP 27.47 per share, up 19.5% from an initial EGP 22.99 per share offer submitted in December.

REMEMBER- AD Ports Group secured a stake in ALCN in November when it acquired the PIF-owned Saudi Egyptian Investment Company’s 19.3% stake. This gave ADQ a combined 51.33% majority stake in ALCN, following its acquisition of a 32% indirect ownership through Alpha Oryx in 2022. The government still controls a combined 42.9% blocking stake via the Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport and the Alexandria Port Authority, while the rest of the shares are freefloating.

Testing the waters

Adnoc has launched its fourth crude tender this month — testing whether buyers are ready to move back to the strait following the US-Iran interim agreement. The producer is offering Upper Zakum, Umm Lulu, and Das crude for June-August loading, with buyers able to bid for up to 2 mn barrels per cargo. The company has sold at least 30 mn barrels of spot crude to Asian refiners and trading houses so far in June.

The terms broadly mirror Adnoc’s previous tenders: Adnoc is again offering multiple loading options, including FOB liftings from Zirku and Das Island inside Hormuz, alongside alternatives outside the chokepoint through Fujairah storage, ship-to-ship transfers between Fujairah and Sohar, and transfers around Malaysia. Cargoes will be priced against official selling prices, the Dubai benchmark, or other benchmarks. The tender closes on 23 June, with offers valid through 25 June.

Kuwait is also testing the market’s appetite for a return to normality, launching a tender for 2 mn barrel cargoes of Kuwait Export Crude for July delivery. The tender follows the sale of 4 mn barrels for June delivery and comes as Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) begins lifting force majeure notices issued during the conflict. KPC plans to raise production to 2 mn bbl / d and expects pre-war output levels to be restored within weeks once commercial shipping fully resumes.

Unlike the UAE or Saudi Arabia, Kuwait has no export pipeline route that bypasses Hormuz, leaving its crude exports dependent on the chokepoint. However, the country is now discussing pipeline expansion with Saudi and the UAE and seeking investment for alternative export routes.

Why this matters: The tender offers one of the first market-based tests of whether crude buyers view the interim US-Iran agreement as sufficient to restore normal loading patterns through Hormuz. The answer will be visible in buyers’ willingness to nominate vessels into the strait.

Backing Fujairah

Fujairah now has a port authority to oversee a port network that is drawing renewed attention after the Strait of Hormuz blockade shifted flows to Eastern ports, state news agency Wam reports.

In context: Fujairah’s position outside the Strait of Hormuz has become increasingly strategic since the outbreak of the regional conflict, with policymakers and companies looking more closely at the emirate’s eastern corridor as an alternative gateway for trade and energy exports. Borouge and AD Ports are studying petrochemicals exports through Fujairah, while Adnoc is moving ahead with plans tied to its West-East pipeline infrastructure.

The emirate has been pushing to deepen the links between its ports, freezones, and logistics infrastructure: Last month, AD Ports-owned Fujairah Terminal signed three land agreements with Fujairah International Airport, Fujairah Freezone Authority and Al Dahra Agriculture Trading, laying the groundwork for more integrated movement between its port, industrial, and adjacent infrastructure.

Egytrans’ new buildout

Egytrans is investing EGP 310 mn to tighten its port-to-warehouse chain in 2H, allocating EGP 200 mn to a truck-management yard in Port Said and EGP 110 mn to a warehouse in Ain Sokhna. The yard will cover 114k sqm in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and use automated gates to direct truck flows and reduce congestion. Sokhna’s 17k sqm warehouse will support storage and logistics operations.

The investment builds on a wider digitization push: Egytrans Nosco and Nafith International landed 25-year contracts with the SCZone covering Port Said and Ain Sokhna last February to digitize truck management at Ain Sokhna through a 167k sqm site and 114k sqm truck yard at West Port Said.

Market watch

Oil prices dropped to a three-month low this morning — after the US and Iran announced a preliminary agreement to end the conflict and reopen Hormuz, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures slipped USD 4.16 to trade at USD 83.17 / bbl by 04.10 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined USD 4.13 to USD 80.75 / bbl.

The Baltic Index stops the bleeding: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose 2.4% 2,722 points on Friday. The capesize index jumped 5.3% to 4,149 points, while the panamax index slipped 2.5% to 2,096 points. The smaller supramax index rose 0.2% at 1,718 points.

The Drewry World Container Index hiked 12% to USD 3,969 per 40-ft container last week, according to the latest index readings. The lift came as transpacific and Asia-Europe rates moved higher, with Shanghai-New York up (15%), Shanghai-Los Angeles (10%), Shanghai-Rotterdam (15%), and Shanghai-Genoa (12%). Peak-season demand and carrier surcharges are keeping spot rates elevated — though the US-Iran interim agreement has improved shipping sentiment, and rates could ease if the peace holds and oil prices follow.

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