Good morning, friends. It’s a busy news morning with lots of ground to cover and news flowing in on Talabat’s post-IPO performance, new projects from our friends at Hassan Allam, and an update from Milaha on the green shipping front. First, a hat tip to one of our pillar sponsors…

HELLO, YOUNGSHIP-

Our friends at Transmar Nada El Ahwal (LinkedIn) and Ahmed El Ahwal (LinkedIn) will now serve on the board of YoungShip Egypt, which launched yesterday in Cairo. The global network of YoungShip chapters connects young maritime professionals worldwide, bridging the gap between experienced experts and emerging professionals. YoungShip Egypt will work to advance innovation, education, networking, and sustainability in Egypt’s maritime industry to help shape the next generation of industry leaders. YoungShip Egypt’s board will be chaired by Pan Marine Group’s Marwan El Shazly (LinkedIn), with Eldib Pandi’s Nada Eldib serving as vice chair.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Etihad Airways will invest USD 7 bn in the next four to five years to expand routes and upgrade the company’s fleet, CEO Antonoaldo Neves told CNBC (watch, runtime: 2:17). He added that the company’s operations are expected to grow by 80-90% within two years.

#2- China’s Hengli purchases Middle Eastern oil from Total: China’s private refinery Hengli Petrochemical reportedly snapped nearly 12 mn barrels of Middle East crude from TotalEnergies’ trading arm Totsa, Reuters reports, citing six traders familiar with the matter. The barrels — which include grades such as Qatari al-Shaheen, Iraqi Basrah Medium, and Upper Zakum from the UAE — are set to load in December and January. Iranian crude supply to China has dipped since October after tightened sanctions, which pushed independent refiners to switch to non-Iranian oil despite their higher costs. The Chinese firm also acquired barrels from PetroChina and Aramco Trading.

Hengli’s been tapping into Iranian oil, reportedly buying between 4 to 6 mn barrels a month during the first few months of the year, Reuters noted in a separate statement.

TotalEnergies has a lot of barrels: The French firm was the top buyer on the Platts window for December- and January-loading Middle East oil cargoes, snapping some 23.5 mn barrels, while its last purchase in June amounted to 4 mn barrels of August-loading crude. Traders expect Totsa will still hold several mns of barrels after its recent acquisitions.

#4- EgyptAir to form MRO JV: EgyptAir’s maintenance and engineering arm is in talks to set up a JV with an unnamed Middle East engine specialist as part of its expansion plans, EgyptAir CEO and Chairman Yehia Zakaria told Aviation Week. The move comes as part of a five-year expansion plan to the flagship carrier’s fleet from 65 to 125 aircraft, despite delays that may see EgyptAir only achieve a 100-110 aircraft target.

Ripe for business: EgyptAir’s MRO facilities include widebody and narrowbody heavy maintenance and an engine shop, attracting third-party customers from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Zakaria said, with demand for engine work battling for very few slots. “It is one of the very famous MROs in the engine business, in the Middle East,” he said, “we have a plan to continue for the first five years. We can see the first milestones.”

#4- Airlines are suspending flights to the Middle East over concerns of growing conflict in the region, adding to a series of recent suspensions and cancellations made by regional and global carriers, Reuters reports. The UAE’s Emirates Airways is cancelling all flights to Beirut until 31 December and to Baghdad until 14 December. Egypt Air, Iran Air, Iraqi Airways, and Air Algerie are continuing their suspensions until further notice, while Qatar’s flag carrier resumed its flights to and from Lebanon on 9 December.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices rose this morning in anticipation of a boost in demand from China after the country said it will adopt a “looser monetary policy” to stimulate the economy, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures gained USD 0.36 to trade at USD 72.55 a barrel by GMT 04.30, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose USD 0.36 to USD 68.95 a barrel. Chinese crude imports were up 14% y-o-y in November, making gains for the first time in seven months.

#2- Baltic index falls again: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — dipped 1% to 1,156 points yesterday, its lowest since September 2023. The capesize index fell 29 points to 1,503 points, while the panamax index shed two points to 1,077 points. The smaller supramax index eased four points to 967 points.

#3- Global airlines are projected to yield USD 36.6 bn in net income in 2025, compared to the USD 31.5 mn expected for 2024, according to an IATA report. The industry’s revenues are expected to increase 4.4% y-o-y to reach over USD 1 tn for the first time. The global aviation industry’s expenses are also expected to increase nearly 4% to reach USD 940 bn 2025, and air freight volumes are expected to rise 5.8% y-o-y to USD 72.5 mn tons.

#4- Global trade shows resilience despite Red Sea and tariff risks: Global trade is showing resilience in the face of Red Sea disruptions and threats of new tariff barriers by incoming US President-elect Donald Trump, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) forecasting 2.7% trade volume growth in 2024 and 3% for 2025, Bloomberg reports. Container volumes are also projected to rise 5.5% this year and gain 3% next year on the back of solid cross-border trade demand, although capacity is stretched due to the rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope, Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said.

DATA POINT-

#1- The oversized cargo transportation market grew at a 4.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to USD 209 bn in 2024, according to a Business Research Company report. The market is also expected to grow at a 4.8% CAGR to USD 252 bn in 2028 on the back of a growing automotive industry and rising international trade.

#2- Saudi ports saw a 4.29% y-o-y increase in cargo throughput in November 2024, reaching 24.7 mn tons, according to a statement. The number of containers rose by 23% y-o-y to 261k TEUs, while imported containers increased by 15.62% y-o-y to 259k TEUs all during the same time period. Total general cargo amounted to 1.1 mn tons, solid bulk cargo recorded 3.6 mn tons, and liquid bulk cargo came in at 13.05 mn tons. Transshipment container volumes dropped 49.43% y-o-y to 138.7k TEUs, handled containers decreased by 9.14% y-o-y to 670k TEUs, and heads of livestock decreased by 4.98% y-o-y to 716k heads in November 2024.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Switzerland will host the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting from Monday, 20 January to Friday, 24 December in Davos. The conference — under the theme Collaboration for the Intelligent Age — will gather global leaders to address geopolitical shocks and stimulate growth across five thematic priorities; rebuilding trust, reimagining growth, investing in people, safeguarding the planet, and industries in the intelligent age.

Belgium will host the World Cargo Summit from Monday, 27 January to Wednesday, 29 January in Ostend. The event will focus on air cargo economics, strategy, and market trends with a specific focus on how the industry will tackle disruptions and how firms can adapt their business models.

The UAE will host the ShipTek International Conference from Wednesday, 29 January to Thursday 39 January in Dubai. The two-day conference will gather industry experts, including managing director at Hapag-Lloyd Carolin Stumm, CEO Adani Ports Nicolai Friis, VP International Maritime Industries Justin Taylor, CEO Tristra Tim Coffin, and others to discuss new tech and developments in the maritime industry.

The UAE will host the Middle East Bunkering Convention from Monday, 3 February to Wednesday, 5 February in Dubai. The event will focus on the marine fuels sector to address the future of the industry in light of geopolitical issues, environmental regulation, and the future of artificial intelligence and digitalization.

Saudi Arabia will host the Airport Expansion Conference from Tuesday, 4 February to Wednesday, 5 February in Riyadh. The two-day conference will feature over 30 speakers to discuss challenges faced by Saudi Airports and highlight Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 with a clear focus on expansion, tech, and strategic partnerships.

The UAE will host the Middle East Breakbulk Conference from Monday, 10 February to Tuesday, 11 February in Dubai. The event gathers giant manufacturers, EPCs, and service providers to discuss the latest solutions in breakbulk and heavy-lift logistics across the Middle East and Africa. The two-day event features an artificial intelligence (AI) seminar, heavy lift workshop, chartering workshop, and a women in breakbulk panel.

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