Good morning, friends. It’s another quiet morning as the weekend nears, but we have a couple of updates on DP World and UAE’s Presight expanding business to the east and west of our region.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1-Iran’s Persian Gulf Bridge is set to receive Chinese funding: Construction work on a new USD 700 mn bridge on Iran’s Qeshm Island, dubbed Persian Gulf Bridge, is slated to kick off within the next three years, Tasnim reports, citing statements by the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Free and Special Economic Zones Hojjatollah Abdolmaleki. The project will be financed via Qeshm Freezone and oil barters, with Chinese contractors also expressing their readiness to fund the project, Abdolmaleki said.

#2- Moscow’s oil trade is starting to feel the pinch: Around half of the 50 tankers sanctioned by the US Treasury have not loaded cargo since listings began last October, with all eight tankers named in the first wave of sanctions now sitting idle, Bloomberg reports, citing ship tracking data. Tankers owned by sanctioned UAE-based entities have also gone idle, the outlet said. The trend represents a clear indication that Washington’s crack down on price cap violations is beginning to bear fruit. “Independent agencies, market analysts and the Russians themselves point to the fact that the price cap is achieving both of our goals: denying Russia the energy profits it needs to wage it's illegal war, while simultaneously promoting stable energy markets,” US Treasury’s acting assistant secretary for economic policy Eric Van Nostrand told Bloomberg.

REMEMBER-The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) rolled out its first price cap-related sanctions for the year last month, targeting UAE-based shipowner Hennesea Holdings for violations to the G7 mandate. OFAC tightened its guidelines while hitting out a UAE-based subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned fleet operator Sovcomflot, in addition to a UAE-based and two Hong Kong based “under-the-radar” traders in December 2023.

DISRUPTION WATCH-

Star Iris attack was orchestrated for political ends, official says: The Houthi attack against an Iran-bound grain carrier, dubbed Star Iris, was intended to “show Iran does not control the Houthis and they act independently,” Reuters reports, citing an unnamed security official. The Houthis reportedly informed Iran of the attack beforehand, the official said. The vessel had continued along the Red Sea route on the assumption that its intended destination of Iran would designate it as “friendly,” the newswire said, citing lead agricultural commodities analyst at Kpler Ishan Bhanu.

REMEMBER- The Houthi’s targeting of the vessel was poised to raise eyebrows, with the Iranian-backed group previously stating that it would limit attacks to UK, US, and Israel-linked vessels while those from Russia, China, and “all other countries” would not be targeted.

A British essential is facing delays: Red Sea disruptions are causing shortages of black tea at UK retail outlets, the Guardian reported earlier this week. Some black tea supplies have been interrupted, but the impact to consumers should be limited as retailers do not foresee serious problems, the outlet cites British Retail Consortium’s food and sustainability director Andrew Opie as saying. Most of the world’s tea is sourced from China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya, with recent Houthi-led attacks disrupting the UK’s shipping links with those countries, the news outlet reported.

BACK ON LAND- Protests by some 500 farmers at Belgium’s Port of Antwerp have caused “major disruption” earlier this week,Reuters reports, citing an update on the port operator’s website. Farmers have set up blockades at five different locations in the area and were using their tractors to block most of the traffic around the port, as the protesters call for higher pay and improved working conditions, the newswire said. Similar protests have occurred in other European states during the month, including Poland, France, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands, the newswire added.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Saudi energy giant Aramco has begun trading benchmark-setting West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, via S&P Global Commodity Insights mediated platform Platts Window, Reuters reports,. Aramco sold a cargo of WTI to Total on Monday, after selling another on Thursday, with the transactions representing the company’s first sales of WTI via the platform, the newswire reports, citing S&P global director of crude and fuel oil markets Joel Hanley. Aramco’s move has been seen as validation for Platts’ move to add WTI to its benchmark last year, the newswire said. “It is a seal of approval of the new benchmark,” the newswire said, citing director at consultant Surrey Clean Energy and oil trading expert Adi Imsirovic.

#2- Baltic index hits one-month high: The Baltic Exchange’s Dry Bulk Index — which tracks rates across the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — bumped up 1.8% on Monday to 1572 points, its highest since 10 January, Reuters reported. Gains in capesize and panamax rates buoyed the index, with the capesize subindex rallying 3% to 2453 points points, its highest in one month, and the panamax subindex inching up 1.1% to 1526 points, the newswire said. The smaller supramax segment lost 5 points to settle at 1048 points, the newswire added.

ICYMI- A Houthi attack against an Iran-bound grain carrier in the Red Sea on Monday, which resulted in minor damage to the vessel, may have contributed to the spike in the index.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Tunisia's trade deficit declined 49.7% y-o-y to TND 550 mn in January 2024, TAP reports, citing National Institute of Statistics data. The improvement was driven by a 2.1% y-o-y increase in exports to TND 5.1 bn and a 7.1% y-o-y decline in imports to TND 5.7 bn. The exports uptick was mainly attributable to a 66.2% y-o-y leap in agro-food exports on the back of increased olive oil sales. The month also saw a drop in imports of energy products, raw materials, and consumer goods.

#2- UAE budget carrier Air Arabia saw its bottomline boosted 27% y-o-y to AED 1.5 bn in 2023, according to a press release. The airline’s topline rose 14% during the period to AED 6 bn. The improved performance was attributed to more robust operating capacity and the addition of new routes, according to Chairman of Air Arabia Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani. Air Arabia saw a 31% leap in passenger number during the year to 16.7 mn, the statement said.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host The World Trade Organization's 13th Ministerial Conference from Monday, 26 February to Thursday, 29 February in Abu Dhabi. The event will gather ministers from around the world to assess the operation of the multilateral trading system and make key decisions regarding the future tasks of the WTO.

The UAE will host the TradeTech Forum on Tuesday, 27 February in Abu Dhabi. The forum will see some 180 trade leaders and experts discuss the technologically advanced trade environment and a showcase of trade tech solutions.

The UAE will host the Future-Proof Technologies Conference on Thursday, 29 February Dubai. The event will unite industry experts to discuss strategies for adopting sustainable supply chain operations through cross-sector collaboration, advanced technologies, and integrated logistics.

The UAE will host the MRO Middle East on Tuesday, 5 March and Wednesday, 6 March in Dubai. The two-day event will bring together key decision makers from airlines, MROs, OEMs, lessors, and suppliers spanning all aspects of the airline supply chain.

The UAE will host The Logistics Middle East Award on Wednesday, 6 March in Dubai. The awards ceremony brings together industry experts to celebrate the sector’s biggest accomplishments over the previous 12 months.The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, 19 January.

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.

KSA 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 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.