Middle East News

DP World and Dubai Customs have announced that they will be ‘exploring opportunities to develop trade links between Israel and the United Arab Emirates’, following the signing of a series of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Israeli entities.

Stockpiles of oil products at the world’s second-largest bunker port dropped for a third consecutive week to the lowest in almost five months, led by declines in marine bunkers and power fuels.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts to upgrade two main oil lines and crude receiving facilities at the Jebel Dhanna Terminal.

The UAE-based engineering company has undertaken over 1,000 projects to retrofit ballast water treatment systems and exhaust gas cleaning systems.

The opening of an office in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will also serve as ‘a springboard for CSM’s expansion into the Emirates,’ said the company.

The COVID-related downturn in shipping activity has significantly impacted bunker volumes at the Middle East bunker hub, with volumes falling to 400,000 mt in June, compared to a pre-COVID monthly average of 700,000 mt, says Sean Burgin of Glander International Bunkering.

Saudi Aramco has reported a net income of $6.6 billion for the second quarter (Q2) of 2020 – down more than 70% from last year’s $24.7 billion – but it stuck with its plan to pay an $18.75 billion quarterly dividend, and said it is ‘seeing a partial recovery in the energy market’.

The company says that there were no Hapag-Lloyd vessels present in the port at the time of the massive explosion yesterday (5 August) but notes that ‘our containers, both laden and empty, most probably have been affected by the blast’.

Representatives from flag, coastal and port authorities from eight countries met at a virtual event yesterday (4 August) to launch the MASSPorts initiative, which aims to encourage the development of maritime autonomous surface ships.

Two huge explosions in Lebanon’s capital city Beirut have killed at least 78 people, injured thousands more and severely damaged port infrastructure.