Transport Houthis target three ships in Red and Arabian Seas Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday that they targeted three ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, attacks they called part of their efforts to enforce a naval blockade on Israel. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised address the vessels were targeted with missiles and drones for attempting to approach ports bound […] October 29, 2024
Opinion Trade Europe needs to revisit Gulf relations or lose out to Asia The recent EU-GCC summit could not have come at a more critical moment October 28, 2024
Economy Suez Canal revenues fall by $6bn as unrest continues Suez Canal revenues have fallen by $6 billion this year amid regional geopolitical issues, president Abdel Fattah El Sisi has said. The income from the waterway, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, declined by between 50 percent and 60 percent in the first eight months of 2024, local media reported, citing the president’s speech at […] September 30, 2024
Opinion Logistics Houthi attacks are an ecological disaster waiting to happen More must be done to enable faster recovery of damaged vessels in the Red Sea September 4, 2024
Logistics Red Sea disruption to hit capacity by 20% says Maersk Danish shipping major Maersk expects Red Sea disruption to lead to a 15 to 20 percent industry-wide capacity loss on the Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean routes in the second quarter of 2024. The complexity of the situation in the Red Sea has intensified over the last few months, the company said in an […] May 7, 2024
Logistics Expansion of Jeddah Islamic Port complete The Saudi ports authority said this week it had completed a SAR1 billion ($270 million) expansion of Jeddah Islamic Port as tensions in the Red Sea continue. The project to deepen and expand the northern container terminal in Jeddah, to be operated by the Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) company, more than doubles capacity from 700,000 […] February 16, 2024
Logistics Cost of Red Sea shipping insurance rises 2,700% The cost of insurance to protect ships against losses incurred from conflict has jumped more than twenty-fold since October, before Houthi rebels began firing on vessels passing through the Red Sea. In late November, the rebels in Yemen began attacking commercial ships in what they claim is a show of support for Palestinians in the […] February 1, 2024
Logistics Wheat shipments through Suez Canal down 40% Shipments of wheat through the Suez Canal have fallen by 40 percent year-on-year as a result of the continuing crisis in the Red Sea, the World Trade Organisation’s Wheat Dashboard shows. Major shippers are avoiding the waterway, through which 15 percent of maritime commerce passes, causing supply chain disruptions and threatening a new wave of […] January 24, 2024
Oil & Gas Saudi Aramco CEO expects oil markets to tighten Saudi Aramco expects tighter oil markets due to growing crude demand and shrinking stockpiles, its CEO Amin Nasser has said. Nasser believes that the disruptions in the Red Sea will not affect global markets in the short term. However, an extension of the crisis would result in a shortage of tankers due to longer travel […] January 18, 2024
Giga-projects Red Sea crisis a threat to Saudi giga-project investment The Red Sea conflict between western powers and Houthi rebels in Yemen could put Saudi Arabia’s mammoth economic development projects at risk, the sovereign wealth fund advisory Global SWF said this week. The US and UK began airstrikes against targets in Houthi-controlled north Yemen on 12 January to stop them firing missiles at Red Sea […] January 18, 2024
Opinion Economy Escalation risk in the Red Sea and GCC economies A military quagmire in the region could see recession return to haunt the global economy January 16, 2024
Transport Porsche sales up 11% as Red Sea strife threatens deliveries Porsche “simply couldn’t find the ships” to get its cars from Germany to customers in the Middle East last year, leaving it with “really low inventory”, the company’s regional CEO told a media sales briefing on Friday. Those supply chain issues have been resolved, Manfred Braunl told reporters, but he warned that the ongoing crisis […] January 15, 2024
Oil & Gas Fears of supply disruption push crude prices over $80 Brent prices jumped by more than four percent on Friday after the US and its allies launched airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen in retaliation for attacks by the Iran-backed group on ships in the Red Sea. Global crude oil benchmark Brent traded at $80.74 per barrel, slightly above the estimated break-even mark of GCC […] January 12, 2024
Opinion Trade The Red Sea: a cautionary tale The Gulf nations could use the latest shipping crisis as a stimulus to bolster food security January 12, 2024
Transport Suez shipping traffic drops 20% as Houthi attacks continue Shipping traffic through the Suez Canal has dropped by as much as one-fifth in the last two weeks as Yemeni Houthis continue to target vessels in the Red Sea. Statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) PortWatch platform revealed a 20 percent drop in ships using the Suez Canal route between December 24 and January […] January 5, 2024
Logistics Jet fuel most exposed to Red Sea closure, analysts say Trade analysts warned on Monday that jet fuel is the commodity most exposed to an interruption of trade in the Red Sea, as the world’s main shipping companies said that they would avoid the waterway because of missile and drone attacks. Several container shipping lines, including CMA CGM of France, MSC of Switzerland and A.P. […] December 18, 2023
Tech Arabic speakers targeted by malicious WhatsApp hackers Arabic-speaking WhatsApp users are being targeted by unidentified hackers who are distributing spying malware through a modified version of the messaging service. The Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reported that the hackers had launched more than 340,000 attacks in October alone. Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Egypt and Turkey experienced the highest attack rates. The malware has […] November 8, 2023
Development Saudi Arabia to invest $320m rebuilding Yemen Saudi Arabia will invest SAR1.2 billion ($320 million) to help rebuild war-battered Yemen, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency announced on Sunday. The kingdom has launched a package of 20 development projects in Yemen’s Hadramawt province, which form part of the kingdom’s “continuous economic and development support for the country,” the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed […] June 26, 2023
Banking & Finance Yemen raises customs duties by 50% on non-essential goods Yemen’s recognised government has raised the US dollar exchange rate used to calculate customs duties on non-essential goods by 50 percent, effective Tuesday, a document and traders said. The decision applies only to south Yemen, which the government controls, including the port city of Aden. The country’s main entry point for commodities, Hodeidah port, is […] January 11, 2023
Biden Middle East US weighs resumption of offensive arms sales to Saudi Arabia The Biden administration is discussing the possible lifting of its ban on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia. But any final decision is expected to hinge on whether Riyadh makes progress towards ending the war in neighboring Yemen, according to four people familiar with the matter. Senior Saudi officials pressed their US counterparts […] July 12, 2022
Development New financing urgently needed to aid famine relief in Yemen Yemen is searching for new wheat suppliers but will need help to pay for increasingly costly imports, an official and a main importer said, as the World Food Programme (WFP) warned of cuts to food aid for millions already living on the brink of famine. Disruption to global wheat supplies due to the Ukraine war […] May 24, 2022
Banking & Finance Saudi extends deposit for Yemen and pays $2bn instalment Saudi Arabia has extended a deposit it gave the central bank of Yemen’s internationally recognised government in 2018, and agreed to pay the final instalment of the $2 billion support package it promised. The Saudi finance ministry said the 2018 deposit would be extended to support Yemen’s currency and economic situation. The Yemeni central bank […] May 17, 2022