Europe

A senior executive at DP World, a Dubai-owned port and logistics company, said that the shipping time between Romania and Turkey had been cut in half. The company is expanding its Black Sea operations along the eastern border of the European Union. DP World has more than doubled the capacity of its container shipping at Romania's biggest Black Sea port, Constanta, last year. This was achieved by adding a Roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo) Terminal and a logistic hub in western Romania. This year, a new integrated European logistic service was launched in Romania, offering services by road, rail, sea and air, initially...

Three people with knowledge of the investigation confirmed on Thursday that Greece had arrested three individuals linked to a cargo vessel seized in 2023 by Spanish authorities near the Canary Islands for transporting more than 4.5 tonnes of cocaine from Latin America into Europe. Blume (a Togo-flagged vessel operated by Greece) had arrived from Brazil with a cargo of 200 tonnes, which was far less than its capacity. This raised suspicions. The Spanish authorities seized the drugs, worth hundreds of millions, and arrested the entire crew on January 18, 2023. They then took the ship to Santa Cruz, Tenerife, where...

A new study revealed that most European ports have not yet installed the electrical infrastructure required to allow ships to switch to cleaner electricity from high-polluting marine fuel while docked. The European Union has set a deadline of 2030 for the installation of infrastructure in maritime ports that will provide onshore power supply. Transport & Environment, a Brussels-based NGO, commissioned a study that covered 31 European ports to assess the rollout. The findings show that only one fifth of the power supply connections required have been installed or contracted to date, and most ports are still lagging behind. Only four...

On Monday, the difference between Brent and Urals crudes increased as freight rates for Russian oils fell due to higher vessel availability. However, traders expect that this trend will change in light of new sanctions. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, threatened on Monday to impose sanctions on buyers of Russian goods if Russia does not reach a peace agreement within 50 days. This was a significant shift in policy prompted by frustrations with Moscow. Costs for shipping Urals oil to India from the Russian Baltic Sea port of Primorsk or Ust-Luga dropped to $5 to $5.3 million, per one-way shipment,...

The U.S. Seaport Operators are requesting extra time for the implementation of pending tariffs against towering ship to shore cranes. They expect that President Donald Trump’s administration will follow through with a promise to ban this vital cargo handling equipment. In early this year, the United States Trade Representative proposed tariffs up to 100 percent on these cranes. This was after China sucked up market share to gain commercial and military dominance in the oceans. China, through its state-owned Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries(ZMPC), has now dominated the global market. It has also supplied 80% of ship-to shore cranes to the...

On Friday, Britain's Warehouse REIT recommended Blackstone to its shareholders the sweetened offer. Tritax Big Box REIT had previously supported this bid. Blackstone increased its offer to the London-listed firm on Thursday from 485.2 pounds in cash and stock, to approximately 489 million pounds. Due to the strong demand for warehouse space from eCommerce retailers to better serve their clients, logistics has remained an attractive property investment in a market that is otherwise lacking in vibrancy. Real estate investment funds - listed property funds - are also undergoing a dealmaking wave as they seek to increase profitability during tough trading...

Industry sources reported on Thursday that the insurance costs for shipping goods across the Red Sea have more than doubled since Yemen's Houthis attacked two ships and sank them, killing four seafarers, after months of calm. The Red Sea is an important waterway for oil, commodities and other goods. However, traffic has declined sharply ever since the Houthi began their attacks on Yemen's coastline in November 2023. This was said to be in solidarity with Palestinians fighting in Gaza by the Iran-aligned Houthi group. Sources familiar with the issue said that war risk premiums had risen from 0.3% to 0.7%,...

Blackstone announced on Thursday that it had increased its offer to purchase Warehouse REIT from 115 pence to 665.8 million pounds. Blackstone announced that Warehouse REIT shareholders would receive 113.4 pence in cash per share and a dividend 1.6 pence. Blackstone's initial bid represents a premium of 8.3% over the closing price of Warehouse REIT on June 3, the previous day. Blackstone's revised proposal follows Warehouse REIT rejecting its earlier 470-million-pound proposal. Tritax Big Box REIT had submitted a bid of 485.2 million pounds, which was higher. Tritax and Warehouse REIT didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment....

The Nigerian Finance Ministry announced on Thursday that the country has received a $747-million syndicated loan led by Deutsche Bank to fund the construction of the 700-km (435 miles) first phase of the planned coastal highway project. Mohammad Manga, spokesperson for the Finance Ministry, said that the loan was the first of this size in Nigeria. The syndicate includes First Abu Dhabi Bank as the global coordinator, African Export-Import Bank (AEIB), Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEO), ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (ECOWAS Bank) and Zenith Bank. Manga reported that the first section of the highway to be financed with...

The Nigerian Finance Ministry announced on Thursday that the country has received a $747-million syndicated loan led by Deutsche Bank to fund the construction of its 700-km (435 miles) coastal highway plan. Mohammad Manga, spokesperson for the Finance Ministry, said that the loan was the first of this size in Nigeria. The syndicate includes First Abu Dhabi Bank as the global coordinator, African Export-Import Bank (AEIB), Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEO), ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (ECOWAS Bank) and Zenith Bank. Manga stated that the first section of the highway, financed with the loan, is 47.47 km long. The...

According to records from customs and shipping, at least one Chinese company is involved in this trade. China is the largest supplier of antimony, gallium and germanium used in semiconductors, telecommunications and military technology. Beijing banned the export of these minerals to America on December 3, following Washington's crackdown against China's chip industry. The shift in trade flows highlights the struggle for vital minerals, and China's struggle for enforcement of its curbs. It is competing with the U.S. to achieve economic, military and technology supremacy. Trade data shows that U.S. shipments are being rerouted via third countries, a problem which...

The $234 million IPO of Indian airport restaurant operator Travel Food Services was pushed through by institutional investors on Wednesday, as retail investors stayed away due to concerns over U.S. Trade Deals. India's ninth largest IPO this year took place in a month where firms were expected to raise $2.4billion through initial share sales. The bids from institutions were 5,23 times more than the reserved shares. Retail bids were at 0.44 as of 2:12 pm IST. Sunny Agarwal is the head of fundamental equity analysis at SBICAPS Securities. She said that the overhang of an upcoming trade agreement with the...

Iraqi Kurdistan's oil exports will resume through a pipeline in Turkey following a two-year stop, the Iraqi federal government announced on Thursday. This was despite drone attacks which have resulted in a shutdown of half of region's production for a fourth consecutive day. Baghdad, Erbil and the semi-autonomous region have been in talks since late February about ending a standoff that had stopped the flow of goods from the north to Turkey's Mediterranean Port of Ceyhan. Baghdad announced that the Kurdistan Regional Government will begin immediately supplying at least 230,000 barrels of oil per day to the state oil marketer...

The energy ministry announced late Wednesday that the second of two nuclear units in Belarus was disconnected from the grid following an alarm signaling a deviation within the cooling system for the non-nuclear portion. The power plant located in Astravets in western Grodno is 15 km away from the border of Lithuania. It has been criticized for safety issues, mostly by neighbouring countries and from international organizations. The Belarusian Energy Ministry said that the situation was routine and did not pose a threat to the plant's safe operation. Radiation levels at the NPP and the monitoring zone surrounding it have...

U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on buyers of Russian products unless Russia agrees to a peace agreement over the conflict in Ukraine. This could complicate Moscow's oil exports to China, India, and Turkey. RUSSIA'S GRADES AND PORTS OF OIL According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Russia's revenues from crude oil and petroleum products sales in June fell by nearly 14% compared to a year ago, to $13.57 Billion. The IEA reported that Russia's crude production remained stable last month at 9.2 millions barrels per daily (bpd), and crude loadings stayed at 4.68million bpd. The IEA...

Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, Serbian Mining and Energy Minister, said that the talks between Belgrade and Washington over delaying sanctions against Russian owned Serbian oil company NIS a fifth consecutive time were marred by difficulties. NIS has secured a fourth reprieve that is set to expire July 29. This puts Serbia in an unstable position, as it attempts to balance energy security with geopolitical demands. Djedovic handanovic, Serbia's minister of state for RTS TV, said that negotiations are tough because they are between two powerful countries, Russia and America. NIS is owned by Gazprom Neft, a Russian company, and Gazprom. It...

Their governments reported that the leaders of Armenian and Azerbaijan had substantive talks on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, which amounted to their most serious direct discussions yet in an effort to end nearly four decades of conflict. In March, the two sides announced that they had reached an agreement on a draft of a peace accord. However, progress has been slow and sporadic since then. The first official meeting between the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates was the first since the leaders approved the draft. The...

Grid operator CEPS confirmed on Thursday that a high-voltage line which snapped in the Czech Republic at the beginning of a major outage on Friday, was not overloaded at the time. It added that it is still investigating the cause. The outage affected about million customers and halted hundreds trains. It also shut down major industrial sites, including an oil refinery. This incident added to the concerns regarding the vulnerability of European grids following recent outages in Spain, Britain and France. CEPS, which provides details on the events that led to the power grid failure in central Europe, said the...

Boston Consulting Group's report on Thursday revealed that the European electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) have a shortfall of 250 billion euros ($293 billion). Why it is important Spain and Portugal experienced their worst power outage at the end of April. In large areas of the Czech Republic, there was an outage last week. These incidents have raised concerns over the resilience of Europe’s electricity system. The increased electrification of Europe, the growth in power consumption from AI and data centers, the integration of renewables and aging infrastructure are all contributing factors. The report didn't provide details on the subsidies...

Kerala, a state in southern India, has sued the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company for $1.1 billion after one of their container ships sank in May and spilled fuel into Arabian Sea. The High Court of Kerala issued an Order late Monday ordering port authorities to "arrest, seize and detain" another MSC Ship anchored at the Vizhinjam Harbour in the state. This will continue until the ship deposits the required security for the claim. MSC did respond immediately to a comment request. In a May statement, the Indian government said that MSC had hired a marine service company to remove oil...

The U.N. nuclear watchdog reported that all external power lines supplying Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russia, were down Friday. Ukraine blamed Russian artillery for the destruction of the last powerline. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Europe's largest nuclear power plant is now running on diesel generators. It has not been operating, but it still needs power to cool its nuclear fuel. IAEA warned repeatedly of the danger of a catastrophic incident at Zaporizhzhia. This is a city located near the frontline of the Ukraine war. The six reactors have been shut down but the...

Three traders on the Urals crude oil market reported that discounts for Russian's flagship Urals crude for delivery to Indian ports in August have decreased to their lowest levels since 2022 due to high demand and a shrinking supply. Traders said that the lower supply and narrowing discounts of Russian spot barrels will force Indian refiners into looking for alternatives like United Arab Emirates Murban or U.S. West Texas Intermediate grades. The shrinking discount shows that Moscow has managed to maintain its oil sales despite Western sanctions. However, its discounted oil becomes more expensive, even though it is still cheaper...

LSEG data and traders reported that Russian Urals oil supplied to Turkey's STAR refining facility, controlled by Azerbaijan SOCAR in June, reached a record high of 800,000 metric tonnes (about 195,000 barallons per day). STAR has a capacity exceeding 200,000 bpd, making it the largest refinery in Turkey. SOCAR and Russia's Lukoil signed a long-term contract in 2023 for oil supplies. Traders said that the STAR refinery receives the majority of its crude oil from Lukoil. SOCAR did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. LSEG data shows that Turkey increased its purchases of Urals Oil in June to...

Grid operator CEPS reported that a Friday outage affected parts of the Czech National Power Grid. It said that "part of the transmission system was without voltage. The event also affected a greater part of transmission substations," adding that the cause of the incident is being investigated. CEPS confirmed that a high-voltage line in the north and east of the country had been affected by an outage. Czech Television reported the outage had affected several regions in the north and east, as well as some parts of the capital. Some areas were quickly restored to power. The DPP, the transport...