Asia

A Yemeni living in Saudi Arabia was killed Thursday when a drone he intercepted, which?the civil defence of the kingdom said had been launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. Saudi Arabia announced the death of a man in Taif, a governorate located in the southwest. This is the first time that Saudi Arabia has done so this month after the militant Houthis intensified the attacks. The interception also injured a Saudi woman and a Pakistani. Riyadh has previously stated that 86 people were injured in Houthi attacks this month. The Houthis have not claimed any attacks for Thursday but they have...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that he believed an end was close to the war against Iran. The conflict has escalated in the seventh month with Saudi aircraft bombarding Yemen, and Houthi fighters firing drones and missiles on Saudi cities. Iran's Houthis have advanced rapidly in Yemen, near the Red Sea, and launched attacks against Saudi Arabia. They also damaged the East-West oil pipe in Saudi Arabia. This has extended Tehran's influence in the conflict and increased global oil supply risks. The United States has tightened their travel warnings for Saudi Arabia as the war is expanding into new...

Two trade sources and LSEG data show that Russia has shipped over 10 million barrels via the Northern Sea Route this 'year. This is a boost to supplies to China, as buyers look for alternative sources amidst disruptions in iranian oil exports, and worries about Middle -East shipping routes. The NSR is navigable between July and October, offering a quicker route to Asia compared to the usual Suez Canal. Last year, Russia shipped 13 million barrels through the 'Arctic Route' during the entire navigation season. This suggests that the demand for supplies via the NSR this year is high. LSEG...

The Nikkei reported that GLP - Japan has raised 600 billion dollars ($3.76 billion) to create a fund for building logistics centers. This is a result of an influx in overseas capital. GLP Japan is a Japanese subsidiary of Singapore-based logistics firm GLP. The?Tokyo GLP Japan fund's investments, including borrowings, will total 1.7 trillion yen. This makes it the largest real estate fund in the country, according to?Nikkei. The report stated that the majority of investors are from outside Japan. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board allocated 150 billion yen. The funds raised are expected to be used for the...

Shiprocket, which is backed by Temasek, saw its first-ever?trade soar as much as 48.6% on Wednesday. It was valued at 100.1 billion rupees (about $1.05 billion) as investors bet on the?technical approach of the logistics?firm to capitalize on India's rapidly expanding e-commerce eco-system. The shares were trading at 142 rupees each, as opposed to the original issue price of just 97 rupees. Analysts predict that India's retail gross merchandise value will grow by 20% to 25% annually between 2025 and 2030. This growth is due to a combination of factors, including increasing internet penetration, digital payment adoption, and increased demand...

The 'United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations' said a?report?was received?on -Tuesday? that a vessel had been struck by an unidentified projectile as it transited outbound through the Strait of Hormuz. This caused engine room damage? and a crew fatality. According to the report, the remaining crew members were being 'assist by the Omani Coast Guard. UKMTO stated that no environmental impact had been reported, and authorities were investigating. Sources in maritime?security identified the vessel as Minoan Dignity with Liberia flag, saying that it was struck by a projectile unknown while on an outbound transit along a strategic waterway. According to sources,...

A Russian regional official stated that self-driving vehicles and drones could be used to transport goods between China and Russia's Far East. The brisk trade across the border has prompted a search for?new forms of cargo transportation?to avoid congestion. The Amur region of Russia, which?shares? a long border between China and Russia, is developing trial programmes with Chinese authorities in partnership, said the deputy chairman of the regional government, Pavel Puzanov. He was speaking at a business conference in Kazan. China is providing a lifeline for Russia's economy after it was sanctioned following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in...

L'IMAD Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, led by the crown prince of the emirate, plans to bid for all shares in 'Abu Dhabi Ports', the global port operator. It announced this on Monday. L'IMAD owns a wholly-owned?subsidiary ADQ that holds 75.42% of the shares in?AD Ports. It is now looking to purchase the remaining share capital through a voluntary conditional cash offer. According to's calculations, the offer represents a 23 percent premium over AD Ports's closing share price of 5.10 dirhams for August 14. This value would put AD Ports at more than 31.2 billion dirhams (approximately $8.6 billion). L'IMAD...

Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the suspension of crude oil exports was due to a drone attack on Friday. This added to the disruptions at one of the country's main export outlets. Sheskharis, Russia's largest oil export facility in the Black Sea, handles approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The shutdown of the Sheskharis terminal adds pressure to Russia's energy infrastructure, which has been repeatedly attacked in recent months. On Friday, the administration of Novorossiysk sent out a new drone alert to residents. This indicates that there is a continuing threat in the port area....

Oman presented to Iran a proposal for a regional?joint mechanism to manage the Strait of Hormuz with voluntary fees. On Tuesday, a Gulf?source told? Source: Under the Omani plan, which is supported by the region, Iran will not be the sole owner of this vital waterway. The proposal is based upon the Strait of Malacca where users of the strait contribute to navigation, environmental protection, and search and recovery. U.S. air strikes on Iran were abruptly suspended over the weekend. This raised hopes for a diplomatic resolution that would allow shipping to resume in the Strait of Hormuz, which was...

Houthis, who are allied with Iran, in Yemen, will blockade Saudi Arabia's maritime traffic, they announced on Monday. This would further restrict a global market for energy, which is already severely restricted due to Iran's closing of the Strait?of Hormuz. Why it matters, and what it means to the Iran War and the global energy crises: How big is the risk to global energy markets? It's not clear what the Houthis will do to blockade Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea Coast, their northern neighbor. Or if they would return to attacking shipping. Yemen is located on the strait of?Bab...

Four industry sources confirmed that Russian steel billionaire Vladimir Lisin sold a shipping company?operating?in the Sea of Azov, to agricultural logistics group Demetra. They added that the deal had been negotiated before Ukrainian drone strikes on commercial vessels caused shipping restrictions in the region. Volga Shipping transports grain, metals and coal along the Volga, Don and Black Sea rivers. Its cargo volume is more than 15 million metric tonnes per year. On Monday, neither Demetra nor Volga Shipping, nor Lisin's steel company NLMK responded to any requests for comments. Four sources confirmed that Demetra and Lisin-affiliated companies were involved in...

Prices fell by 2% to a new low on Thursday, easing supply concerns. However, prices remain above $100 per barrel due to fears that the Middle East conflict may worsen. Brent crude futures fell $2.67 or 2.5% to $103.13 per barrel at 12:03 pm. After reaching their lowest level since October 10, ET (1603 GMT) has now reached its highest level. US West Texas Intermediate futures fell $1.61 or 1.6% to $100.82 per barrel, the lowest level since September 11. Both contracts dropped about $3 on Wednesday. Tim Waterer is the chief analyst at KCM Trade. He said that crude...

Russia's Slavneft Yaroslavnefteorgsintez (YANOS) oil refinery halted crude processing on Thursday following ?a Ukrainian drone attack that damaged equipment ?at the facility, four industry sources told . Mikhail Yevrayev is the regional governor of Yaroslavl. He said on Telegram that his'region' had repelled an important drone raid. "Sixty five drones were brought down." No one was injured. "The oil refinery suffered damage and fires are actively being extinguished," wrote he. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said on Thursday that Ukraine had attacked Russia's Yaroslavl refinery over night. The refinery lies about 250 km (155 miles), northeast of Moscow. Sources claim...

Ukrzaliznytsia, the Ukrainian state railway operator, said 'on Thursday that Russia had damaged a bridge in Odesa, affecting Ukraine's ability to transport grain into its Danube river ports. The company didn't say how badly damaged the bridge was or when it happened. Russia has been attacking it almost weekly since the beginning of the war. After Russian attacks, 90% of Ukraine's exports were handled by Black Sea?ports. Ukraine operates three river port?on the Danube. Cargo can be delivered either via the damaged bridge or through Moldova, which has limited transit capacity. Ukrzaliznytsia reports that around 3,000 grain wagons currently heading...

Preliminary ship tracking data on Thursday showed that the number of commodity?vessels transiting the Strait of?Hormuz dropped to three vessels?on Wednesday. This is down from?12 a?day?earlier. It's also well below the 10-day?average of 17 ships. These figures do not include any vessels who may have passed the waterway without their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders on to avoid detection. The data showed that at 0445 GMT, a Supramax dry-bulk?ship and a petroleum product tanker both entered the strait through the Iranian route. The data indicated that a Panamax tanker left the waterway via a dark route. The war in the...

Ghana Gas, a state-owned company, plans to announce its final investment decision by the beginning of next year on a $500 million pipeline that will transport gas from the plant located in the west to the industries in the south. This project has been long discussed. Blay said, "On the sidelines the Gastech Conference" that the proposed 278-kilometre onshore West-East pipeline would allow the company to meet the growing industrial sector's demand and reduce its dependence on the West African Pipeline shared with neighbouring countries. She said that the company was trying to secure financing for the project. Ghana has...

The trial began on September 13 and lasted two days In 209 trucks, 38,000 barrels of oil were transported. Iran War disrupts Iraqi exports to the south By Aref Mohamed and Ahmed Rasheed BASRA (Iraq), Sept. 16: Iraq has launched a pilot project to transport crude oil from its southern oilfields by road to a Kirkuk oil storage facility. The goal is to increase supplies for the northern export system, and possibly to increase shipments via Turkey's Ceyhan Port. The initiative is part of Iraqi efforts to increase exports through the northern route, after the U.S. and Israeli war against...

According to three oil and security sources, two pumping stations that serve the vital 'East-West Pipeline' in Saudi Arabia have been damaged by an attack last week. Saudi Aramco did not reply to a comment request. The company operates the 1,200 km (745 mile) pipeline that runs across the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia's media office did not respond immediately to a comment request. Saudi officials said that the?pipeline which had helped to relieve the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz was temporarily shut down after an?attack by a drone coming from Iraq. Sources claim that the strike has damaged pumping...

The Gastech conference heard from the new chief executive of Thai energy firm PTTEP that every $3 increase in liquefied?gas price could increase Thai electricity rates by 5%. Kanita Sartwattayu said that if the price of gas is not reduced, it would be hard for Thailand to supply and maintain the gas. Thailand depends on LNG for 30 percent of its electricity generation. "In 10 years time, we will probably be relying on LNG 70% of the time if nothing changes. We are trying to "maintain domestic gas production as much as we can." Gas consumption is met by a...

A 'farm lobby group' and a'major farmers union" said that Ukraine was examining the possibility of adding additional insurance coverage to ships transporting food exports in order to help revive seaborne trade, which has been disrupted due to Russian attacks against vessels and port infrastructure. Since the summer of 2016, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian ports and commercial vessels. This has effectively stopped the seaborne exports from the country. Ukraine used to ship 90% of its cargo via Black Sea ports. The disruption has already reduced agricultural exports by 60 percent, putting the planting campaign in 2027 and...

Ukrainian state forecasters said that the weather conditions for sowing winter wheat in September are still unfavourable, but some farmers have nonetheless begun planting despite the drought. About 95% of Ukraine’s total wheat production is winter wheat. The wheat is sown during the autumn, and harvested the summer following. Forecasters reported late Tuesday that "continued shortages of effective rainfall in the majority of the country have prevented replenishment" (of soil moisture reserves) in the most populated areas. "Soil drought intensified creating unfavourable conditions to prepare land for sowing?winter crop for?the?2027 harvest." Ukraine has experienced droughts in August and September. Farmers...

Families of 129 missing people are becoming more frustrated and desperate as the search and rescue operations continue to be hampered by persistent bad weather, heavy seas, and heavy seas. The Virgo 'Transport?8' was carrying 243 passengers on a voyage of 20 hours from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. It capsized early Sunday morning in bad weather. The official death toll on Wednesday was six, with 108 people rescued, and 129 still unaccounted for. This number has not changed since Sunday. "I hope that we will use our advanced military equipment. We buy them to help the people,...

Saudi Arabia offers more loadings of "crude oil" to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port, after drone attacks damaged the key oil pipeline into the Red Sea. Sources say that Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, has offered its Arab Light grade as well as Arab Medium, Arab Heavy and other grades to buyers of term contracts in Asia, for loading at Sohar (outside the Strait of Hormuz). These offers suggest that Aramco is moving crude oil out of the Gulf to be transported outside of?the waterway. Aramco made two similar offers to Asian buyers in recent...