Suez

The transport ministers of Türkiye, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will gather in Istanbul on Aug. 29 to discuss the Development Road project aimed at connecting Iraq's Grand Faw Port to Türkiye's southern border.

The initiative is seen as a potential alternative trade route to the Suez Canal.

British security firm Ambrey said on Thursday a Greek-owned bulk carrier was allegedly targeted by Yemen's Houthis while travelling northbound in the Red Sea.

The ship's transmissions stopped 118 nautical miles east of Massawa, Eritrea when it was underway from Mormugao, India, with its destination as Suez, Egypt, the firm said in a statement that did not name the ship.

Greece-headquartered Star Bulk will halt sailings through the Red Sea after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two of its ships in recent days, the group's CEO said.

The Houthis have targeted commercial vessels with drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.

The IMF and World Bank warned on Monday that the Gaza war and the related attacks on shipping though the Red Sea pose threats to the global economy.

The Israel-Hamas war raging since October has already hit the Middle East and North Africa region's economy, said the International Monetary Fund's managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

Ethiopia has struck a "historic" agreement to use the main port in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland, as the landlocked country seeks more access to sea channels for shipping, officials said Monday.

A Hong Kong-flagged ship briefly ran aground Thursday in Egypt's vital Suez Canal, though authorities said they were able to refloat it after it momentarily disrupted the waterway.

Egypt has said that it will increase transit fees for vessels, including oil-laden tankers, passing through Suez Canal, one of the world's most crucial waterways.

The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on Sept. 17 that it will add 15 percent to the fees for tankers carrying oil and petroleum products, and 10 percent for dry bulk carriers and cruise ships.

Bled – A high-profile panel on cooperation in the Adriatic Sea as part of the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) revolved around the emerging exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and cooperation of the Slovenian, Croatian and Italian ports.

Israel managed to fully open up the economy earlier this week, with the help of an intensive vaccination campaign and an application that allowed immunized people to have access to public places everywhere, Ohan Cohen, head of the Foreign Trade Administration at the Israeli Ministry of Economy, told AGERPRES in an interview.

A canal services firm says that salvage teams have "partially refloated" the colossal container ship that remains wedged across the Suez Canal, without providing further details about when the vessel would be set free.