In Hellenic Shipping News 08/07/2017
In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal noted that “a war of words blasted last month as the UAE, S. Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain revealed that they are experiencing severe diplomatic issues with the state of Qatar over assertions that it is sponsoring terrorism. Furthermore, various prohibitions have been imposed on land, sea and air travel as well as movement of goods into and out of Qatar, triggering economic and social isolation. President Trump has supported S. Arabia even though Qatar was recently identified by him as a “strategic partner”. Unfortunately, such developments mark an unprecedented swift in Middle Eastern relations, which undoubtedly affect the maritime industry with developing implications”.
According to Intermodal’s analyst Katerina Restis, “Qatari flagged or owned vessels, calling ports in S. Arabia, UAE and Bahrain have been restricted from entering and also excluded from their regional waters. A ban has been imposed in certain ports on vessels of any flag arriving from, or bound for, Qatari ports. Currently, the restriction is related only to the last/next port call as a vessel transiting via a third country such as Kuwait or Oman would not be refused entry. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has prohibited the discharging of goods of Qatari origin in its ports. Egypt further cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar and access to its airspace but Suez Canal transit remains open and unaffected for Qatari flagged or owned vessels and delivery of cargoes. In view of the current situation Qatar ports have not yet declared any joint restraint on any vessel arriving from, or proceeding to, S. Arabia, the UAE or Bahrain”.
Restis added that “moreover, UAE acquires almost 1/3 of its natural gas from Qatar via the Dolphin Energy pipeline. The value of Qatar’s trade with Saudi Arabia is over $2 billion, $7 billion with the UAE and $500 million with Bahrain. Remarkably, Qatar exports more to these countries than it imports. The exposure of the S. Arabia banking sector to Qatar is assessed to be $30 billion with the UAE’s exposure being of similar magnitude. It has recently been reported that some Saudi, UAE and Egyptian banks are suspending business with Qatari banks until they receive guidance from their central banks”.
Meanwhile, “Qatar is a major exporter of condensate and the trade sanction may render the purchase of Qatari crude and condensate difficult. Excluding vessels that have called at Qatar may require traders to differ their trading patterns. For example, as recently reported, the LNG carriers Zarga and Al Mafyar with Qatar cargo onboard are going to Europe around the continent of Africa as an alternative of the preferred route via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal”.
Bunkering is also likely to be affected in bunkering ports such as Fujairah, where some three-quarters of tankers sailing through the Gulf stopover to refuel. It is reported that the Fujairah port’s immigration is not permitting crews to join or to sign off vessels coming from or bound to Qatar. Largely, Qatar and its neighbors share strong cultural and family ties. In any event, for the time being, there is no indication of the dispute de-escalating. In the short term, the costs will fall more heavily but not entirely on Qatar. However, if the conflict persists, Qatar will search for alternative channels, which could in turn change the economic, social, and political landscape of the Gulf in ways that will ultimately challenge its neighbors. The current conflict comes at a time of severe economic downturn caused by the fall in global energy prices. Gulf economies are already distressed due to low oil prices. We expect to have more visibility on the operational and further implications of the restrictions against Qatar as the matter unfolds”, Intermodal’s analyst concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
