Red Sea Ports Authority News

Abu Dhabi's AD Ports Group and the Red Sea Ports Authority have signed a Term Sheet and a Head of Terms agreement for what they say are major port projects along Egypt’s coastline, including multi-purpose terminals, and cruise ship berths.The first agreement will see AD Ports Group develop, operate, and manage a multi-purpose terminal in Safaga Port in a consortium with the Red Sea Ports Authority and the Egyptian Group for Multipurpose Terminals Company, the commercial arm of…

Egypt has reopened the Red Sea port of Sharm El Sheikh after closing it earlier on Wednesday because of bad weather, the Red Sea Ports Authority said.Winds had decreased to 6 knots and wave height ranges to between one meter and 1.5 meter compared with winds of up to 35 knots and waves as high as three meters earlier, the authority said.(Reporting by Youssri Mohammed, Writing by Yasmin Hussein, Editing by Chris Reese and Grant McCool)

Egypt has closed eight ports owing to bad weather, officials said on Monday.The ports of Port Tawfiq, El-Zayteyat and Sharm El Sheikh were shut early Monday morning, the Red Sea Ports Authority said.The ports of Adabiya, Ain Sokhna, Port Said West, Port Said East and Al Arish were also shut later on Monday, a statement from the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone said.The ports are expected to re-open as soon as weather conditions imporve, the statement said.(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed and Amal Abbas Writing by Sarah El Safty Editing by David Goodman and Jane Merriman)

Egypt has reopened three Red Sea commercial ports and one fishing port which were shut earlier on Wednesday because of high winds and rough seas the Red Sea Ports Authority and two sources said.The reopened ports are Suez, Zeitiyat, Adabiya and the fishing port of al-Ataka, they added.Two other ports, Nuweiba and Ain al-Sokhna, remained closed, the authority and sources said.(Additional reporting by Youssry Mohamed; Writing by Mahmoud Mourad; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Alistair Bell)

Egypt reopened five ports on Thursday that it had shut due to bad weather as conditions improved and winds stabilized, the Red Sea Ports Authority said.Several Egyptian port cities and the capital Cairo were hit by a severe sandstorm on Wednesday, which prompted the closure of several ports.The ports of Alexandria and Dekheila on the Mediterranean in the Alexandria governorate, which had been shut since Sunday, reopened at 1330 local (1130 GMT), Reda Ghandour, a spokesman for the Alexandria Port Authority, said.He said the decision to reopen the ports was made after wind speed, wave height and

Egypt had previously closed four ports on the Red Sea and two on the Mediterranean due to bad weather, officials said on Sunday.Over the weekend, the ports of Suez and Zeitiyat were shut in Suez governorate, the Red Sea Ports Authority said. Adabiya and Ain Sokhna ports, in the same governorate, also closed, a source at the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone said.Today, Egypt reopened four ports on the Red Sea on Monday, a day after they were closed due to bad weather conditions, authorities said.

Egyptian authorities reopened five ports on the Red Sea on Monday, a day after they were closed due to bad weather conditions, the Red Sea Ports Authority said.The two major ports of Alexandria and Dekheila on the Mediterranean Sea remained closed, said Reda al-Ghandour, spokesman for the Alexandria Port Authority."Strong winds and high waves do not allow the safe passage of speedboats and the ascent and descent of the guide onto ships," Ghandour said on Sunday, adding it affected the arrival and departure of ships in the two ports.By Lena Masri

Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and the Red Sea Ports Authority signed an agreement with Dubai Ports World (DP World) and Sonker Bunkering Company for the development of Egypt’s Ain Sokhna seaport, reports Egypt Independent. The signing of the deal comes in line with directives by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to upgrade the sea port’s status as part of the broader scheme to develop the Suez Canal region, SCA chief Mohab Mamish said. The joint venture will be responsible for installing a new harbor parallel to the current oil tanker harbor over a period of one year, Mamish said. He added that the undertaking would facilitate the exchange of petrochemical and gas products.

Taba, an Egyptian ferry, carrying passengers, cargo and trucks, sank in the Red Sea early on Sunday, according to state-owned news agency MENA. The 6,600-gt Taba (built 1985) had capsized because the trucks on board the ship were parked mainly on one side, according to Abdel-Rehim Mostafa, spokesman for the Red Sea Ports Authority. Nine people suffered minor injuries, but all 37 people on board, including 27 crew members, were saved. Mostafa added that the crew sent SOS signals to the naval base in Safaga port and rescue ships were immediately dispatched to help the stranded passengers and crew. No one was injured. The ship, which was carrying cargo as well as trucks, sank because the trucks were parked mainly on one side, which caused the ship to tilt and start sinking.

The Saudi Arabian-led coalition of anti-Houthi forces attacking Yemen has tightened the blockade on Yemen's ports affecting shipping activity including the delivery and loading of oil and gas shipments. Ships are unlikely to be able to access ports in areas that the coalition deems to be under Houthi rebel control. Navigation in Yemen’s territorial waters has been banned and ships are not allowed into Yemen unless inspected and approval by the Saudi-led coalition forces. The Grace Acacia, a Bahamas-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker, was scheduled to load cargo at the Balhaf LNG terminal on Friday, but the loading has been delayed and the tanker is currently anchored at the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates, a trader said.

Warships from the Saudi-led coalition have blocked a vessel carrying more than 47,000 tonnes of wheat from entering a Yemeni port, demanding United Nations guarantees that the cargo would not go to military personnel, shipping sources said on Thursday. Ocean Marine Services, which acts as the Yemen-based agent for the ship, said in a letter to the director of the Yemeni Red Sea Ports Authority, that the Lycavitos, carrying 47,250 tonnes of wheat, had been stopped from entering al-Saleef port, north of Hodeidah on Wednesday night, on the grounds that all Yemeni ports were off limits to shipping. "As official bodies, we appeal to you to communicate with whoever may be in charge to find a quick solution to the problem…

Egypt is pressing ahead with plans to develop a new wheat storage facility and expand port operations at two terminals in the Suez area as the country looks to bolster strategic food reserves and attract investment, a top port official said. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as armed forces chief toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last July following mass protests, was sworn in on Sunday and seeks to fix Egypt's economy while overcoming political divisions after a long period of turmoil and bloodshed.