Weekly Logistics Briefing Key logistics updates for the week (Week 5 of January 2024)

Hawaii Department of Transportation announced on Jan 25 that fighter training could interfere with flights by the end of January. As military aircraft activities increase, ground shutdowns may be carried out at airports in Hawaii. Affected airport are Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), Kahului Airport (OGG), and Lῑhu'e Airport (LIH).

Delays are being experienced in the operation of both trains and flights across the regions of Delhi, the National Capital Region (NCR), Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. These disruptions are primarily attributed to the adverse weather conditions characterized by cold temperatures and thick fog. Travelers are encountering inconveniences as they navigate through the transportation network in these areas. Visibility was as low as 25 meters in Varanasi and Purnea, while other areas like Bahraich, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Sultanpur, and Kailashahar had visibility at 50 meters.

On Friday, Yemen's Houthi militants directly targeted a U.S. Navy destroyer with a missile. The USS Carney reported that it was targeted by a ballistic missile attack while on patrol in the Gulf of Aden, forcing the ship to shoot down one incoming threat. On 26th January 2024, the product tanker MARLIN LUANDA was hit by a Houthi missile.The company has confirmed that the vessel was hit by a anti-ship missile and is on fire. The UK Maritime Trade Organization has reported the location of the attack as 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden. Earlier the same day, MARLIN LUANDA had relayed information about an air explosion approximately 200-300 meters above the waterline of another vessel, ACHILLES, a Panama-flagged crude tanker. Fortunately, the explosion happened one nautical mile away from ACHILLES, and the ship managed to escape the attack. On Saturday, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond was targeted by a Houthi rebel attack drone, forcing the ship to expend a multimillion-dollar antiaircraft missile to shoot down the incoming threat.

As of Jan 25, french farmers have installed dozens of obstacles on highways and major roads across the country. Purpose of protest is to protection of agricultural prices, reduction of diesel tax on agricultural vehicles and payment of EU agricultural subsidies, etc. Farmers' groups announced that the protests would expand further on Jan 26, and Union leaders urged road blockade protests on highways in the Île-de-France region around Paris, including routes A1, A6, A10-11, A13 and A15. Congestion on highways and nearby bypasses affected by protests is occurring.

The British Train Drivers' Union (ASLEF) is scheduled to strike from January 30 to February 5, and it is expected to affect 16 train operators. The purpose of this strike is to improve wages and working conditions and secure employment. The routes affected by date are Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Thameslink, South Western Railway, SWR Island Line on 30 January, Northern Trains, and Transpennine Express on 31 January, Greater Anglia, C2C on 2 February. and LNER, on 3 February West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, and East Midlands Railway, and Great Western, CrossCountry, and Chiltern on 5 February.

Israeli digital freight marketplace Trucknet Enterprise has teamed up with UAE-based PureTrans, which operates a landline transit network, its partner, DP World, Cox Logistics (Bahrain) and Egypt-based logistics firm WWCS to provide trucking services connecting the Dubai port of Jebel Ali and the port of Mina Salman, in Bahrain. Meanwhile, ocean carrier Hapag Lloyd recently informed customers it was now offering inland solutions in Saudi Arabia for “Red Sea connectivity”, as it continued to address the impact of the Suez Canal situation. It said: “We are introducing land service corridors from Jebel Ali, Dammam and Jubail to Jeddah."

The Argentina's General Confederation of Labor(CGT) along with other social organizations, is conducting a general strike to protest President Milei's policies such as easing economic regulations and curbing public spending on January 24. Various labor unions, including transportation, construction and public sector workers, will take part in the general strike, and protesters will march to parliament. On the day of the strike, airport ground operation staff are also scheduled to go on strike, which is expected to cause flight disruptions. Turkish Airlines (THY), some Brazilian airlines canceled flights to Argentina on January 24.

Polish farmers are scheduled to protest across Poland from 12 p.m. to 14 p.m. on Jan 24. Purpose of protest is to require EU restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products. Protesters will drive tractors on roads across the country and interfere with vehicle traffic, and the location of most protests is unclear.

Schiphol Airport canceled flights scheduled for 1/22 as a precaution against Storm Isha. Schiphol Airport has canceled about 130 inbound and outbound flights and advised customers to check their flight status online. Dutch airline KLM, one of Schiphol Airport's major users, said on Monday it had canceled 65 of its European flights.

The blockade mentioned is a consequence of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioning Dubai-based Hennesea Tankers, which owns a fleet of 18 vessels. This action was taken for allegedly violating the Group of 7-agreed US$60/bbl cap on crude oil. Following these sanctions, one of the fleet's tankers, the Aframax tanker Peria, blocked the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, for over eight hours on January 21. The blockage occurred while the tanker was traveling from Russia to the Turkish port of Izmir. The incident caused significant disruption to the key maritime route.