Category: Middle East

Red Sea Crisis; Situation Report, Wednesday 17th Jan

Despite coalition military action, Houthi rebels continue to attack commercial shipping and with container shipping line’ schedules showing Cape of Good Hope routing for vessels into early February and beyond, it is clear that they do not expect short-term access through the Suez Canal and Red ... Read more

The real impact of diverting ships round Africa

Following the sharp escalation of attacks on container ships in the Bab-al-Mandeb strait off the coast of Yemen last week, major container shipping lines are diverting vessels around the southern tip of Africa, rendering the Suez routing unavailable for an unknown period. With the Suez route c... Read more

Sea freight shippers opt for air and sea/air alternatives

With the container shipping lines diverting around Africa until the Red Sea maritime security situation improves, the uncertainty and unpredictability that surrounds schedules could fuel demand for air cargo as shippers seek stability of services and certainty of transit times. Air cargo deman... Read more

Metro’s new LCL guru

With over 20 years' experience in freight and logistics, the majority of which has been in the ocean freight environment and specifically the LCL product, in the UK and overseas, we are pleased to introduce our new Senior LCL Commercial Manager, Jane Kenny, who is leading this critical service ar... Read more

2nd January; Suez Crisis Update

In our 2023 supply chain review we said that we were hopeful that the formation of a coalition naval task force to patrol the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden would restore maritime security quickly, but Sunday’s two attacks on the Maersk Hangzhou suggest it could be some time before the route... Read more

Container shipping lines to avoid Suez Canal

Following further attacks on merchant shipping, entirely unconnected to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, container shipping lines have suspended sailings through the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea with immediate effect. MSC announced on Friday, after the MSC Palatium III was attacked and suffe... Read more

Air freight market more than challenging

Despite the massive challenges, our air freight team continue to find solutions for critical cargo and our Sea/Air services are invaluable for time-sensitive shipments. With options from across Asia, via a choice of hubs including Singapore, Colombo and Dubai, we offer the widest choice of servic... Read more

September Update: Air cargo under serious and sustained pressure – and it has only just begun….

Industry data released today shows that international demand for air cargo capacity versus a shortfall in supply pushed average global air cargo rates up 112% beyond their pre-COVID level, as lockdown in Vietnam and the closure of cargo handling terminals at Shanghai highlighted the fragility of ... Read more

Air Freight Update; Central UK hub re-opens for Metro air freight arrivals

With increased support from key carrier partners, Metro has recommenced routing air freight traffic directly to our Birmingham Airport hub, from key Middle East and Asia origins, as well as trucking consignments directly from southern airports and mainland Europe. Alongside Heathrow, Gatwick a... Read more

New Kuwait system for clearance certificates

The Public Authority for Industry of the State of Kuwait (PAI) has introduced a new online system for Importers to obtain a Clearance Certificate based on a valid Technical Inspection Report (TIR) All consignments of imported ‘Regulated Products’ are subject to conformity assurance procedu... Read more