Saudia Cargo signs charter deal Saudi Airlines Cargo Company (Saudia Cargo) has signed an agreement with UAE-based Fast Forward Cargo to operate 150 charter flights from Sharjah to West Africa in 2011. Saudia Cargo will operate three weekly flights to Lagos (Nigeria) and to N’Djamena (Chad). The flights will be operated with B747 freighters. Peter Scholten, VP commercial of Saudia Cargo, said, "This agreement fits in our growth strategy in which we targeted to develop the emerging sea-air business from Asia to West Africa". Saudia Cargo operates a fleet of nine freighters that spans 85 destinations. DMS wins Qatar contract Doha Marine Services (DMS), a Renaissance Services subsidiary under the umbrella of its Topaz Marine group, has won a five-year vessel contract worth $48 million from Maersk Oil Qatar. Under the contract, the offshore support vessel Topaz Shaheen will serve as a standby support vessel for Maersk Oil Qatar in the Al Shaheen Field in Qatar. The Topaz Shaheen forms part of the company’s Topaz Marine Mena fleet serving oil majors and international offshore contractors. The Renaissance subsidiary, DMS, was acquired by Renaissance in 2008. Iraq logistics centre coming up Kurfan Group, a leading construction contractor in Iraq, and top investment firm Northern Gulf Partners will transform a former US military facility known as Cam Bucca in Basra into a state-of-the-art business and logistics centre. Sitting on 300 hectares (740 acres) inside the perimeter of Camp Bucca, the development lies 2 km from Iraq’s primary port of Umm Qasr, 20 km from the main border crossing at Safwan, and 40 km south of downtown Basra. Seven of Iraq’s nine supergiant oil fields lie within 150 km of the Basra Logistics City, making it an excellent staging ground for oilfield supplies. TNT deploying freighter TNT Express has confirmed the launch of a new dedicated B767 freighter service between Europe and the UAE. The new service will become a daily connection between Dubai, TNT’s European air hub in Liege, Belgium and India. From Europe another dedicated freighter will link Middle East volumes to North America via New York. With these connections, customers will enjoy faster transit times, better costs, control and visibility over their shipments. Bryan Moulds, regional managing director of TNT Middle East, said, "Our new Middle East-Europe TNT freighter service is a symbol of our next phase of aggressive expansion in the region. "
