The new deal six-month deal, which started on 1 June, represents the first onshore storage deal for the Japanese trader in the Middle East.

The storage space within the port had become available after US bank Morgan Stanley, which had previously leased the tanks, chose to not renew its contract after it expired at the end of April.

Earlier in the year, Itochu had signed a contract to supply about 3 million barrels of gas oil to Saudi Aramco from March through December into the Red Sea region, where it is short of diesel.