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Yacht builder to the stars capitalises on Dubai boom with new boatyard

Sunreef, which counts rafa nadal and fernando alonso among its clients, could soon employ 2,000 people in ras al khaimah.

01 March, 2023

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Sunreef Yachts opens new office in Dubai

On   February 28 , Sunreef Yachts officially inaugurated the company’s new Dubai office. Numerous VIP’s, industry professionals, customers and partners attended a lavish cocktail party celebrating the opening of the Sunreef Middle East office, right before the start of the  2023 Dubai International Boat Show .

Our shipyard is on a mission to shape the future of responsible boating. This new office is an important step on this journey. Here, a growing team of professionals from all fields will help us further develop our vision and reach new horizons. We can only push things forward if we challenge ourselves, engage in a creative debate and exchange ideas. This office will be the perfect environment for this.

Francis Lapp – Sunreef Yachts Founder and President

Sunreef Yachts’ new office in Dubai will strengthen the company’s presence in the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Located on the iconic Palm Jumeirah, the office is set up in the Palm Marina West and gathers a diverse team of professionals including sales representatives, designers, engineers, and architects. The team will be a “yachting think tank” with a mission to create new trends and come up with creative solutions to further develop the concept of responsible yachting.

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Sunreef Announces Expansion Into the UAE at DIBS 2024

By Frances Flannagan

Sunreef has announced its industrial expansion into the Middle East at the Dubai International Boat Show 2024 (DIBS). The development of a new manufacturing facility is currently underway in Ras Al Khaimah, with the first manufacturing and CNC halls nearing completion.

Established in Gdansk in 2002 and already boasting over 125,000 sqm of industrial surface with two shipyards in Poland, Sunreef Yachts has announced the development of a new facility located in Ras Al Khaimah at DIBS 2024. It will span a land reserve of 65,000 sqm, incorporating the latest industry technologies alongside meeting the highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency. 

Sunreef is working with RAK Maritime City to carry out the development of the facility, which will offer a comprehensive, 360 degree approach to yacht construction. It will feature a modern paint shop, carpentry, upholstery and stainless steel workshops, each equipped with state-of-the-art robotics and machinery. 

The decision to locate the new facility in Ras Al Khaimah was well thought-out and strategic, with the UAE being an important crossroad between East and West. Ras Al Khaimah also boasts exceptional industry support, incentive and easy access to significant markets and transportation infrastructure. 

Francis Lapp, Founder and President of Sunreef Yachts, commented: ‘We can now further expand in an environment that merges perfect strategic location, skilled workforce and proactive mindset. The yachts produced in Ras AlKhaimah will elevate eco-responsible yachting to a new level and showcase industry-first technology. I would like to thank the RAK Government and RMC management for their invaluable support in making this dream possible and I look forward to building a better future for yachting here.’

This new facility is an integral aspect of Sunreef Yachts’ global expansion, set to strengthen the shipyard’s presence in the Middle East alongside forging a stronger connection with the Asian and Australian markets. 

Munira Lapp, Director and Sunreef Yachts Middle East commented: ‘The Ras Al Khaimah shipyard that we are now developing works hand in hand with our local Dubai office, employing a team of specialists from various fields. The aim is to form a yachting think tank that will not only anticipate trends, but also shape the future of yachting with creative solutions. I believe the RAK facility will be the perfect infrastructure to carry out the most advanced eco responsible yachting concepts.’

With two sites in Poland and this emerging facility in the UAE, the global reach of Sunreef is enhanced, showcasing the growth of the Middle Eastern market which has been a key theme at this year’s Dubai International Boat Show. The first yachts set to be produced in Ras Al Khaimah will be the hybrid ULTIMA catamarans as well as the 50 - 70 ft power and sail yachts.

"I believe the RAK facility will be the perfect infrastructure to carry out the most advanced eco responsible yachting concepts." Munira Lapp, Director, Sunreef Yachts Middle East

"I believe the RAK facility will be the perfect infrastructure to carry out the most advanced eco responsible yachting concepts."

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Sunreef Yachts grows further with a new shipyard in Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai

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Sunreef Yachts sets up a construction yard in Dubai

July 12 2022

Written by Yachting Art English Edition

Sunreef Yachts, the world's leading manufacturer of luxury semi-custom catamarans, will increase its production capacity with a new production facility located in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. 

In order to respond to a very strong demand, especially in the 80-foot catamaran segment, Sunreef Yachts has decided to enrich its industrial facilities with a new construction site located outside Europe.

Sunreef Yachts was founded just 20 years ago in Gdansk by the Frenchman Francis Lapp and already has two catamaran construction sites there, its original site, based in the historical shipyards of the Hanseatic City, in Udice, and Tardice, an ultra-modern site - the most modern in the yachting sector? - which is already being expanded, just two years after its inauguration.

In Dubai, Sunreef Yachts has just acquired a 65,000m2 land reserve, on which the construction of a first 13,000m2 building will begin within 3 weeks, representing an investment of nearly 30 million euros. The site will begin production in September 2023, employing initially around 50 people, and will be dedicated to the construction of the Sunreef 50, Sunreef 60 and 60 Sunreef Power, as well as certain models of the new Sunreef Explorer range, namely the Sunreef Explorer 65, Sunreef Explorer 80 and Sunreef Explorer 100. Within three years, this site could employ around 600 people.

In parallel, the shipyard has just leased a second industrial site in Dubai, to produce the 40 Sunreef Power, its 40-foot dayboat.

Decryption - With this major production investment, Sunreef Yachts is adapting its production facilities to the very strong demand it is facing. The choice of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates also allows the company to be closer to part of its clientele and to solve the problem of staff availability that Europe is currently facing.

Sunreef Yachts se dote d'un chantier de construction à Dubaï - ActuNautique.com

Sunreef Yachts, le leader mondial du marché des catamarans de luxe semi-custom, va augmenter sa capacité de production en se dotant d'un nouveau site de production situé aux Emirats Arabes Unis,...

https://www.actunautique.com/2022/07/sunreef-yachts-se-dote-d-un-chantier-de-construction-a-dubai.html

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Sunreef Yachts expands to the Middle East

Sunreef Yachts is set to open a new shipyard in the United Arab Emirates following rising demand in the Middle East. It will be the first overseas project the Polish shipyard has undertaken.

The luxury yacht builder currently has two existing construction sites in Poland.

The cost of the build is about  $30.5m (€30m). Sunreef Yachts has acquired a 16-acre (65,000sqm) land reserve, on which the build of the first 3.2 acres (13,000sqm) construction shed will begin in the following weeks.

The site will begin production in September 2023. Initially employing around 50 people, the yard will be dedicated to the construction of custom-made catamarans. Within three years, the site will employ more than 800 people, according to the company.

Typically constructing smaller vessels, Sunreef Yachts delivered its first 78ft (24m) Sunreef 80 Eco (pictured) catamaran in Dubai in March 2022. The Polish catamaran experts now offer yachts up to 164ft (50m) in size.

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Sunreef to display three catamarans at Dubai show

• January 26, 2024

Sunreef Yachts’ display at the Dubai International Boat Show in Dubai Harbour will include two Eco catamarans.

80 Sunreef Power Eco

Sunreef Yachts is staging the Dubai debut of the 80 Sunreef Power Eco at this year’s Dubai International Boat Show (February 28-March 3), following the model’s world premiere at the Cannes Yachting Festival last September and Middle East unveil at the Abu Dhabi International Boat Show in November.

The Polish builder’s three-catamaran display at Dubai Harbour will also include a Sunreef 80 Eco sailing catamaran, a model that was on display at last year’s Dubai International Boat Show. The shipyard will also show a 60 Sunreef Power at stand MD-37.

Sunreef 80 Eco in Dubai

Both the Eco models will take centre stage as examples of Sunreef’s all-electric series, which features a revolutionary composite-integrated solar power system with cells able to be built into the hulls, superstructure and bimini, as well as the mast on sailing models.

Other Eco technology includes electric motors, a modern hydrogeneration system, energy-saving air-conditioning system and a custom-engineered battery bank.

60 Sunreef Power

As well as head offices and two production sites in Gdansk in northern Poland, Sunreef has a Middle East office in Dubai and a production facility in the northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

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Investing a total of nearly 30 million euros, Sunreef Yachts has acquired a 65,000m2 land reserve, on which the construction of the first 13,000m2 building will begin within the following weeks.

The site will begin production in September 2023, employing initially around 50 people, and will be entirely dedicated to the construction of luxury, custom-made catamarans. Within three years, the site should employ up to 800 people.

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Sunreef Yachts opens new Dubai office

Thursday, March 2nd, 2023

Written by: Marine Industry News

Sunreef Yachts has officially inaugurated the company’s new Dubai office, in time for the 2023 Dubai International Boat Show, 1-5 March 2023.

To mark the occasion, the luxury multihull builder held a cocktail party on Tuesday (28 February) with a mix of partners, industry professionals, and customers in attendance.

“Our shipyard is on a mission to shape the future of responsible boating,” says Francis Lapp, Sunreef Yachts founder and president. “This new office is an important step on this journey. Here, a growing team of professionals from all fields will help us further develop our vision and reach new horizons. We can only push things forward if we challenge ourselves, engage in a creative debate and exchange ideas. This office will be the perfect environment for this.”

Sunreef Yachts says its new office in Dubai will strengthen the company’s presence in the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Located on the Palm Jumeirah, the office is set up in the Palm Marina West and gathers a team of professionals, including sales representatives, designers, engineers, and architects.

The boatbuilder says this diverse team will be a ‘yachting think tank’ with a mission to create new trends and come up with creative solutions to further develop the concept of responsible yachting.

In response to rising demand from the Middle East, Asia and Australia, Sunreef Yachts is set to open its first overseas centre in Ras Al-Khaimah , the United Arab Emirates, later this year.

With two existing catamaran construction sites in Poland,  Sunreef Yachts  has decided to expand its industrial capacity with a new, state-of-the art facility.

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Sunreef Yachts chooses UAE for Global Expansion Plans

Sunreef Yachts Middle East has entered into cooperation with RAK Maritime City for the development of a new facility in Ras Al Khaimah. The signature ceremony was in the presence of Sheikhs, dignitaries and industry professionals. This initiative is an exciting opportunity for both parties to leverage their respective strengths and resources to create a world-class facility that will serve as a hub for innovation in the region and create many new jobs .

Developed on a 65 000m2 land reserve , the new facility will incorporate the latest technologies in luxury yacht building and will meet the highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency. As part of the cooperation, Sunreef Yachts and RAK Maritime City will work together to carry out the development of the facility, which will be able to offer a 360-degree approach to yacht manufacturing with a modern paint shop, carpentry, upholstery and stainless steel workshops all equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and latest robotics . The first manufacturing and CNC halls are currently nearing completion .

An important crossroad between West and East, Ras Al Khaimah and the UAE was the best strategic choice for the company , due to Ras Al Khaimah’s exceptional incentive, industry support and easy access to key markets and transportation infrastructure.

Sheikh Saqr bin Saud Al Qasimi said: “Ras Al Khaimah is growing its capacity across a multitude of sectors, as we continue our ongoing sustainable economic development, guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.  

“Strategic partnerships are integral to the Emirate’s holistic approach to develop a strong and stable economic system with diverse resources. And with that in mind, we look forward to highlighting Ras Al Khaimah’s offering, in a bid to attract more international companies to locate here, thrive and expand into global markets.”    

Francis Lapp, Founder and President of Sunreef Yachts, said: “We couldn’t have hoped for a better location to pursue our journey in shaping a greener future for yachting. We can now further expand in an environment that merges perfect strategic location, skilled workforce and proactive mindset. The yachts produced in Ras Al Khaimah will elevate eco-responsible yachting to a new level and showcase industry-first technology. I would like to thank the RAK Government and RMC management for their invaluable support in making this dream possible and I look forward to building a better future for yachting here.”

The new facility will be an important part of Sunreef Yachts’ global expansion strategy. It will not only strengthen the company’s presence in the Middle East but also allow a stronger connection with the Asian and Australian markets . With two manufacturing sites in Poland and an emerging facility in Ras Al Khaimah, Sunreef Yachts gains an even more global reach for its range of sustainable catamarans. The first units to be produced in Ras Al Khaimah will be the hybrid 55 Open Sunreef Power as well as power and sail yachts ranging from 50 to 70 feet .

By working together, the cooperating entities will create a facility that will be a leader in modern, sustainable yachting, providing innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies to meet the evolving needs of customers.

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Expanding Sunreef Yachts Opens New UAE Facility

Sunreef Yachts is expanding.  With two shipyards already operating in Gdansk, Sunreef Yachts is currently developing a new manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah.

The company’s facility in Poland, has been expanding over the years and now boasts over 125 000m² of industrial surface.

A time of growth

Developed on a 65 000m² land reserve, the new facility will be expanding to incorporate the latest technologies in luxury yacht building.   It will meet the highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency.  Sunreef Yachts and RAK Maritime City are currently working together expanding the facility.  When complete it will be able to offer a 360-degree approach to yacht manufacturing. 

The expanding site will be equipped with  with a modern paint shop, carpentry, upholstery and stainless steel workshops.  All will be equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and latest robotics. The first manufacturing and CNC halls are currently nearing completion.

Why Ras Al Khaimah? 

An important crossroad between West and East, Ras Al Khaimah and the UAE was the best strategic choice for expanding the company.  Ras Al Khaimah offers exceptional incentive and industry support.  And expanding there offers easy access to key markets and transportation infrastructure.

“We are now further expanding in an environment that merges perfect strategic location, skilled workforce and proactive mindset. The yachts produced in Ras Al Khaimah will elevate eco-responsible yachting to a new level.  And, showcase industry-first technology. I would like to thank the RAK Government and RMC management for their invaluable support.   They have made this dream possible.  And I look forward to building a better future for yachting here.” says Francis Lapp, Founder and President of Sunreef Yachts.

“The Ras Al Khaimah shipyard that we are now expanding works hand in hand with our local Dubai office. They are employing a team of specialists from various fields. The aim is to form a yachting think tank that will anticipate trends.  And at the same time shape the future of yachting with creative solutions. I believe the RAK facility will be the perfect infrastructure to carry out the most advanced eco responsible yachting concepts.” says Munira Lapp, Sunreef Yachts Middle East Director.

Expanding strategy

The new facility is an important part of Sunreef Yachts’ global expanding strategy. It will not only strengthen the company’s presence in the Middle East but also allow a stronger connection with the Asian and Australian markets. With two manufacturing sites in Poland and an emerging facility in Ras Al Khaimah, Sunreef Yachts gains an even more global reach for its range of sustainable catamarans. The first units to be produced in Ras Al Khaimah will be the hybrid ULTIMA catamarans as well as power and sail yachts ranging from 50 to 70 feet.

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Middle East Crisis Thousands Flee Central Gaza After Israel’s Latest Evacuation Order

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Israel ordered people to leave as it said it had ‘intensified' operations in central Gaza.

Thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza were forced to flee their homes and shelters once again this week, after the Israeli military ordered evacuations on Thursday from a swath of neighborhoods in Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza, and from parts of central Gaza the day before.

Mohammed Aborjela was among those who fled an affected city, Deir al Balah, where he had been sheltering with friends. On Wednesday, his phone received a recorded message from the Israeli military, ordering Palestinians to “immediately” leave parts of the city and saying that it would act “forcefully” against Hamas militants in the area.

Mr. Aborjela, 28, packed up what few belongings he had and headed to Al-Mawasi, a coastal area that Israel has declared a humanitarian safe zone , but which has come under attack numerous times .

Hours after he arrived in Al-Mawasi, Mr. Aborjela said, shelling from tanks reached tents people were sheltering in.

“The tanks got close to us,” he said. “And they started shelling the people even though it is supposed to be a safe zone.”

The Israeli military said that it “takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm” when asked whether its ground forces opened tank fire toward Al-Mawasi.

In a statement, the Israeli military said Thursday that its forces had “intensified their operational activities in the area” of Deir al Balah, after its intelligence indicated the presence of Hamas infrastructure and fighters there and in Khan Younis.

Dr. Iyad al-Jabri, a surgeon and administrator at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, said that seven people who were wounded from the shelling of Al-Mawasi were brought to the medical facility.

They weren’t the only ones hurrying to the hospital. Hundreds of families fleeing the new evacuation orders arrived there to take shelter, even as hospital officials began to make their own contingency plans in case the Israeli military further expands its evacuation zones to include the hospital.

“In this area there is a ground invasion and we have to think, ‘Where can we go, what are we going to do?’” Dr. al-Jabri said. “So we are running around seeing where can we send our patients in case, God forbid, we are ordered to leave this hospital.”

More than 150,000 displaced people have been living in the central Gaza areas subject to Wednesday’s evacuation order, according to the United Nations. Nearly a dozen such orders issued this month by the Israeli military have so far affected an estimated 250,000 people and disrupted the movement of aid, the United Nations said. The multiple orders to flee between Aug. 8 to 17 have caused the loss of essential health services for many, the United Nations said, affecting 17 health facilities in total.

Before the orders issued this month, the United Nations had already estimated that around 90 percent of Gaza’s population of more than two million people had been forced to leave their homes since the war began because of evacuation orders, Israeli bombardments and ground fighting.

In a statement, the Gaza Health Ministry said that Israel’s military offensive was approaching the vicinity of Al-Aqsa hospital, and called on the international community and the United Nations to protect the overcrowded complex.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had been “made clear” to hospitals that they did not need to evacuate, but did not respond to questions about which hospitals this was communicated to and how.

Israel has accused Hamas of taking advantage of Gaza’s urban terrain to provide its fighters and weapons with an extra layer of protection, including running tunnels under neighborhoods and launching rockets near civilian homes. Hamas denies these accusations and says its members are Gazans who live among the population.

International law experts have said that no matter what, Israel bears a responsibility to protect civilians. U.S. officials, while backing Israel’s assertions, have also called for Israel to do more to safeguard Gazans.

Majdi Nassar, 33, a taxi driver before the war who fled to Deir al Balah from the northern Gaza Strip, received a call last Friday on his cellphone instructing him to leave, because the Israeli military said the neighborhood blocks they were in “had become fighting zones.”

“We were 10 people, my wife, son and in-laws,” he said. “We were all sharing one tent and had to dismantle it and flee. We took everything with us: the tent and the canned food we had and our clothes.”

It was the eighth time they have had to flee over 10 months of war.

“I don’t know what they are attacking here now,” he said. “I didn’t hear or see any shooting, or rockets, or anything from the Palestinians in this area.”

He said he was fleeing only for the safety of the children with him.

“I myself no longer care,” he said. “Death is no longer the worst scenario. This life is much worse. The scene of thousands of people running for their lives every day is unbearable.”

— Raja Abdulrahim and Abu Bakr Bashir reporting from Jerusalem

KEy developments

A deadly Israeli airstrike hits the West Bank, and other news.

An Israeli airstrike hit the West Bank town of Tulkarm, the Israeli military and Palestinian news media reported on Thursday. Three Palestinians were killed in the Thursday morning strike, which hit a home in Tulkarm, according to Wafa, the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. A spokesman for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, said that an Air Force unit had targeted “armed terrorists.” Nearly 600 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank from the start of the war in Gaza in October through Aug. 12, according to the United Nations.

Israeli warplanes attacked more than 10 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight, the Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday. Israeli forces have conducted at least two similar rounds of strikes against the powerful Iranian-backed militia this week. The two sides have traded cross-border strikes for months.

A group representing hostage families says the autopsies of six recovered bodies revealed bullets.

A group representing relatives of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel said on Thursday that autopsies showed “bullets were found in the bodies” of six captives Israeli troops recovered from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza, raising questions about how they died.

The group, the Hostages Family Forum, said that the autopsy results indicated that the six hostages “were taken alive and executed in the tunnels of Hamas.”

But an Israeli military spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter to families, said on Thursday that the autopsies showed “marks suggestive of gunshots” on the bodies and stressed it was too soon to determine whether gunshot wounds were the cause of death.

The autopsy reports have not been made public. The New York Times has not reviewed them and cannot confirm the results.

Four other bodies found in the tunnels near the hostages, believed to belong to Hamas militants, did not display the same marks, the military spokesperson said.

How and when the hostages died has been a matter of contention. Hamas has blamed the deaths on Israeli airstrikes, and the Israeli military has acknowledged some of them likely died while Israel was carrying out military operations in the area where they were found. Some Israel news outlets reported the hostages may have suffocated when the tunnel fill with toxins after an airstrike.

The revelations raise new questions about the circumstances of the hostages’ deaths after months of conflicting statements about some of the recovered captives from Hamas and the Israeli military.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military announced that it had recovered the six bodies in a hidden tunnel network, alongside four of their presumed captors.

Five of the six captives were already believed to be dead, according to the Israeli military. Three of them — Haim Peri, 80; Yoram Metzger, 80; and Alexander Dancyg, 75 — had been abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz near the Gaza border. Two others — Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Yagev Buchshtab, 35 — were taken from another border community, Nirim.

The sixth body belonged to another resident of Nir Oz, Avraham Munder, 79. Mr. Munder’s death had not been established previously.

Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, said in March that Mr. Metzger and Mr. Peri were among seven hostages who had been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Hamas then said in May that Mr. Popplewell had died from injuries sustained in an Israeli airstrike more than a month earlier.

Weeks later, in early June, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said that it was examining the possibility that some of the hostages had been killed together months earlier while Israeli forces were operating in the Khan Younis area.

On Tuesday, Adm. Hagari was asked again about how the hostages died at a news conference. He repeated what he had said in June — that the “hostages were killed while our troops were operating in Khan Younis” — and added that a forensic examination would reveal more.

Israeli news media reported on Tuesday that initial assessments suggested that five of the six hostages had died from suffocation when an Israeli airstrike hit another tunnel, causing the one they were in to fill with carbon dioxide. The Times could not confirm those reports.

The recovery of six dead hostages this week emphasized the urgent need for a cease-fire deal, families of the captives said in their statement on Thursday. The forum said the evidence the hostages may have been shot “serves as further proof of the cruelty of the terrorists,” and it condemned the government’s failure to reach a cease-fire agreement that would lead to the return of all hostages and an end to the fighting in Gaza.

“In every minute that the deal is not completed, another hostage could lose their life,” the forum said. “After 10 and a half months of war in which the hostages have been suffering, tortured, and dying, it is clear to all that the return of the hostages is only possible through a deal.”

— Ephrat Livni and Johnatan Reiss

Officials are trying to salvage negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Last-ditch efforts to salvage talks on a cease-fire in Gaza went forward on Thursday, as senior Israeli and American officials headed to negotiations in Cairo, less than a day after President Biden emphasized the “urgency” of closing the deal in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

In the call on Wednesday, Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu discussed a new round of talks in Cairo “to remove any remaining obstacles” to the proposed cease-fire and hostage release deal, the White House said, adding that Vice President Kamala Harris had joined the call. Mr. Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the call had taken place.

The Biden administration has been leading the latest push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, with Egypt and Qatar acting as mediators, and has presented a “ bridging proposal ” meant to close, or at least narrow, the gaps between the sides.

An Israeli delegation led by David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, and Ronen Bar, who leads the Shin Bet domestic security service, was heading to Cairo on Thursday to continue talks, said Omer Dostri, the Israeli prime minister’s spokesman.

Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, was already in Cairo on Thursday and William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, was also expected to attend the talks, according to a Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The deliberations in Cairo were expected to focus on security arrangements along Gaza’s border with Egypt and on reopening the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, said an Israeli official and another official familiar with the matter. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

One main focus of disagreement between Israel and Hamas has been Mr. Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining an Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor , a narrow strip of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. The Israeli leader has argued that the area has served as a major conduit for weapons smuggling into Gaza and that abandoning it would allow Hamas to quickly rearm.

Egypt and Hamas strongly object to continued Israeli control of the corridor and have called for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israeli security officials have suggested that other solutions can be found.

A visit to the region this week by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken ended without any apparent resolution to major sticking points — and in acrimony, with Mr. Netanyahu and Hamas officials trading blame for obstructing progress.

Israeli negotiators were taken aback and, in some cases, angered by Mr. Blinken’s statements this week apparently affirming that Mr. Netanyahu had accepted the American bridging proposal and that it was now up to Hamas to follow suit, according to people familiar with the talks.

Those statements — which came after a nearly three-hour meeting on Monday between Mr. Blinken and Mr. Netanyahu — made it appear that the Israeli prime minister and the Biden administration saw eye-to-eye on aspects of the proposal that Hamas clearly would not accede to, one of the people said, dimming the prospects of an agreement. Instead, they said, Mr. Blinken could have called more vaguely for flexibility on both sides.

But the Western official disputed that interpretation, saying that Mr. Blinken was clear that there were a lot of details left to be ironed out.

“These are still complex issues, and they’re going to require hard decisions by the leaders,” Mr. Blinken said after the meeting.

The details of the bridging proposal have not been made public. Another Israeli official with knowledge of the talks, who was not authorized to speak about them publicly, cautioned that few people really know what is being said behind closed doors, and said that talks were continuing at various levels as part of a difficult negotiation.

Rawan Sheikh Ahmad and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting from Jerusalem.

— Isabel Kershner and Aaron Boxerman reporting from Jerusalem

The crew of an oil tanker attacked in the Red Sea was rescued, but the tanker is an ‘environmental hazard.’

The crew of a Greek-flagged oil tanker that came under gun and missile attack in the Red Sea has been rescued after being forced to evacuate the vessel into a lifeboat, a European Union naval mission said on Thursday. The attack appears to have been the most serious in weeks against commercial shipping off the coast of Yemen.

The stricken vessel, which was carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil, was still floating and had become a “navigational and environmental hazard,” according to the E.U. statement. A statement from Delta Tankers, the ship’s operator, said it would be moved to a safer place for repairs. It was not clear whether any oil was leaking.

The Yemen-based Houthi militia, which has staged a series of attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea in what it says is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, has not claimed responsibility.

The tanker, the Sounion, was sailing about 90 miles west of the Yemeni port of Hudaydah early on Wednesday when two small boats approached it, said a statement on social media from Britain’s maritime trade agency, which is based in Dubai.

“The first craft had three to five persons onboard while the second had approximately 10,” the statement said. “The two small craft hailed the merchant vessel, leading to a brief exchange of small-arms fire.”

The small craft retreated and the ship was then hit by three “unidentified projectiles,” starting a fire and causing the ship to lose engine power, it said. It was not clear on Thursday whether the fire had been extinguished.

The crew was rescued by a ship from an E.U. military mission, Operation Aspides, that has been mounted in response to attacks by the Houthi militia, according to a statement the mission posted on social media Thursday.

The statement included a photograph showing an enclosed lifeboat, typical in the oil industry, bobbing in the water and a second photo of crew members aboard a rescue speedboat.

After coming under attack, the ship’s captain called for help. The E.U. military destroyed what it described as an “unmanned surface vessel” that had posed an imminent danger to the Sounion. The crew was being transported to Djibouti, the statement said.

The Houthi militia, which is backed by Iran, began firing late last year on ships entering the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal, which is a vital artery for vessels moving between Asia, Europe and the eastern United States.

The United States and Britain have launched strikes against the Houthis in response, but analysts have said they have done little to damage the militia’s military infrastructure. The attacks have continued, forcing ships to find alternative routes and disrupting global trade . Oil prices on Thursday were little changed, trading near their lowest levels of the year.

Over the course of dozens of attacks, at least two vessels have sunk and at least three crew members have been killed.

Jason Karaian contributed reporting.

— Matthew Mpoke Bigg

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Sunreef to open new shipyard in the United Arab Emirates

Polish shipyard Sunreef Yachts has announced its expansion into the Middle East with a new shipyard in the United Arab Emirates.

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