3 Saudi Ports add 5 new shipping services from Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk

RIYADH : Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Ports — also known as Mawani — on Sunday announced the addition of five new shipping services from Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk to Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, and Jubail Commercial Port.

In a news release, Mawani said the new services would connect the three Saudi seaports with those in Aqaba in Jordan, Port Said in Egypt, Tangier in Morocco, Algeciras in Spain, Jebel Ali in the UAE, Mundar and Pipavav in India, and Salalah in Oman.

They will have a total capacity of 19,869 containers that are 6 meters in length.

The new additions are expected to enhance the competitiveness of the Kingdom’s pivotal ports in the region and globally, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Mawani stated that efforts to widen the Kingdom’s position in the maritime navigation network connectivity index are in line with the objectives of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services.

Jeddah Islamic Port was earlier chosen as a center for the Gemini cooperation agreement between Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk.

This will consist of around 340 modern and efficient vessels to cover seven trades and offer 57 services including mainliner and dedicated shuttle services.