Saudi launches new Red Sea route

Saudi Arabia’s ports authority has opened a new cargo service linking Jeddah, Salalah and Djibouti as shipping threats persist on the approaches to the Red Sea. Saudi state media reported on May 21 that Mawani, the kingdom’s ports authority, launched the route through Jeddah Islamic Port with capacity of 1,730 twenty-foot equivalent units. Two days later, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said it had received multiple reports of suspicious activity in the Gulf of Aden, including skiffs approaching vessels. The two developments show how commercial routing and maritime security are now moving together across the Red Sea corridor. ### What exactly did Saudi Arabia launch? Mawani said the new service connects Jeddah Islamic Port with Salalah in Oman and the Port of Djibouti. Saudi state television, cited by Reuters and regional outlets, said the service is intended to strengthen maritime connectivity between the kingdom and global ports. The announced capacity is 1,730 containers. (zawya.com) Jeddah Islamic Port is one of Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea gateways, and the addition of a direct service to Salalah and Djibouti extends a route that stays focused on the Red Sea and its southern approaches rather than Gulf ports farther inside the Strait of Hormuz system. Mawani and Saudi-linked coverage described the launch as part of the kingdom’s broader logistics push under Vision 2030. (zawya.com) ### What did the British maritime agency warn about? UKMTO said on May 23 that it had received reports from various sources of suspicious activity within the Gulf of Aden. The agency said multiple vessels had been approached by skiffs and that one large skiff with two outboard engines had been observed carrying ladders and weapons. It advised ships to transit with caution and report suspicious activity while authorities investigate. A separate UKMTO incident notice dated May 21 said a tanker 98 nautical miles north of Socotra was approached by a small craft carrying five people. (gulfnews.com) UKMTO said the vessel’s armed security team fired warning shots and the small craft altered course. ### Why do Jeddah, Salalah and Djibouti matter together? Djibouti sits at the western side of the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint, while Salalah lies just to the east of Yemen on the Arabian Sea side. Jeddah is Saudi Arabia’s principal commercial port on the Red Sea. (ukmto.org) A service linking those three ports creates a regular connection across the southern Red Sea gateway and the Arabian Sea approach used by ships moving toward Suez or deeper into the Gulf region. The route does not remove exposure to all regional risk. Vessels serving Jeddah from Salalah still pass through waters connected to the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandeb corridor, where UKMTO warnings remain active. But the Saudi move adds another piece of port-to-port infrastructure centered on Red Sea trade lanes rather than on Gulf terminals closer to Hormuz. That is an inference from the geography of the route and Mawani’s stated focus on connectivity. (gulfnews.com) ### What does this mean for shipping companies right now? UKMTO’s May 14 advisory said it had logged 49 incident reports affecting vessels operating in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman between Feb. 28 and May 22. That total included 27 attack reports, 20 suspicious activity reports and two hijack reports. Those figures give shipowners and charterers a current measure of how much security reporting has accumulated across connected regional sea lanes. (ukmto.org) Saudi Arabia’s new service does not by itself resolve those risks, but it gives cargo owners another scheduled option through Jeddah Islamic Port as regional operators adjust networks. Mawani says the service is already added to Jeddah’s lineup, and UKMTO continues to publish incident notices and transit guidance for vessels in the area. ### What should readers watch next? UKMTO’s recent-incidents page is the clearest place to watch for additional Gulf of Aden alerts, including whether reports of skiffs continue in coming days. (ukmto.org) Mawani and Saudi state media are the named sources to watch for sailing frequency, carrier details and any expansion of the Jeddah-Salalah-Djibouti service beyond its initial 1,730-TEU capacity. (maaal.com)