Saudi Arabia builds new Red Sea service

Saudi Ports Authority Mawani has launched a new cargo shipping service linking Jeddah Islamic Port with Salalah in Oman and the Port of Djibouti, according to Saudi state television and reports citing the authority. The service began on May 21 and has a carrying capacity of 1,730 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs. Mawani said the addition would strengthen maritime connectivity between Saudi Arabia and ports in the region and beyond. (zawya.com) The move comes as Red Sea and adjacent shipping lanes remain under scrutiny after disruptions that reshaped trade routes over the past two years. ### Which ports are on the new route? Jeddah Islamic Port, the Port of Salalah and the Port of Djibouti are the three named stops in the new service announced by Mawani on May 21. (maaal.com) Reports citing Saudi state media said the route was added to Jeddah Islamic Port as part of the authority’s effort to expand maritime links and support import and export activity. Mawani said the service would connect the kingdom with “various ports worldwide,” though the reports reviewed did not identify the carrier operating the loop or publish a sailing schedule. Jeddah Islamic Port is Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea container gateway and sits on the west coast shipping corridor facing Suez-bound traffic. (zawya.com) ### Why are Jeddah, Salalah and Djibouti being linked now? The May 21 launch comes after months of rerouting across Red Sea and Suez-linked trades. UNCTAD said in a February 2024 rapid assessment that attacks and disruption affecting the Red Sea had cut transits through the Suez Canal by more than 40% from peak levels, while ships diverted around the Cape of Good Hope. (zawya.com) Saudi officials have framed the new service as a connectivity measure rather than as a formal replacement for any single corridor. Gulf News, citing Mawani, said the route fits Saudi Arabia’s broader logistics strategy under Vision 2030, while Reuters reported the authority said the service would strengthen maritime links between the kingdom and global ports. (maaal.com) ### Does this create a full alternative to Hormuz-linked shipping? The announced service adds another regional option, but the published details do not show a complete substitute for all Hormuz-dependent flows. Salalah sits outside the Strait of Hormuz on Oman’s Arabian Sea coast, and Djibouti anchors the Bab al-Mandeb side of Red Sea traffic, giving carriers additional routing flexibility around existing chokepoints. (unctad.org) That is an inference from the geography of the named ports and the route itself. UNCTAD said Red Sea disruption had already pushed cargo onto longer and different routes, with knock-on effects for costs and schedules. That means added services can spread traffic across more nodes, but they do not remove the underlying exposure of regional shipping networks to security incidents and congestion. (gulfnews.com) ### What is still missing from the announcement? The May 21 disclosures did not include freight rates, transit times, frequency, or the shipping line operating the service. The reports also did not specify whether the route is aimed mainly at feeder cargo, transshipment, or direct regional trade between the three ports. (gulfnews.com) Those details will determine how much cargo the service can absorb in practice. For now, the confirmed facts are narrower: Mawani has added the service at Jeddah Islamic Port, the route links Salalah and Djibouti, and the published capacity is 1,730 TEUs. (unctad.org) ### What happens next for shippers watching the route? Mawani has already listed Jeddah Islamic Port as the Saudi end of the service, and further operational details are likely to come from the authority, the ports involved, or the carrier once sailings are underway. Any next step will be visible in port notices, carrier schedules or additional Mawani announcements tied to Jeddah, Salalah and Djibouti. (mawani.gov.sa) (zawya.com)