Operators launch Jeddah–Salalah–Djibouti corridor to bypass high-risk Red Sea routes

Saudi Ports Authority Mawani on Thursday launched a shipping service linking Jeddah, Salalah and Djibouti, according to Saudi state TV, adding another rerouting option as carriers and freight operators adjust to security risks across the Red Sea and nearby Gulf waters. The service has capacity for 1,730 standard containers, Reuters reported, citing state TV. The launch comes as shipping companies continue to divert cargo, pause some bookings and rely more heavily on multimodal workarounds across Saudi Arabia, Oman and other regional gateways. (zawya.com) (ukmto.org) UKMTO said in a May 14 summary that it had received 49 incident reports affecting vessels in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman since Feb. 28, including 27 attacks, 20 cases of suspicious activity and two hijacks. (zawya.com) The Joint Maritime Information Center, or JMIC, has also warned mariners about electromagnetic interference affecting navigation and communications systems in the broader region. ### Why are operators using Jeddah, Salalah and Djibouti now? Mawani said the new service links Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Salalah in Oman and Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, giving carriers a defined corridor through ports that sit outside the highest-risk stretches cited in recent advisories. Saudi state TV said the service is intended to strengthen maritime connectivity between the kingdom and global ports. (zawya.com) Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia has been expanding shipping services through Red Sea ports as regional trade routes face disruption from the Iran war and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. DHL Global Forwarding said cargo was continuing to be rerouted via India, Sri Lanka, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE east-coast ports, while gateway ports including Jeddah and Sohar were facing congestion and demurrage risk. (ukmto.org) Maersk said on May 18 that it was expanding multimodal solutions across the Gulf region while suspending some landside bookings tied to Jeddah, Salalah and other ports because conditions remained volatile. ### What threats are ships being warned about? UKMTO’s latest incident summary listed projectile strikes, small-craft attacks, fires and suspicious approaches in early May, including incidents near Fujairah, Doha, Mina Saqr and Sirik. In one May 13 report, UKMTO said a vessel at anchor northeast of Fujairah had been taken by unauthorized personnel and was bound for Iranian territorial waters. (zawya.com) JMIC said vessels transiting the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz should maintain vigilant watches for electromagnetic interference and should not rely entirely on electronic navigation methods or autopilot in affected areas. The advisory said interference had affected systems drawing on GPS, Galileo and Glonass data, including ECDIS, ARPA, AIS and GMDSS. (dhl.com) The U.S. Maritime Administration said in Advisory 2026-006 that vessels with Israeli, U.S. or UK associations could face a high risk of hostile action in the southern Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden. MARAD listed potential threats including drones, missiles, explosive boats, illegal boardings and seizures. (ukmto.org) ### Where does insurance fit into this? Lloyd’s List said on May 14 that marine insurers were warning Red Sea turmoil was exposing gaps in cargo war cover, while an April 21 report said some ships trapped in the Gulf were skimping on war-risk cover because premiums were unaffordable. Lloyd’s List data analysis published May 1 also said Bab el-Mandeb traffic remained 45% below 2023 volumes even as tanker transits tied to Saudi crude had risen. (mscio.eu) Those reports do not give a fresh market-wide premium quote for May 21, but they show insurers and shipowners were still repricing risk and coverage terms as attacks, interference and route disruptions persisted. ### What does the corridor change for shippers right now? Jeddah, Salalah and Djibouti give operators a port-to-port workaround rather than a full return to normal Red Sea transit patterns. (maritime.dot.gov) DHL said alternative gateways and cargo reworking were already active solutions, and Maersk said bookings remained restricted for parts of the region even as selected services to Jeddah and Salalah continued. Mawani’s next step is to build traffic on the new 1,730-container service launched on May 21. (lloydslist.com) Shippers are likely to keep watching updates from Mawani, Maersk, UKMTO, JMIC and MARAD as routing, booking limits and security guidance continue to change. (zawya.com) (dhl.com)