RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam has launched a shipping service to enhance connections with seven additional global destinations.
Operated by France’s container carrier CMA CGM, the India Gulf Express shipping service was unveiled by the Saudi Ports Authority.
The new service has established a direct connection between the Dammam port and seven major maritime hubs, including Nhava Sheva, Mundra, and Mangalore in India. These hubs also include Colombo in Sri Lanka, Jebel Ali and Khalifa in the UAE, and Umm Qasr in Iraq.
With a capacity exceeding 39,000 containers, the new service includes four ships weekly, strengthening trade capacity, competitiveness, and connectivity of the King Abdulaziz Port.
The move aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, aiming to bolster maritime links, provide faster transit times, and offer cost-effective solutions for local exporters, establishing the Kingdom as a leading logistics and economic powerhouse.
The new service is the 25th addition to the ports authority’s expanding network of maritime links this year. This has contributed to the country’s improved score of 77.66 points in the UNCTAD’s Liner Shipping Connectivity Index during the third quarter, up from 76.16 points in the second quarter.
According to the 2023 Lloyd’s List of Top 100 Ports, Saudi Arabia is ranked 16th globally in terms of annual container throughput volumes.
In 2022, the Kingdom’s ports handled 10.44 million containers, with plans to increase capacity to more than 40 million containers by 2030.
