Arab News, Tuesday, May 30, 2023 | Thul-Qidah 10, 1444
New shipping service added to Kingdom’s Dammam port
Saudi Arabia:
Traffic at the King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam will soon ease thanks to the
addition of Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s new service, the Saudi
Press Agency reported.
The Upper Gulf Express shipping service aligns
with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy to position
the Kingdom as a global logistics hub connecting three continents, the General
Authority of Ports said.
The shipping service connects Dammam with the
ports of Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE as well as the Iraqi port of Umm
Qasr.
The service which is set to launch at the end of
May also consolidates the position of the King Abdulaziz Port as the main port
through which goods pass from all over the world.
In January this year, the ports authority
announced the launch of a new freight service at King Abdulaziz Port operated by
MSC.
The connection allows Dammam to enjoy weekly
sailings to eight maritime destinations spanning the Arabian Gulf, South Asia,
and Southern Africa.
These include the ports of Khalifa bin Salman in
Bahrain, Khalifa in the UAE, Qasim in Pakistan, Mundra and Hazira in India, Port
Louis in Mauritius, and Durban and Coega in South Africa.
The service started on Jan. 21 and features five
vessels with an average carrying capacity exceeding 6,000 twenty-foot equivalent
units.