News / Saudi Red Sea ports a cargo lifeline for Gulf importers as Hormuz falters

Photo: Mawani

With the conflict in the Persian Gulf showing no signs of abating, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports are emerging as a crucial cargo lifeline for importers in Gulf countries under attack from Iranian projectiles.

The country’s state ports authority, Mawani, today launched a Logistics Corridors Initiative, aimed at supplying Gulf countries where ports are currently unable to operate due to the attacks and the inability of container vessels to pass the Straits of Hormuz.

On a visit to the country’s chief container gateway of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s transport minister and chairman of Mawani, Saleh bin Nasser Al Jasser (above), said the initiative “aims to provide operational corridors dedicated to receive containers and cargo redirected from ports in the kingdom’s eastern region and from ports in Gulf Cooperation Council countries to Jeddah Islamic Port and other Saudi ports on the Red Sea coast, thereby enhancing supply chain efficiency and facilitating cargo movement between the kingdom’s ports”.

With the port of Salalah having to shutter operations today, after being hit by an Iranian missile, and other Omani ports looking vulnerable to further attacks, Jeddah and King Abdullah represent the only two gateways that could conceivably supply the cargo needs of the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain.

Last week, Gemini partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced the launch of a new Asia-Mediterranean AE19/SE4 service which would include a call at Jeddah, accessed via the Suez Canal.

According to Xeneta’s eeSea liner database, as of today there are five vessels at berth in Jeddah and another four waiting to be docked. However, it also shows a further 25 vessels en route to the port, and due to arrive by the end of the month.

Sixteen of the ships steaming to Jeddah are assigned to scheduled services that regularly call at the port, while the remaining nine are unassigned to services, indicating they could be on inducement sailings.

Today, Japanese carrier ONE requested that Gulf shippers return its empty containers to either the Omani port of Sohar or Jeddah.

There is also sea-air and air freight elements to the logistics corridor initiative, which also involves the country’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) and state-owned airline Saudia Cargo introducing “new sea to air logistics routes designed to keep cargo moving through Saudi Arabia and onward to global markets”.

“Launched as a sea to air logistics corridor via the kingdom’s western coast ports, the initiative provides a proactive response to regional developments affecting shipping patterns and international flight schedules, helping safeguard supply chain continuity,” Saudia Cargo said.

“Saudia Cargo will play a central role in shifting inbound maritime shipments into a rapid air bridge, helping shorten overall transit times while offering solutions that balance cost efficiency with speed of delivery.

“The sea to air logistics corridor supports a more integrated national logistics approach in which seaports and airports operate as complementary, connected entry points, enabling cargo to shift smoothly between modes as conditions evolve.

“The first routes have already been activated, beginning with Jeddah Islamic Port, to support business continuity and the redirection of cargo flows when required. ZATCA’s role as a key enabler and regulator is central to the corridor’s effectiveness, linking maritime and air gateways through an integrated transit framework that allows cargo to move under a single customs declaration,” it said, adding that cargo movements would be supported by pre-clearance capabilities and smart inspection controls, “enabling containers to move from port berth to airport runway within significantly reduced timeframes”.

There is also plenty of port capacity to handle the extra traffic – according to eeSea, Jeddah handled just over 3m teu in 2024, but currently has a capacity of more than 10m teu, while King Abdullah port has a further 5m teu capacity.