<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">In a major tactical expansion of its alternative Red
Sea cargo corridors, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has launched a
dedicated liner service connecting Jeddah Islamic Port with the critical
regional transshipment hubs of Salalah in Oman and the Port of Djibouti. The
newly deployed loop introduces a weekly container carrying capacity of up to
1,730 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), building structural trade resilience
across the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The regional freight alignment establishes an
immediate buffer for global container lines, offering a reliable, high-volume
maritime bypass away from escalating transit blockades and insurance risks
squeezing the Strait of Hormuz logistics lanes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Operated under Greta Shipping’s expanding container
network, the tri-port connectivity matrix links Saudi Arabia’s primary western
maritime gateway directly with the Indian Ocean and the East African coastline.
According to fleet deployment briefs, the streamlined cargo pipeline secures
several immediate commercial advantages for Middle Eastern and East Asian
supply lines:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Suez
and Africa Transit Stabilization:</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> The route optimizes
transshipment connections at Salalah and Jeddah, providing shippers with a
highly predictable feedering alternative that completely circumvents
Persian Gulf maritime chokepoints.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Horn
of Africa Feedering Core:</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> By looping in the
Port of Djibouti, the service secures an expanded freight footprint across
East Africa, accelerating the distribution of non-oil exports and
manufacturing raw materials.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Enhanced
Container Velocity:</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> The dedicated 1,730-TEU loop
significantly shortens regional empty-container turnaround delays and
lowers port-to-port dwelling timelines across the Red Sea corridor.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The shipping expansion directly advances Saudi
Arabia's long-term Vision 2030 blueprint, which aims to convert the Kingdom
into a premier, three-continent logistics nexus bridging Asia, Europe, and
Africa. Port planners emphasized that the new service closely follows the
activation of Mawani's "Red Sea Express" link, which recently unified
transit flows between Yanbu, Jeddah, Egypt’s Ain Sokhna, and Jordan’s Aqaba
port. By aggressively scaling up alternative logistics lanes and fortifying
deepwater berth utilization on its western coast, Riyadh continues to diversify
its commercial trade corridors against ongoing geopolitical market shocks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>