Mawani and Bahri Announce Direct Red Sea Feeder Loop Linking Jeddah Islamic Port to Port Sudan

Branded as the Red Sea Express Shuttle (RSX), the newly launched liner loop deploys ice-class and shallow-draft multi-purpose container feeder vessels to maintain fixed, bi-weekly sailings across the 170-nautical-mile maritime corridor separating the western Saudi coastline from the primary commercial gateway of Sudan.

JEDDAH / PORT SUDAN — In an operational push to restore scheduled short-sea connectivity and stabilize disrupted maritime supply lines across the Red Sea basin, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), in direct operational partnership with the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), has officially inaugurated a dedicated, scheduled container feeder shuttle service linking Jeddah Islamic Port directly with Port Sudan.Branded as the Red Sea Express Shuttle (RSX), the newly launched liner loop deploys ice-class and shallow-draft multi-purpose container feeder vessels to maintain fixed, bi-weekly sailings across the 170-nautical-mile maritime corridor separating the western Saudi coastline from the primary commercial gateway of Sudan.The joint initiative forms a key pillar of Saudi Arabia's National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS), which aims to reinforce Jeddah Islamic Port's strategic positioning as the dominant regional transshipment and logistics consolidation hub connecting East Africa directly to global East-West mainline maritime services.<h4 data-path-to-node="9" style="font-family: "Google Sans", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Addressing the East African Transshipment Void</h4>Protracted security risks and rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope have prompted major global ocean carrier alliances to blank mainline direct calls into secondary Red Sea ports. This has created severe supply chain bottlenecks for Sudanese industrial, medical, and agricultural trade:<ul data-path-to-node="11" style="padding-inline-start: 32px; font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Bypassing Landside Chokepoints: The direct marine feeder connection bypasses fragile inland overland transit routes and congested border crossings, establishing a predictable waterborne logistics bridge.</li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Rapid Ocean Turnarounds: With a sailing distance under 180 nautical miles, the shuttle compresses berth-to-berth transit times to just 32 to 36 hours, slashing delivery lead times compared to irregular ad-hoc tramp services.</li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Guaranteed Mainline Transshipment: Containerized cargo arriving at Port Sudan connects directly via Jeddah with deep-sea mother vessels operated by leading ocean alliances, providing uninterrupted access to European, Mediterranean, Indian Subcontinent, and Far East export destinations.</li></ul><h4 data-path-to-node="13" style="font-family: "Google Sans", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Humanitarian Supplies, Pharma, and Food Security</h4>Beyond standard commercial merchandise and industrial spare parts, the Bahri-Mawani feeder shuttle addresses acute humanitarian and cold-chain relief logistics.A significant portion of vessel capacity has been pre-allocated to active temperature-controlled reefer slots. These units are designated for:<ol start="1" data-path-to-node="19" style="padding-inline-start: 32px; font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Critical Medical Imports: Transporting WHO- and UNICEF-sponsored vaccines, intravenous solutions, and emergency surgical supplies requiring uninterrupted cold chains between 2°C and 8°C.</li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Essential Staple Goods: Accelerating the import of packaged foods, flour, and agricultural inputs into Port Sudan to mitigate regional food security shortfalls.</li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Livestock & Agro-Exports: Providing Sudanese gum arabic, oilseeds, and regional agricultural exporters with a reliable, chilled export route into Saudi and broader Arabian Gulf markets.</li></ol><h4 data-path-to-node="21" style="font-family: "Google Sans", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Digital Integration via Port Community Platforms</h4>To eliminate clearing friction at both ports, the service operates under a unified electronic manifest system integrated with Mawani's FASAH single-window platform and the Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) operating system.Through paperless Electronic Delivery Orders (e-DO) and pre-arrival customs clearances, containers discharging at Port Sudan or relaying through Jeddah undergo pre-stowage clearance while ships are underway. This advance processing reduces dwell times at terminal quays to under 18 hours.Speaking at the inaugural sailing ceremony at Jeddah Islamic Port, Mawani leadership emphasized the broader geopolitical and commercial intent:<blockquote data-path-to-node="25" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">"The launching of this direct maritime bridge with Bahri reaffirms Jeddah's role as the central logistical anchor of the Red Sea. In times of regional supply chain volatility, establishing dependable, scheduled feeder connectivity is essential not only for economic continuity, but also for securing vital humanitarian lifelines to East Africa."</blockquote>

Mawani and Bahri Announce Direct Red Sea Feeder Loop Linking Jeddah Islamic Port to Port Sudan

Haulage Times Daily Intelligence