Joint Terminal Service Enhancement Pact Allocates Dedicated Berths to Double Short-Sea Rotations Between Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and East Africa


JEDDAH / MARSEILLE — The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has formalized an expanded terminal operations and feeder service framework with French ocean carrier CMA CGM. Under the agreement, Mawani has committed two dedicated, high-productivity berthing slots at Jeddah Islamic Port to support CMA CGM’s upgraded intra-Red Sea and Gulf of Aden short-sea feeder network.

The expanded feeder architecture establishes two synchronized weekly feeder loops connecting Jeddah with strategic secondary ports across Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Djibouti. The joint initiative addresses escalating regional feeder capacity deficits caused by mainline vessel diversions and transshipment bottlenecks, cementing Jeddah’s role as the primary relay node bridging the Arabian Peninsula with Africa and the Mediterranean basin under the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) of Saudi Vision 2030.

Mitigating Short-Sea Feedering Disconnects in the Red Sea Arc

Protracted disruptions across the southern Red Sea and the widespread circumnavigation of Africa by global liner alliances have fundamentally altered cargo flow patterns:

  • Mainline Rerouting Pressure: Deep-sea mother vessels operating on Asia–Europe strings increasingly bypass secondary ports inside the Red Sea, discharging full import blocks at designated primary transshipment centers like Jeddah.

  • Secondary Port Isolation: Regional outports such as Ain Sokhna, Port Sudan, Aqaba, and Massawa have faced irregular sailings, volatile feeder slot allocations, and surging transshipment dwell times.

  • Equipment Imbalances: The concentration of empty containers at hub terminals created acute shortages of dry and refrigerated container boxes in regional manufacturing and agricultural feeder ports.

By formalizing dedicated quay space and priority vessel scheduling at Jeddah, Mawani and CMA CGM ensure that regional short-sea feeder shuttles operate on fixed-day, clockwork schedules, guaranteeing sub-48-hour transshipment turnarounds for cargo arriving from South Asia, the Far East, and the Mediterranean.

Quayside Productivity and Seamless Customs Integration

To prevent relay bottlenecks between deep-sea berths and feeder docks, operations are tightly synchronized through digital port community architecture:

  • Direct Quay-to-Quay Relay: Transshipment blocks discharging from mainline vessels at adjacent terminals are transferred directly to Berths 42 and 43 via automated terminal tractor-trailers, avoiding off-dock staging.

  • Pre-Arrival Manifest Harmonization: Operating under Mawani’s single-window platform and ZATCA’s Fasah engine, transit containers clear bonded security protocols electronically while vessels are underway, enabling immediate restowage.

  • Integrated Temperature Monitoring: High-value agricultural consignments, fresh protein shipments, and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical cargo interface directly with automated remote reefer telemetry, preserving cold-chain integrity across ambient desert heat.

Strategic Positioning Across Global Trade Corridors

Commenting on the operational deployment, leadership from Mawani and CMA CGM’s regional executive board stated:

"The Red Sea basin requires agile, high-frequency feeder solutions to maintain supply chain continuity during periods of global sailing recalibration. By coupling Jeddah Islamic Port’s deepwater capacity and priority berthing with CMA CGM’s extensive feeder fleet, we provide international cargo owners with predictable, weekly feeder departures across the Levant, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. This agreement solidifies Jeddah’s standing as the central maritime logistics anchor of the Middle East."

Commercial booking allocations for both the RSF-1 and RSF-2 loops have officially opened, with the inaugural scheduled feeder sailing departing Jeddah Islamic Port for Ain Sokhna and Aqaba early next week.