JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s ports authority has launched its 30th new shipping service of the year, adding a direct route between Jeddah Islamic Port and Port Sudan.
The “JSS” service, operated by Marsa Ocean Shipping, offers capacity for 1,118 containers and is expected to strengthen trade flows across the Red Sea and support the Kingdom’s exports, said the Saudi Ports Authority, also known as Mawani.
The move is part of Mawani’s drive to improve global rankings, enhance efficiency at Jeddah port, and strengthen Saudi Arabia’s role as a trade link between Asia, Africa, and Europe.
The initiative also supports Vision 2030 goals to raise the logistics sector’s contribution to gross domestic product from 6 percent to 10 percent by 2030.
In a post on its official X handle, the authority said: “As part of Mawani’s ongoing efforts to enhance the competitiveness of the Kingdom’s ports, the ‘JSS’ shipping service, operated by ‘Marsa Ocean Shipping,’ has been added to Jeddah Islamic Port, representing the 30th new service introduced since the start of 2025.”
This comes on the back of several new connections, with Goodrich launching the RSX1 service in August, linking Jeddah to Port Sudan, Djibouti, and Jebel Ali in the UAE with 720 TEUs capacity, while Blue Ocean Shipping introduced the BOS service to Qingdao, Ningbo, and Nansha in China, with 2,300 TEUs capacity.
In July, CMA CGM began operating the LRX service, connecting Jeddah to Latakia in Syria, as well as Iskenderun and Mersin in Turkiye, and Beirut in Lebanon, with a capacity of 2,826 TEUs. That marked Saudi Arabia’s first direct shipping link with Syria.
Other recent additions include the AR2 Asia Redsea service by Wan Hai Lines, linking Jeddah to major ports in China, Turkiye, Egypt, and Jordan with a capacity of 3,700 TEUs, and the IM2 service by Emirates Line and Wan Hai, connecting to Mundra in India, Alexandria in Egypt, and Mersin in Turkiye.
In March, Mawani launched the “Chinook Clanga” service, operated by Mediterranean Shipping Co., at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam and Jubail Commercial Port, connecting Saudi Arabia’s eastern ports to 16 regional and international destinations.
The service strengthens links across the Arabian Gulf to key ports, including Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain, Hamad in Qatar, Nhava Sheva in India, Colombo in Sri Lanka, and Singapore.
