The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) has announced the inclusion of Jeddah Islamic Port to the Turkey Libya Express (TLX) service by container shipper CMA CGM in partnership with the Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT).
The weekly service, which began in early July, connects Jeddah to eight worldwide hubs, including Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Singapore, Iskenderun, Malta, Misurata, and Port Klang, via a fleet of nine ships with a capacity of more than 30,000 TEU.
The new maritime linkage aims to strengthen Jeddah port’s strategic position along the busy Red Sea trade lane, which recently posted a record-breaking throughput of 473,676 TEU in June thanks to large-scale infrastructure upgrades and investments.
READ: MAWANI achieves 2 million TEU in first quarter
So far this year, the Kingdom has witnessed a historic addition of 20 cargo services, allowing it to ascend to 16th place in the Q2 update of UNCTAD’s Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI) among 187 nations.
The country has also risen 17 places in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index to 38th position, as well as eight places in the 2023 edition of the Lloyd’s List One Hundred Ports.
In July 2023, MAWANI recorded a 6.79 per cent year-on-year uptick in TEU throughput across its trade hubs during the month of June.
More recently, MAWANI welcomed the largest containership in the port’s history, the MSC Loreto, with a carrying capacity of 24,246 TEU.
