Jeddah Islamic Port Sets Record with 495,000 TEUs

Handing over awards to "Mawani" at the recent transportation and logistics ceremony (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Handing over awards to "Mawani" at the recent transportation and logistics ceremony (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Jeddah Islamic Port Sets Record with 495,000 TEUs

Handing over awards to "Mawani" at the recent transportation and logistics ceremony (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Handing over awards to "Mawani" at the recent transportation and logistics ceremony (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Jeddah Islamic Port has set a new record for the biggest volume ever processed across its facilities over 30 days, handling 495,000 TEUs during July.

The latest milestone continues a course dating back to last year, which saw a record 4.96 million TEUs passing through the Kingdom's busiest Port, a 1.57 percent year-on-year increase compared to 2021.

The figures underscore the pivotal regional and global significance of the Port in line with Saudi Arabia's National Transport and Logistics Strategy.

The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry have agreed to establish an integrated logistics zone in the port, with an investment value of one billion riyals ($266 million).

The logistics development aims to enhance MAWANI's position as a significant player in the national transportation sector and boost the Kingdom's drive to become a global logistics destination.

MAWANI won the Sea Port of The Year award, represented by Jeddah Port, and the Digital Transition Award at the 7th edition of the International Green Shipping Summit, held in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.

Jeddah Islamic Port received various awards, including eighth place in the 2021 Container Ports Performance Index issued by the World Bank and Standard & Poor's Global Market Intelligence.

MAWANI stated that winning the "Customer Experience Excellence" award underscores the exceptional efforts to enhance the experience for beneficiaries and port clients.

Additionally, MAWANI unveiled the new Customer Service Center as part of its comprehensive plan to enhance its services and offer outstanding services to its clients, aiming to achieve the highest standards of quality and speed in all services.

Notably, the Awards for Transport and Logistics is a regional platform that measures the achievements of organizations and individuals across various relevant sectors, acknowledging all efforts, strategies, and outstanding performance in transportation and logistics.



US Mulls Plan to Disrupt Iran's Oil by Halting Vessels at Sea

The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
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US Mulls Plan to Disrupt Iran's Oil by Halting Vessels at Sea

The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo

US President Donald Trump's administration is considering a plan to stop and inspect Iranian oil tankers at sea under an international accord aimed at countering the spread of weapons of mass destruction, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump has vowed to restore a "maximum pressure" campaign to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports to zero, in order to stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Trump hit Iran with two waves of fresh sanctions in the first weeks of his second-term, targeting companies and the so-called shadow fleet of ageing oil tankers that sail without Western insurance and transport crude from sanctioned countries.

Those moves have largely been in line with the limited measures implemented during former President Joe Biden's administration, during which Iran succeeded in ramping up oil exports through complex smuggling networks.

Trump officials are now looking at ways for allied countries to stop and inspect ships sailing through critical chokepoints such as the Malacca Strait in Asia and other sea lanes, according to six sources who asked not to be named due to the sensitive subject.

That would delay delivery of crude to refiners. It could also expose parties involved in facilitating the trade to reputational damage and sanctions, the sources said.

"You don’t have to sink ships or arrest people to have that chilling effect that this is just not worth the risk," one of the sources said.

"The delay in delivery ... instills uncertainty in that illicit trade network."

The administration was examining whether inspections at sea could be conducted under the auspices of the Proliferation Security Initiative launched in 2003, which aims to prevent the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction.

The US drove that initiative, which has been signed by over 100 governments.

This mechanism could enable foreign governments to target Iran's oil shipments at Washington's request, one of the sources said, effectively delaying deliveries and hitting supply chains Tehran relies upon for revenue.

The National Security Council, which formulates policy in the White House, was looking into possible inspections at sea, two of the sources said.

It was unclear if Washington had yet approached any signatories to the Proliferation Security Initiative to test their willingness to cooperate with the proposal.

John Bolton, who was the US lead negotiator for the initiative when it was formed, told Reuters: "it would be fully justified" to use the initiative to slow down Iran oil exports. He noted that selling oil was "obviously critical to raise revenue for the government of Iran to conduct both its proliferation activities and support for terrorism."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Iran's parliament on March 2 that Trump "has once again signed an order sanctioning many of our ships at sea, leaving them uncertain about how to unload their oil and gas cargo". He was referring to Trump's latest round of sanctions.