Maersk expands operations at Jeddah Port with AE7, AE12 services

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The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) announced the addition of Danish shipping company A. P. Moller – Maersk’s AE12 and AE7 shipping services to Jeddah Islamic Port. The global logistics and shipping giant confirmed that AE7 made its maiden call at Jeddah on June 8, and AE12 first called Jeddah a week earlier on June 2, as per Saudi Press Agency.

The introduction of these expanded capacity services are part of the Saudi government’s efforts to increase the connectivity with global shipping markets, as per the vision set forth by the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS).

Mawani-Maersk partnership

Maersk’s AE7 services have a capacity of 18,000 TEUs and include 12 vessels, with 15 port calls at Ningbo-Zhoushan, Shanghai, Nansha, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo, Tangier, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Felixstowe, London Gateway, Salalah, Khalifa, and Jebel Ali.

The AE12 service links Jeddah to 13 global hubs across Southern Europe, Africa, and East Asia through a fleet of 12 ships offering a 15,000-TEU capacity.

The latest expansion to the kingdom’s global maritime network underscores Mawani’s commitment to drive collaborations with strategic partners like Maersk and Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) to boost the nation’s standing in international indices, such as the UNCTAD’s Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI). The effort also builds on Jeddah’s position as a key logistics hub.

Building Jeddah

Earlier this year in February, Maersk and Mawani laid the foundation stone for a multi-purpose, environmentally friendly logistics park at Jeddah Islamic Port. The project will develop an area of 225,000 square meters and position Jeddah Islamic Port to offer an array of supply-chain solutions with an aim to enhance logistics services.

The greenfield investment project estimated to cost at $346m will focus on decarbonising logistics with the use of renewable energy to power the entire facility. The Integrated Logistics Park will be fully powered by solar energy generated from rooftop solar panels. Further, the trucks used for transportation at the Park will be fully electric vehicles.

The project at conception, is designed as the largest logistics park in Saudi Arabia.

The addition of the expanded shipping services is in line with positioning Jeddah Islamic Port as a world-class destination for trade and economic growth.

Additionally, Saudi Ports Authority issued a license to the local subsidiary of Maersk to operate in all ports in Saudi Arabia back in 2019.  This service expansion allowed Maersk to increase the frequency of its port calls from its then weekly containerised shipping services to the ports of Jeddah, King Abdullah, Dammam and Jubail.

Maersk’s green route

The shipping firm recently announced that it has successfully secured green methanol for the maiden voyage of the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel. The journey from Ulsan, South Korea to Copenhagen, Denmark will use green bio-methanol as fuel, as the company prepares to receive a fleet of new, large ocean-going methanol-enabled ships from 2024.

Maersk said it aims to transport a minimum of 25 per cent of Ocean cargo using green fuels by 2030.