Saudi Arabia’s Mawani posts 12.07% surge in container handling

Image credit: Fayez Nureldine/ AFP via Getty Images

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has reported a 12.07 per cent increase in container handling across the ports under its management in 2023.

Mawani achieved its highest-ever monthly container handling statistics in May 2023, with an 18.8 per cent increase in the number of handled containers.

The authority said a total of 8,443,746 TEU were handled, a significant increase from 7,534,307 TEU a year earlier. Saudi Arabia’s overall ports posted a 9.01 per cent increase in annual container handling to reach 11,380,302 TEU compared to 10,439,620 TEU.

Mawani said exported containers under the ports’ authority reached 2,586,722 TEU, a 15.56 per cent increase compared to 2,238,390 TEU in 2022 while imported containers soared by 12.68 per cent to reach 2,619,534 TEU.

Furthermore, the volume of transhipment containers surged by 8.96 per cent to 3,237,490 TEU transshipped in 2023 from 2,971,233 TEU a year ago.

The number of vehicles imported through Saudi ports increased by 40.54 per cent to reach 2,483,331 cars in 2023 compared to 1,767,016 in 2022.

The number of arriving and departing passengers reached 1,008,856 passengers in 2023, up 41.3 per cent from 713,960 passengers the previous year. Maritime traffic rose by 7.16 per cent, with 12,130 vessels in 2023 compared to 11,320 vessels in 2022.

Ports under Mawani reported a livestock unloading rate of 8,124,842 heads in 2023, a 110.46 per cent increase, as the kingdom seeks to enhance food security and meet the growing demand in the local market.

However, the handled tonnage plummeted by 5.06 per cent to reach 300,542,872 tonnes while general cargo volumes reached 7,624,913 tons, with 49,060,740 tons of dry bulk cargo and 152,577,817 tons of liquid bulk cargo.

Jeddah Islamic Port recorded its highest monthly handling statistics in October 2023, with a total of 511,348 TEU handled, while King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam posted a record 211,202 TEU handled in July 2023.

Mawani supports Saudi Arabia’s NTLS

Meanwhile, Mawani signed four contracts worth more than SAR1bn in December, as part of Saudi Arabia’s national transport and logistics strategy (NTLS) that is aimed at establishing a robust port network, efficient logistics services, and bolstering the country’s logistics industry in line with Vision 2030.

The ports authority said the marine services contracts are distributed among eight ports.

The contracts aim to introduce 27 new tugboats and 17 other maritime units, attracting new shipping lines and elevating the ports sector to meet international standards.

Mawani and MEDLOG, a unit of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) recently laid the cornerstone of an integrated logistics park at Dammam’s King Abdulaziz Port with an investment value of more than SAR150m.

The new park, which has a capacity of 300,000 TEUs annually, is expected to facilitate the growth of shipping connectivity, and global logistics services.

Read: Saudi Arabia’s Mawani signs four contracts worth SAR1bn