Dubai: The world’s biggest container shipping firm is introducing a novel route connecting Europe to secluded Middle East ports, relying on overland trucking through Saudi Arabia and compact smaller vessels within the Persian Gulf to avoid passage through the obstructed Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported.
In a notice issued on Saturday, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA announced the inaugural voyage on May 10 departing from Antwerp, following a route that incorporates ports in Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Spain. The vessels will navigate the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, calling at Jeddah and King Abdullah Port along Saudi Arabia’s western shoreline.
The service, thereafter, would use trucks to transport cargo to Dammam on the kingdom’s eastern seaboard, from which smaller ships will link up with key gateways such as those in A
bu Dhabi and Dubai’s Jebel Ali. These facilities boast of expansive industrial areas hosting numerous multinational firms dependent on container shipments that previously flowed unimpeded via Hormuz.
Strait of Hormuz traffic has faced sharp curtailments since the US and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, giving very little indication of imminent reopening. This prolonged shutdown is compelling carriers to devise overland routes that extend transit times, raise expenses and increase carbon output.
Ports flanking the strait in Oman and along the UAE’s eastern seaboard are experiencing a boom in rerouted containers, necessitating greater trucking infrastructure.
Hapag-Lloyd AG of Hamburg revealed in March that it had set up overland paths spanning Saudi Arabia and Oman. Likewise, Copenhagen-headquartered A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S has rolled out multi-modal “landbridge” options for regional freight.
In the advisory, Geneva-based MSC described the initiative as a response to escalating needs amid the “challenging scenario in the Middle East.” The trucking leg from Jeddah to Dammam — traversing the capital Riyadh — spans roughly 800 miles (1,300 kms).
MSC’s feeder vessels will further service Bahrain, Iraq, and Kuwait.