The world’s largest container carrier company is planning to launch a new service that will connect Europe with isolated ports in the Middle East. Instead of passing through the Strait of Hormuz, trucks will be used via Saudi Arabia and small ships will be used in the Persian Gulf. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA said in an advisory issued on Saturday that the first journey will start from Antwerp on May 10. This will be a loop that will also include stops in Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Spain. The ships will transit the Suez Canal and enter the Red Sea and visit two ports on Saudi Arabia’s west coast – Jeddah and King Abdullah.
How will the truck network work?
From there, the network will use trucks to reach Dammam on the peninsula’s east coast. Feeder vessels in Dammam will connect to maritime gateways, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai’s Jebel Ali ports. There are large industrial areas at both these places, where hundreds of multinational companies work. These companies depend on cargo coming in containers, which earlier used to travel through the Strait of Hormuz without any restrictions. Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, traffic through this strait has been largely disrupted. There are no indications that it will reopen any time soon. Due to this long-lasting closure, shipping companies are having to look for alternative routes via land. Transporting goods through these routes takes more time, costs more and produces more carbon emissions.
Ground transport routes ready
Ports just outside the strait – such as those on the east coast of Oman and the United Arab Emirates – are also overwhelmed with containers loaded with cargo. To transport these containers further, there is a need to increase the capacity of trucks. Hamburg-based company Hapag-Lloyd AG said in March that it had established ground transport routes through Saudi Arabia and Oman. Copenhagen-based company AP Moller-Maersk A/S has also announced multi-mode “landbridge” solutions to transport goods across the region. In its advisory, Geneva-based MSC said the new service has been launched to meet growing demand amid “the challenging situation in the Middle East”. The journey from Jeddah to Dammam – which passes through the capital Riyadh – is about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) long. MSC’s feeder ships will also reach Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait.
