Updates on shipping, equipment, and ports from KSA, Jordan, Iraq, the UAE

SHIPPING + MARITIME-

#1- The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) added Blue Ocean’s BOS shipping service to Jeddah Islamic Port, linking it to three major Chinese ports, according to a statement. The new route — with a capacity of 2.3k TEUs — will connect Jeddah with Qingdao, Ningbo, and Nansha in China.

#2- Maltrans launches Cstar Line service: Jordan’s Maltrans Group for Shipping Agencies and Customs has launched a Cstar Line-operated shipping service linking MENA ports, including the Port of Aqaba, to ports in the Far East, Petra reported on Saturday.

The service will accommodate growing regional demand, launching its first phase with two monthly trips — using four ships with a capacity of 1.6-2k TEUs. It will pass through China’s Ningbo, Shanghai, and Guangzhou ports, and through Jeddah, Aqaba, and Ain Sokhna ports in the Red Sea.

EQUIPMENT-

Iraq to integrate new port equipment: Iraqi Ports received 14 new smart 5G cranes from China’s Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries — in line with the port operator’s intention to integrate smart equipment within its communication systems to enhance operations, infrastructure, and port automation, according to a statement released on Saturday. The new equipment includes four gantry cranes and 10 rubber-tired gantry cranes.

PORTS-

AD Ports Group has opened its first international office in China, as it looks to deepen trade and investment ties with the world’s second-largest economy, according to a press release released on Thursday. The new Beijing office will coordinate commercial activity across China and the broader Asia region, while its subsidiary Noatum Logistics will operate a new commercial branch for the Beijing-Tianjin market, the group said.

Not their first rodeo in China: The new office builds on existing ties between AD Ports and China. China’s Cosco Shipping already operates a container terminal atKhalifaPort via a JV with AD Ports. AD Ports also co-manages an economic zone in Abh Dhabi alongside Jiangsu Overseas Cooperation Investment Company. More recently, it signed an agreement with China’s Ningbo Zhoushan Port to develop an automotive logistics network between China and MENA.