RIYADH: The Saudi Ports Authority has added another new shipping service to its Jeddah Islamic Port as the Kingdom moves ahead with its plan to position the city as a major east-west hub. With the Indamex 2 shipping service in its network, Kingdom’s busiest port will get access to leading trade gateways across the Indian subcontinent and North America, including Port Qasim in Pakistan, Mundra and Jawaharlal Nehru in India, and Norfolk, Charleston, and Savannah in the US. This comes as Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead to strengthen its global maritime connectivity in line with the goals of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy. The first sailing on the new service, which is jointly operated by global container liners Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM, left the Red Sea port on Jan. 11 on board MV. SWANSEA V. 006W vessel with a carrying capacity of 4600-6966 twenty-foot equivalent unit. Also known as Mawani, Saudi Ports Authority has added nine shipping services over the course of the past year in a bid to boost the Kingdom’s ranking in the global logistics indices and multiply the sector’s current throughput capacity. Jeddah Islamic Port, which receives around three-quarters of the Kingdom’s seaborne trade and transshipment volumes, is one of the prime maritime and transshipment hubs in the region. Its 62 multipurpose berths are designed to handle containers, general cargo, livestock, passengers, bulk grain, and automobiles. With a capacity spanning 130 million tons, Mawani said the port is home to state-of-the-art infrastructure that comprises four cargo and container terminals, a bonded storage and re-export zone, storage yards, and warehouses. Earlier this month, Geneva-based international liner operator Mediterranean Shipping Co. added Jeddah Islamic Port to its new India-West Mediterranean route. Industries between India and the Mediterranean such as clothing, automotive, and pharmaceutical are projected to benefit from the new direct communication between the two regions. Mawani also earlier this month launched a project worth SR7 billion ($1.9 billion) to upgrade and develop two of its container terminals at the King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam. As part of its long-term developmental strategy to deploy 160 high-impact projects, Mawani is keen on partnering with leading industry players to transform Saudi ports into engines of growth and investment in the shipping and transportation sectors.