RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Port has strengthened connections to India’s nautical hubs thanks to increased cooperation between two Gulf maritime bodies. The Saudi Ports Authority announced that Safeen Co., a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Ports Group, has added the Dammam facility to its new UAE-India-Gulf service — a maritime trade route connecting India and the wider Arabian region. The passage serves as a vital artery for the transportation of goods and commodities between these key economic centers. It supports trade flows, facilitates supply chains, and contributes significantly to the economic growth and development of the areas it connects. In a statement, the Saudi authority, also known as Mawani, said the new shipping service links the Kingdom with six regional and international seaports. These include the Indian ports of Mundra, Kandla, and Nhava Sheva, along with Iraq’s Umm Qasr Port, Qatar’s Hamad Port, and the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Port, with a shipping capacity of 3,700 standard containers. It was also noted that this initiative promises to boost the movement of exports and imports to and from the Saudi harbor, aligning with its vision for reliable and efficient operations and a firm commitment to safety and sustainability. Mawani added that this comes as part of its efforts aimed at improving the connectivity index of the maritime navigation network with global shipping lines, enhancing the competitiveness of ports, and increasing its connectivity with ports east and westward. It further noted that the move aligns with the objectives of the National Strategy for Transportation and Logistics Services aiming to position the Kingdom as a global logistics hub connecting the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. The port authority noted that the King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam witnessed the addition of 12 maritime shipping services during the year 2023, confirming its ability to provide world-class maritime services to regional and international customers, as an integrated trade gateway connecting the Kingdom to the world, through 43 berths with a total capacity of 105 million tons. On March 13, Mawani announced that the ports it oversees have recorded a growth in the statistics of imported containers by 16.88 percent, reaching 266,672 TEUs, compared to 193,937 TEUs in 2023. It added that these ports also witnessed a 1.44 percent increase in cargo throughput tonnage during February 2024, handling 23,381,835 tons compared to 23,049,373 tons in February 2023. This increase, it further said, reflects the significant efforts made to develop the infrastructure of the ports and provide the highest quality of logistical services.