São Paulo — Shipping giant MSC said on Monday (9) that it is offering incargo services to several Gulf destinations via the Saudi ports of King Abdullah and Jeddah, located on the Red Sea. The announcement came after the company suspended, on March 1, its global bookings for maritime cargo transport bound for the Middle East.
Arab countries in the Middle East such as Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have the Gulf as their only or main maritime outlet, whose connection to the world is through the Strait of Hormuz, now closed due to the war between the United States and Israel and Iran. Saudi Arabia also has ports in the Gulf but has a western coastline on the Red Sea.
In its statement, MSC offers overland cargo transport from Asia via King Abdullah and Jeddah. It says the main destinations are Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and Dammam and Jubail, also in Saudi Arabia, as well as Bahrain, Kuwait, Hamad (Qatar), Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi (UAE). Transit time ranges from one to five days, depending on the destination.
In the statement announcing the suspension of bookings to the Middle East, the company said they would resume once the situation improved. In recent days, MSC has formally declared “voyage termination” for certain export shipments under its custody and control with origin and destination in the Gulf. The term means the goods may be unloaded at safe ports before the final destination, where they are made available to customers.
As it did with the overland cargo service in Saudi Arabia, on March 5 the company also announced on its website an overland cargo service from Asia and the Mediterranean bound for Iraq. The goods are transported via Turkey, which has a Mediterranean coastline. The company says the main destinations are Zakho, Dohuk, Mosul, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Baghdad.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
