Cruise Saudi is a new project from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) which aims to establish a cruise industry within the Kingdom. It adds a new economic pillar to Saudi Arabia’s growing tourism sector and is aligned with Saudi’s plan to develop tourism and diversify its economy as part of Vision 2030.
With an operational strategy founded on sustainable and environmental consciousness, Cruise Saudi is opening the doors of opportunity for tourism, business, culture and social economies along the pristine coastline of Saudi Arabia.
Cruise Saudi is working to develop the infrastructure and services required to create a full-suite cruise market in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. The company is responsible for guiding port development at key Saudi destinations as well as scaling cruise services including everything from marketing, to Shorex coordination and vessel operations. Cruise Saudi is working together with regulatory and ministerial authorities to develop the cruise ecosystem offshore and onshore to make the Saudi coastline a premiere global cruise destination.
Cruise Saudi has already begun to attract vital partnerships from major international companies such as MSC Cruises with whom it recently signed a five-year partnership. Discussions are also underway with several other cruise lines from around the world who will home-port or add a port-of-call in Saudi Arabia to their itineraries.
Cruise Saudi offers visitors the opportunity to explore Saudi Arabia’s unique culture and heritage, from the unspoilt beaches of Al-Wajh, to the rich history of Yanbu with its ancient links to the spice and incense route – cruising in Saudi Arabia provides endless opportunities for exploration.
About the Port
As the primary gateway to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, Jeddah port has significant historical value. It is Saudi Arabia’s largest port in terms of volume and cargo handling capacity, handling more than 65% of all cargo imported through Saudi ports. Jeddah Islamic Port covers an area of 12.5 square kilometers and is equipped with more than 1752 new cargo handling equipment.
To support the new cruise industry in Saudi Arabia, The Saudi Ports Authority, MAWANI and the Red Sea Gateway Authority came together with Cruise Saudi and in just a matter of weeks built and launched Saudi Arabia’s first cruise passenger terminal which has been the home port for MSC Bellissima and Scenic Eclipse throughout the summer season and expects to host many ships more in the future.
Geographical Location
Jeddah Islamic Port enjoys a unique location on the Red Sea coast, in the middle of the international shipping route between east and west.
Latitude 21° 28′ N
Longitude 39° 10′ E
Services
Marine Services
Jeddah Islamic Port owns a complete set of port service vessel such as tugboats, rescue boats equipped with firefighting equipment, pilot boats, two buoys service boats, garbage collection boat, pollution control boat, floating crane capable of handling 200 tons. This fleet has contributed to the port achieving a high Key Performance Indicator and increased the ports’ operations efficiency, along with the port’s development.
The port provides operational management of the services related to vessel and marine (vessel clearance, berthing, gangways, stevedoring, waste management, fuel and water provision) as well as cruise terminal operations across the different ports such as cruise schedules, customs clearance, terminal management and other terminal services.
