Jeddah Islamic Port

Jeddah Islamic Port
Jeddah Islamic Port
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Location
Country	Saudi Arabia
Location	Jeddah, Makkah Province
Coordinates	21°29′1.8348″N 39°10′24.2646″E / 21.483843000°N 39.173406833°E
Details
Opened	646 A.D.
Owned by	Saudi Ports Authority
Type of harbour	Terminal
Size	Large
No. of berths	62 (2023)
Statistics
Annual cargo tonnage	130 million
	Website; mawani.gov.sa/ports

Jeddah Islamic Port is a Saudi Arabian port, located in Jeddah on the Red Sea, at the middle of an international shipping route between the east and west via the Suez Canal. It is the second-largest and second-busiest port in the Arab world (after the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, UAE). The city of Jeddah is the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia (after the capital Riyadh), and is Saudi Arabia's commercial capital.^[1]

Overview

The port lies on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. It is the principal port serving the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The port serves the commercial centres through which 65% of Saudi Arabia's imports by sea are being handled.^[2] The importance of Jeddah Port increased and reached its maximum limit when Saudi Arabia was developing into a modern country.

The port was established in 646 A.D. during the reign of the Caliph Uthman ibn Affan,^[3] and today has 62 berths in service.^[2] It occupies an area of 12 square kilometers and its deep water quays provide an overall berthing length of 11.2 kilometers with a maximum draft of 16 metres.^[3] The port can accommodate the latest^[when?] generation of large container vessels with a capacity of 19,800 TEUs.^[2]

Jeddah Seaport is the western terminus of the Saudi Landbridge Project, the eastern terminus being Dammam.^[4]

The port is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to Singapore, towards the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]