• The authority will allow ships to dock and unload their containers at the Jeddah Islamic Port
• Containers will be exempt of storage fees for 60 days for a period of three months as of March 27

Arab News

DUBAI: Jeddah Islamic Port is offering to help ships stuck in the Suez shipping jam by giving storage fee exemptions. The offer of assistance came as salvage teams on Monday set the huge container ship free.

Helped by the high tide, a flotilla of tugboats managed to wrench the bow of the  Ever Given free on Monday. Located about 1150 kilometers south east of Suez, Jeddah is one of the closest major ports to the vital waterway.

Port operator Mawani said it would extend the services of Jeddah Islamic Port for ship transfers and container offloading.

It said it would extend the exemption of storage fees for transshipment containers – from 30 days to 60 days – for a duration of three months.

“The initiative underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to mitigating the impact on global supply chains, in addition to affirming Saudi ports’ readiness to adapt to shifts in the international transport market and the associated challenges,” the ports company said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency.

The 400-meter long ship became lodged across a southern section of the canal in high winds early on Tuesday, halting shipping traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

Located on a key maritime artery that connects the Far East, Europe and the Horn of Africa, Jeddah Islamic Port has a capacity of 130 million tons across 62 berths.