French ocean carrier CMA CGM is partnering with Folk Maritime, a new independent feeder and short-sea shipping operator in Saudi Arabia, to commence the North Red Sea Express (NRX) service in the next month.
The NRX service will be an enhanced joint service linking Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Islamic Port with NEOM, an urban area built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk, and the North Red Sea ports of Sokhna in Egypt, Aqaba in Jordan, and Yanbu in Saudi Arabia.
The rotation of the service will be as follows:
- Jeddah RSGT (Saudi Arabia) > Jeddah DPW (Saudi Arabia) > NEOM (Saudi Arabia) > Sokhna (Egypt) > Aqaba (Jordan) > Yanbu (Saudi Arabia) > Jeddah RSGT (Saudi Arabia)
The service will have a weekly frequency and is expected to start from the port of Jeddah on 9 April. Each company will deploy one container ship on the service.
“CMA CGM is pleased to partner with Folk Maritime in this upgraded service connecting Jeddah ports to the growing market needs of NEOM and other key ports in the North Red Sea. This service will not only contribute to Saudi Arabia’s expansion of its logistic capabilities in the North Red Sea but also serve our customers with a better offering in this key region where CMA CGM Group has been pioneering direct calls to the port of NEOM since March 2023,” stated Olivier NIVOIX, executive vice-president of CMA CGM Group Lines.