A 14.6 percent rise in container traffic at Saudi Arabia’s ports compared to the previous year has been reported. The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) released the 2023 Maritime Transport Statistics Publication, revealing that total container traffic at Saudi ports exceeded 5 million TEUs. Inbound traffic totaled 3.4 million TEUs, whereas outbound traffic amounted to 2.2 million TEUs.
The report, published by SPA, also highlights a 33.8 percent increase in ship traffic at Saudi ports year-over-year, with a total of 19,082 ships docking in 2023. King Fahad Industrial Port in Yanbu led with 6,538 ship arrivals, followed by Jeddah Islamic Port with 4,411 ships and King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam with 2,516 ships.
#GASTAT publishes maritime transport statistics for 2023
— الهيئة العامة للإحصاء (@Stats_Saudi) September 18, 2024
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Passenger traffic at the Kingdom’s ports rose by 11.5 percent in 2023, exceeding 1 million passengers. Jazan Port saw the highest passenger numbers, with 484,598 arrivals and departures.
Additionally, the report provides details on cargo volumes, port infrastructure, and crane capacities at the Kingdom’s ports.
In August 2024, Saudi Arabia’s ports significantly improved their international standing in annual container handling, according to the latest “Lloyd’s List” report.
Among the world’s top 100 ports, the Kingdom’s ports have climbed from the 16th to the 15th position, SPA reported. Jeddah Islamic Port has made particularly impressive strides, leaping from 41st to 32nd place. In 2023, it handled 5,586,074 standard containers, surpassing the 4,960,120 containers handled in 2022 – a growth of 12.6percent.
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