Commencement of the new service will further strengthen maritime connectivity between Saudi Arabia and India, promoting bilateral trade and creating new business opportunities

• To commence in September, new route underlines the growth of ‘friend-sourcing’ between the Kingdom and India
• The service is organized through a Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA) with Oman’s Asyad Line, further highlighting the focus on regional cooperation
• The 10—day service will see the deployment of an 1,800 TEU vessel from Folk Maritime

 Folk Maritime Services Company, a PIF company and one of the region’s emerging leaders in providing regional liner and feeder services, has announced the launch of a new liner service connecting the Red Sea port of Jeddah Islamic Port to India’s Mundra and Nhava Sheva, two of the largest commercial ports in the country.

Commencing in September, the 10-day service, with two vessels, will strengthen trade ties by facilitating the movement of consumer cargo from India, and products from the Kingdom, including petrochemicals. In addition to deploying its vessel, Folk Maritime has also signed a Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA) with Oman’s Asayd, which will also deploy a vessel for the new route.

Announcing the new India Redsea Service (IRS), Poul Hestbaek, Chief Executive Officer of Folk Maritime, said: “The new route will further enhance bilateral trade between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and India, and underlines our ambition to become one of the leading maritime service providers in the region. It will also contribute to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to establish the Kingdom as a global logistics hub by enhancing connectivity and maritime sector growth.”

The new route represents the growth in ‘friend-sourcing’ between Saudi Arabia and India and builds on the strong bilateral ties between the two countries. The visit of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister to India in 2019, which came after the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia in 2016, have marked a new era in bilateral cooperation including the establishment of a Strategic Partnership Council co-chaired by the two leaders.

Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trade partner and India is the Kingdom’s second largest trading partner. Total trade with Saudi Arabia accounted for over 4.5% of India’s total trade in FY2022-23.

India’s largest commercial and container port, Mundra in Gujarat, is a major economic gateway serving northern hinterland of India with multimodal connectivity. Nhava Sheva port, located east of Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra, handles a significant portion of India’s containerized trade, and is the focal point of long-haul calls to and from the emerging market economy.

Saleem Kadernani, Chief Commercial Officer of Folk Maritime, added: “The new service is an exciting development for the business community with new and existing customers having more solutions to better meet their requirements. We are excited that we can now offer a sustainable service for our customers, and the new route is expected to create more value for them in the near- and long-term.”

Folk Maritime started its official operations in the Red Sea with two liner services: one that connects the Kingdom’s ports of Jeddah Islamic Port, Neom, and Yanbu to the Red Sea ports, Sokhna and Aqaba, and a second route offering service between Port Sudan and Jeddah Islamic Port.

The company plans to continue to enhance its fleet through own and chartered tonnage and better serve its customers by offering increased coverage to more regional trades and a wider access to global markets.