Aqaba port business soars despite Red Sea tension
The number of vessels using the Southern Jordanian port in the Northern tip of the Red Sea jumped by around 65 percent to 200 in the first four months from 121 ships in the same period of last year, a maritime official reports.
Container activity also recorded a sharp rise, with the number of incoming and outgoing containers surging by 26 percent to around 295,000 from 234,000 in the same period.
'This large increase happened at a time when there still was tension in the Red Sea…it seems that shipping companies used the lull in attacks on shipping during the Gaza ceasefire to increase scheduled trips,' said Mohammed Al-Dalabeeh, secretary general of Jordan's Shipping association.
A report by the Association showed the number of incoming containers to Aqaba port increased by nearly 22 percent to 149,000 from 122,000 while transit containers jumped by 82 percent to 11,400 from 6,300 in the same period.
The number of passengers also swelled by around 28 percent to 100,400 from 78,000 during that period, the report showed.
'There has been no noticeable impact on supply chains due to renewed tensions in the Red Sea… alternative maritime transport options remain available, which has helped keep operations stable,' Jamal Al-Rifai, vice president of Jordan's chamber of commerce, said in comments last month.
Aqaba in the southern tip of Jordan is a key regional commercial hub and handles a large part of Jordan's trade, which stood at nearly $6.3 billion in the first two months.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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