An alternative to the Strait of Hormuz is coming

Following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has announced that it will launch an international logistics corridor to connect ports in the Gulf to Jordan and countries to the north.

In a written statement, the Saudi Railway Company stated that it would put into service an international logistics corridor connecting the country's ports on the Gulf to the Haditha Border Crossing between Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The statement noted that the corridor in question would connect Saudi Arabian ports in the Gulf to both Jordan and other countries located to the north, adding that this step would strengthen direct connections to Jordan and regions in northern Saudi Arabia and support regional trade via a highly efficient land route.

It was noted that container transport services would be carried out via a railway network from Saudi Arabia's eastern ports to the Haditha Border Crossing, which would make export activities more efficient and reliable by opening direct routes to Jordan and northern regions.

The statement indicated that the international logistics corridor, which will connect Gulf ports to Jordan, will reduce travel distances by half compared to other road options over a span exceeding 1700 kilometers, and that speed and efficiency will be increased with a capacity of more than 400 containers per train.

The statement also mentioned that the project would create a direct logistics impact by shortening travel times, contribute to removing thousands of trucks from the roads, and have a positive reflection on maintaining infrastructure quality and increasing safety levels.

STRAIT OF HORMUZ CLOSED TO SHIP TRAFFIC

Following the war that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, Tehran announced that it had "controlled" the closure of ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had stated that passage through the strait was permitted for countries that were not parties to the attacks on Iran or that did not support the attacks with their bases.

The Strait of Hormuz, which is the export route for major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, and through which millions of barrels of oil are exported daily, is the transit point for approximately 20% of the world's seaborne oil.

According to data from the ship tracking company MarineTraffic, there are approximately 1900 ships unable to move around the Strait of Hormuz as of March 20-22.

US-ISRAEL ATTACKS ON IRAN

Israel and the US launched a military attack on Iran on February 28, while negotiations were ongoing between the Tehran and Washington administrations.

In response, Iran launched attacks on targets it identified in some regional countries, primarily Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain, where US bases are located, as well as in Israel.

In the US-Israeli attacks, many high-level officials, as well as former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, were killed.

News Source: 12punto