Saudi Arabia has taken delivery of two high speed vehicle-passenger catamarans designed to improve services between the kingdom and Egypt.
Ordered by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance in 2007, the vessels, called Riyadh and Cairo, are a gift to the Egyptian Government, and will assist in improving the standard of ferry services across the Red Sea.
Operating on a 100 nautical mile route between Dibba in Saudi Arabia and Safaga in Egypt, the vessels are intended for pilgrims travelling to Mecca, Egyptian workers travelling to and from Saudi Arabia as well as business and leisure travellers.
Both vessels carry 1,200 passengers, 120 cars and 15 trucks and recorded impressive service speeds of 37 knots during recent sea trials, three knots in excess of contract requirements.
A handover ceremony in Jeddah was attended by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak.
Dr Ibrahim Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Assaf, the Saudi minister of finance said that the inauguration of the two vessels represented a qualitative leap and would establish a new phase in marine transport between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, reducing the current eight-hour trip between Dibba and Safaga to about three hours.
The vessels will contribute in transporting about one million passengers every year, he added.
The vessels have been built by Austal whose director – Global Sales and Marketing, Andrew Bellamy, said 18 of its ferries now operated in the Middle East, as well as 10 in nearby Turkey, underlining the company’s commitment to the region.
Construction is continuing on an additional two 69 metre vehicle-passenger catamarans at Austal’s Western Australian shipyard, which are to be owned and operated by Saudi Arabia and are scheduled for delivery by mid 2009.
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