The first shipping line totally owned by Saudi Arabia became a reality recently following formal acceptance of the first cargo vessel by the newly established Saudi National Shipping Company. The 23,000-gt Saudi Riyadh, a RO/RO-containership, is the first of seven similar vessels S.N.S.C. expects to be operating in the near future.
Claiming his country sought "independence from foreign shipping companies," S.N.S.C. managing director Dr. Abdulaziz M. Al-Turki said the firm has also purchased the Riyadh's sister ship, renamed Saudi Mecca, which will be claimed in Bremen within a month. Still another similar vessel will be chartered shortly. Bids for construction of four larger RO/RO-containerships will be opened in the near future.
The company hopes to capture a major share of the United States-Saudi shipping trade, including all of the construction-booming country's contract cargo. The U.S. is the Saudis' largest supplier of sea cargo, Dr. Al-Turki noted. All told, last year the Saudis imported 42 million tons of surface cargo worldwide.
S.N.S.C. is 25-percent owned by the Saudi Government. Other principals include a large cross section of leading Saudi business interests (30 percent), with the remainder owned by 13,600 Saudi shareholders.