A Safaga–Duba Ferry to Saudi Arabia Is Being Prepared, With No Start Date or Fares Yet Given
Arab Bridge Maritime says it has begun preparations to run passengers, trucks and freight between Safaga and Duba in Saudi Arabia, and the transport minister has backed the plan. Three vessels are joining the fleet, but no timetable, fares or frequency have been published.
2 October 2026
Safaga is in line for a sea link to Saudi Arabia. Arab Bridge Maritime Company, the shipping line jointly owned by Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, has begun preparations to put its vessels on a Safaga–Duba route carrying passengers, trucks and freight between Egypt and the Kingdom, general manager Adnan Al-Abadleh told the company's 88th general assembly, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Masrawy and Ahl Masr.
Egypt's Transport Minister, Lt Gen Kamel El-Wazir, who attended the meeting, said the ministry supports the plan and stressed the importance of putting modern vessels on the route, which he placed within the logistics corridors linking Europe, Egypt and the Gulf states.
The company is enlarging the fleet that would serve it. Al-Abadleh announced two additions:
- the passenger and cargo ferry Al-Jisr, with capacity for 85 trucks and 254 passengers
- the fast craft Ashour, with capacity for 312 passengers
A further passenger and cargo ferry taking 110 trucks and 253 passengers has completed the formalities of joining, which would bring the company to 11 marine units.
The assembly also heard results for the first nine months of 2026: profits passed **$40 million** by 30 September, the highest since the company was founded, with the number of trucks carried up 15% and passenger numbers still rising. Jordan's Transport and Labour Minister, Nidal Al-Katamine, attended, as did a representative of Iraq's transport minister. Al-Abadleh said the company is also developing the Al-Qazaq boat maintenance and repair facility in Sharm el-Sheikh with the Red Sea Ports Authority, and the passenger terminal at Aqaba port in Jordan.
What the reports do not give is the part a traveller needs. There is no start date for the Safaga–Duba crossing, no fares, no sailing frequency and no word on which vessels would be assigned to it.
For Safaga, the plan would mean passenger sailings from its own port to Saudi Arabia alongside the freight traffic the port already handles. But the reports describe preparations rather than a running service: until a date and a price list appear, there is nothing to book.