Yenbu Commercial Port

Yanbu Commercial Port is a transportation hub located on the western coast of Türkiye, strategically positioned on the Red Sea and among the country’s oldest seaports.^【1】 Situated between Jeddah Islamic Port and King Fahd Industrial Port, the port serves as a critical gateway and logistical corridor for the local economies of the Medina and Qassim regions. Opened in 1965, the port supports commercial cargo flows and functions as Saudi Arabia’s second major entry point for pilgrims traveling to the holy cities.

Yanbu Port (Google Maps)

Physical Infrastructure and Capacity

Yanbu Commercial Port consists of 12 piers with a combined annual handling capacity exceeding 13.5 million metric tons.^【2】 The port facilities include a passenger terminal capable of serving 2,000 passengers simultaneously, a general cargo terminal, and bulk cargo storage silos with a total capacity of 40,000 tons. The port’s depth has been dredged to 14 meters to accommodate Panamax vessels fully loaded.^【3】

The port’s operational equipment fleet includes 100-ton multi-purpose port cranes, pneumatic unloaders, forklifts of various capacities, and heavy-load transport vehicles. Additionally, the port features over 40,000 square meters of covered warehouse space and more than 250,000 square meters of open stacking area.^【4】

Operational Services

The port serves a wide variety of cargo types:

• Bulk Cargo: Handling of all types of bulk cargo including cement, clinker, fertilizer, and grain.
• Containers and General Cargo: Container handling, project cargo, and Ro-Ro services.
• Logistics Services: Storage, packaging (bagging), consolidation, and transshipment operations are conducted 24 hours a day without interruption.

Strategic Development and New Investments

In line with Saudi Arabia’s National Transport and Logistics Strategy, large-scale projects are underway to expand Yanbu Port’s capacity.^【5】

Regional Grain Terminal

Under an agreement signed between Mawani and SALIC (Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company), the largest grain terminal in the country is being constructed at the port.^【6】 Covering an area of 313,000 square meters, the project will be completed in two phases and will have an annual capacity of 5 million tons for grain import, processing, and re-export. This facility is designed to be the first regional hub for food security in the Gulf countries.^【7】

Integrated Logistics Center

To strengthen the port’s supply chain capabilities, an investment agreement exceeding 29 million riyals has been signed with Q Saudi Trading Company. This center, to be built on a 120,490-square-meter site, will provide cargo storage, consolidation, and redistribution services, supporting the port’s goal of becoming an international logistics hub.^【8】

Energy Logistics and the Hormuz Strait Alternative

Yanbu serves as a critical “Plan B” route to reduce dependence on the Hormuz Strait in global energy markets.^【9】

Strategic Importance of Yanbu Port (AA)

East-West Pipeline (Petroline): This 1,200-kilometer pipeline connects oil fields in eastern Saudi Arabia to terminals in Yanbu.^【10】 With a daily capacity of 7 million barrels, the pipeline enables direct export of crude oil to the Red Sea without transiting the Hormuz Strait.^【11】

Operational Process: During threats or military tensions involving Iran’s potential closure of the Hormuz Strait, Saudi Aramco reroutes its shipments via Yanbu.^【12】 During recent crises, daily crude oil exports from Yanbu averaged 3.66 million barrels.^【13】

Logistics Corridors Initiative: This newly launched initiative aims to connect GCC port networks by road to Yanbu Commercial Port, enabling goods to bypass the Hormuz Strait and reach European and African markets via the Red Sea.^【14】

Security and Regional Risks

The port’s growing strategic importance has brought associated geopolitical risks. Yanbu Port and the nearby SAMREF refinery have been targeted by drone and ballistic missile attacks.^【15】

Additionally, 70–75 percent of exports from the port must pass southward through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Due to their size, very large crude carriers (VLCCs) cannot transit the Suez Canal and are therefore forced to use this narrow passage to reach Asian markets. This makes the port’s operational security directly dependent on regional instability factors such as proxy conflicts in the Red Sea and Houthi activities.^【16】