Saudi liner Folk Maritime grows fleet with triple acquisition

Saudi Arabian liner newcomer Folk Maritime is pressing ahead with fleet expansion by adding three more vessels.

The Riyadh-based feeder owner and operator, led by former Hamburg Süd boss Poul Hestbaek, has acquired the 702 teu Folk Yanbu, 1,118 teu Folk Jubail and the 1,868 teu Folk Dammam, taking its owned fleet to five ships.

The company, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, entered shipowning last September with the acquisition of the 1,868 teu Folk Jeddah, which was followed by the 2,015 teu Folk Jazan in April this year.

The operational fleet now stands at eight vessels, of which three are chartered in.

“This expansion not only supports Folk Maritime’s ambitions to expand fleet capacity but also reinforces our commitment to reducing reliance on chartered vessels and investing in Saudi-flagged assets,” noted Hestbaek, chief executive of Folk Maritime.

The latest additions should be deployed over the next month and registered under the Saudi flag at Jeddah Islamic Port, Folk Maritime said, adding that they would bolster its capacity across the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, Indian subcontinent, and key regional trade routes.