Ferry line to Jordan

Maritime route could help solve exports crisis

A ferry route was launched between the Port of Tripoli and Jordan’s Aqaba Port.
Mohamad Saleh, Head of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Saida and South Lebanon said a ferry carrying 60 truckloads of fruits and vegetables has arrived in the Aqaba port. The RO-RO ferry transports containers on trucks.

Another ferry will set sail across the same route on Wednesday (March 27). “We have tested the time and cost of the ferry route as a possible solution to export industrial equipment and agricultural products,” said Saleh. The ferry charges $2,000 per truck.One truck can carry up to 30 tons of products.

“Coordination will be held with the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation in order to organize more trips to Aqaba,” Saleh said.

The first ferry was launched from Tripoli because trucks that were denied entry to Syria had been staying there, but ferries can go from any local port to Aqaba, according to Saleh.

The heightened risks of driving through Syria have forced exporters to seek alternative routes. Dozens of trucks carrying goods to Jordan were stuck at the closed Syrian-Jordanian borders last week. A ferry line between Tripoli and Turkey’s port of Mersin was launched late last year.