Folk Maritime has announced the purchase of its first vessel, Folk Jeddah, a 2023-built 1,868 teu container ship built in Yangfan shipyard, China.

The company said that the ship will be registered at Jeddah Islamic Port and will fly the Saudi flag. In a recent interview with Maritime News, Folk Maritime CEO Poul Hestabaek said the company planned to flag its entire fleet in its home nation.

“The acquisition of its first modern Saudi-flagged container vessel by Folk Maritime marks a transformative step in Saudi Arabia's maritime capabilities by contributing to enhanced regional trade, and underlining the Kingdom’s ambition to be a global logistics hub,” the company said.

Folk Jeddah will soon enter service at Jeddah, from where Folk has a service to Port Sudan and another connecting Jeddah, Yanbu, Neom, Aqaba, and Ain Sokhna.