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A SUPER fast luxury ferry service may be launched from Bahrain's new Khalifa Bin Salman Port to King Abdul Aziz Port Dammam in Saudi Arabia in a bid to reduce the Causeway queuing misery.
Despite being open for more than 20 years, and being a major route for trade and tourism, Bahrain and Saudi have yet to smooth out customs procedures at the 25km King Fahad Causeway.
The proposed roll-on-roll-off ferry service is likely to be unveiled at the kingdom's first International Boat Show to be held at Amwaj Marina alongside the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
A spokesman for the newly-formed Bahrain & Saudi Ferries Company (B&S Ferries) said: "We have signed a 360 million euro contract with a Finnish shipbuilder for the two largest ferries ever to be constructed. We have also taken options on a further two vessels of the same design.
"We hope B&S will soon be as big a household name in the Gulf region as P&O is in Europe and the US."
GulfWeekly has obtained advanced images of the vessels on the understanding that they can only be published on April 1. At 49,000 gross tonnes, the new ships will be the largest ferries ever to operate in the sector and, at 299 metres in length, will be amongst the largest ships capable of fitting into facilities in the ports. Immigration procedures will be carried out in advance of boarding.
They will have space for 180 freight vehicles, whilst additionally providing a third vehicle deck for up to 195 tourist vehicles. In addition, up to 2,000 passengers can be carried on each vessel.
Green issues are becoming more important than ever before, so the ships will be as environmentally friendly as possible, offering significant advances in fuel efficiency through a hydro-dynamically efficient hull form that will optimise vessel performance with minimal fuel consumption.
A Bahrain taxi shuttle service from the port to the centre of Manama may also reduce the amount of weekend traffic and accidents on the kingdom's highways as well.
If the ferry service proves popular regular services to Dubai, Oman and Qatar will be introduced by the end of the year.
Bahrain may become the goods and cargo gateway to the northern Gulf with the opening of the facility, also known as Bahrain Gateway.
Standing on reclaimed land at Hidd, it occupies a 900,000sq/m site which, although around the same size as the old Mina Salman facility, will have expanded capabilities.
Its storage capacity is more than double that of Mina Salman, which is 45-years-old, and the increase in water depth from 10.5m to 15m enables docking of larger ships.
With the KBSP's 1.8km quayside length, this would allow loading or unloading of up to four 300m long ships at a time.
The new port is also expected to herald a new era for the kingdom in welcoming a growing number of cruise liners.
The Gulf is becoming an increasingly popular destination for winter cruising holidays and the Bahrain Gateway will have a dedicated passenger terminal designed specifically to handle them, with priority berthing.
In fact, Bahrain and the UAE, which are both on the cruise route, expect to welcome around 200,000 cruise tourists throughout next year and as many as 350,000 by the end of 2010. On a trial run the first ferry 'Pride of Bahrain' pulled into port this morning.
Across the water, Dammam Port is the largest in the Gulf and its port for import-export traffic is second to Jeddah's port.
It is served by the King Fahad International Airport, which is about 20km to the northwest, served by a eight-lane highway. Other cities that surround Dammam are Khobar, which is a thriving modern economic hub, and Dhahran, which is the headquarters for Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, and Qatif, the populated fishing and agricultural town. Together these cities have a population of around two million, of whom 600,000 live in the city of Dammam itself.
Long traffic jams have crippled the King Fahad Bridge connecting Saudi to Bahrain prompting outrage from motorists.
Only last week the Gulf Daily News, our sister newspaper, reported that massive queues of trucks trying to cross the Causeway had sparked an angry reaction from business leaders in Bahrain.
One businessman from Barbar, who regularly commutes to Saudi, said: "It is always a nightmare crossing and a real headache as drivers try and push in front of each other.
"The thought of a relaxing ferry service is very tempting, particularly if there's good entertainment and beverages on board."
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