A ship-repairing yard at the Jeddah Islamic Port sank after completing maintenance work on one of the big ships.

The yard, located in the King Fahd yard for ship repairs, sank immediately after one of the vessels was repaired. Investigations are on to determine the cause of the sinking. 

Saher Al-Talhawi, director of Jeddah Islamic Port, confirming the incident, said the yard was rented by a company and it was the firm’s responsibility to hoist the yard back in the manner it sees fit.

He visited the location and met with company officials. “We are ready to offer any help. The incident will not have any impact on environment since oil leaks are not expected because there is no connection with the yard’s operations. It will also not have any effect on the Saudi port income, because it is already rented,” he said.

The King Fahd yard for ship repair is used for fixing commercial vessels like cruise liners, oil and gas tankers as well as containers and other ships.

Its operations start with steel works, repairing ships and carrying out routine maintenance jobs (mechanical, electrical and electronics). The yard comprises two dry basins, a big one with a length of 215 meters, width of 33 meters and a capacity of 19,000 tons. The small basin is 165 meters long, 25 meters wide and has a capacity of 11,000 tons. These are two of the biggest shipyards in the Red Sea, followed by the Suez yard in Egypt.