Cruising to Saudi Arabia

Background

In 1902, ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula. A son of ABD AL-AZIZ rules the country today, and the country's Basic Law stipulates that the throne shall remain in the hands of the aging sons and grandsons of the kingdom's founder. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year.

The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after Operation Desert Storm remained a source of tension between the royal family and the public until the US military's near-complete withdrawal to neighboring Qatar in 2003. The first major terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia in several years, which occurred in May and November 2003, prompted renewed efforts on the part of the Saudi government to counter domestic terrorism and extremism, which also coincided with a slight upsurge in media freedom and announcement of government plans to phase in partial political representation.

As part of this effort, the government permitted elections - held nationwide from February through April 2005 - for half the members of 179 municipal councils. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all ongoing governmental concerns.

Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
Geographic coordinates: 25 00 N, 45 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 1,960,582 sq km

Coastline

2,640 km

Maritime claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 18 nm
Continental shelf: not specified

Climate

Harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes

Terrain

Mostly uninhabited, sandy desert

Elevation extremes

Lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
Highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m

Economy

This is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia possesses 25% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings.

About 40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 5.5 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly, in the oil and service sectors. The government is encouraging private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. The government has begun to permit private sector and foreign investor participation in the power generation and telecom sectors.

As part of its effort to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy, Saudi Arabia acceded to the WTO in 2005 after many years of negotiations. With high oil revenues enabling the government to post large budget surpluses, Riyadh has been able to substantially boost spending on job training and education, infrastructure development, and government salaries.

Transportation

Airports: 202 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 73
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 129
Heliports: 6 (2005)
Pipelines: condensate 212 km; gas 1,780 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,191 km; oil 5,068 km; refined products 1,162 km (2004)
Railways: total: 1,392 km
standard gauge: 1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (with branch lines and sidings) (2004)
Roadways: total: 152,044 km

Merchant marine

Total: 64 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,266,332 GRT/1,895,002 DWT
By type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 15, container 4, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 20, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 9
Foreign-owned: 9 (Egypt 1, Kuwait 6, Sudan 1, UAE 1)
Registered in other countries: 57 (The Bahamas 12, Bangladesh 1, Comoros 3, Dominica 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 1, Liberia 24, Marshall Islands 1, Norway 7, Panama 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, unknown 1) (2005)

Sailing Specifics: Ports and terminals

Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Jiddah, Yanbu' al Sinaiyah

Other Sailing Destinations in the Region

Bahrain - Christmas Islands - Cocos Keeling - Comoros - Djibouti - Eritrea - India - Jordan - Kenya - Kuwait - Madagascar - Maldives - Mauritius - Mayotte - Mozambique - Oman - Pakistan - Qatar - Reunion Island - Saudi Arabia - Seychelles - Somalia - Sri Lanka - Sudan - Tanzania - United Arab Emirates - Yemen

Further Reading

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