Saudi Arabia Hosts Global Maritime Leaders at SMIC 2025

Ministers, ambassadors and maritime leaders were brought together from across the world in Jeddah this week for the second Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference (SMIC). Hosted between the 3^rd and 4^th of September, the conference is indicative of the integral role Saudi Arabia is playing at the heart of international efforts to make the shipping industry cleaner, smarter and more resilient.

The conference, held at the Ritz-Carlton Jeddah under the patronage of H.E. Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics, opened with the signing of various Memoranda of Understanding to advance maritime sustainability and innovation. The agreements focussed on emissions reduction, digitalisation, capacity building, and environmental stewardship and mark another step in Saudi Arabia’s journey to becoming a global maritime hub as part of its Vision 2030.

Within the opening ceremony, H.E. Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser framed the Kingdom’s role as one of scale and responsibility. He highlighted Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding ports, leading regional fleet and commitment to innovation, while stressing that environmental stewardship is now a national imperative.

H.E. Dr. Rumaih Al-Rumiah, Vice Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and acting President of TGA, followed by emphasising the role of governance in enabling innovation and cooperation, noting that Saudi Arabia is determined to create regulatory frameworks that support both business and the environment. H.E. Mr Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the IMO, added an international dimension, emphasising that the challenges of climate change, digitalisation and global trade can only be met through collective effort.

SMIC 2025 drew strong ministerial participation as a platform for international decision-making, with ministers from Cyprus, Dominica, Liberia, Bahrain, Guinea-Bissau, and Iraq present at the conference. A number of these ministers gave keynote speeches alongside bilateral meetings. Beyond the podium, Saudi representatives played active roles throughout the agenda. Eng. Kamal Al Junaidi, the Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the IMO, moderated a high-level discussion, steering a conversation between international experts and ensuring that Saudi perspectives were woven into the broader conversation on maritime regulation and innovation. His role highlighted the Kingdom’s willingness to not only participate in international maritime governance but to guide and support its future development.

Central to this year’s conference were the signing of two Letters of Intent (LOIs) that tie Saudi Arabia directly to international efforts led by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the World Maritime University (WMU). The first, signed by H.E. Dr. Rumaih Al-Rumaih and Dr Jose Matheickal of the IMO extends the Kingdom’s leadership in the cadet seafarer placement project with Bahri ships through the NextWave initiative. This extension of the project will provide 20x seats to cadets from developing states in partnership with the IMO. Additionally, Saudi Arabia signed the LOI supporting CARICOM states via the CaribSmart project, strengthening resilience for small island and coastal states through a pilot project supporting facilitation of trade and transport.

A second LOI, signed by H.E. Dr. Rumaih Al-Rumiah and Professor Maximo Mejia, President of WMU, commits Saudi Arabia to advancing solutions to the abandonment of seafarers, seen as one of the most acute social challenges in the maritime industry. The agreement reflects Riyadh’s understanding that sustainability is not just about ships and ports, but also about seafarers and investing in overall maritime human capital. Taken together, these initiatives represent a deepening of Saudi engagement with the international maritime system, aligning national ambitions under Vision 2030 with global priorities for sustainability and human welfare.

H.E. Eng. Suliman Al Mazroua, President of the Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI), addressed the future of ports in an era of climate change and outlined MAWANI’s progress in cutting emissions, tackling coastal pollution and investing in human capital, thereby positioning Saudi ports as an essential link in global supply chains.

The conference programme reflected the complexity of sustainability in the maritime sector; workshops and panels ranged from decarbonisation strategies and green finance to underwater noise reduction, artificial intelligence at sea and cybersecurity in digital shipping. Sessions on seafarer welfare, including women’s leadership in maritime transformation, highlighted how important inclusivity and fairness are to advancing maritime sustainability.

SMIC’s second edition reinforced Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in international maritime affairs as the Kingdom is increasingly seen not only as a host but as a driver of global initiatives. The signing of the LOIs with the IMO and WMU gave the conference concrete outcomes, while the high-level presence of ministers and international organisations demonstrated its credibility as a platform for decision-making. By aligning domestic ambitions with global priorities, the Kingdom is helping to ensure that sustainability at sea is not an aspiration for the future, but a responsibility of today.