Two marinas on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast have officially cleared regulatory hurdles. The Saudi Red Sea Authority (SRSA) has handed operating licenses for AMAALA Marina and Shura Marina to developer Red Sea Global (RSG), a sign both facilities are getting ready to take on visiting yachts.
The licences were presented in Riyadh by Eng. Mohammed Bukhari, VP of Coastal Tourism Operations at SRSA, to Raed Albasseet, RSG's Chief Operations and Sustainability Officer. They fall under the Regulation for the Design and Operation of Tourist Marinas, which sets standards for health, safety and environmental protection. For anyone planning to sail into these waters, that framework is essentially a promise of consistent service quality and marine environment safeguards.
The two marinas sit within RSG's new Yachting Network, launched recently to bring its Red Sea marinas and yacht clubs under one management umbrella. The idea is a connected experience for yacht owners, captains and crews — one point of contact for berthing and marine services across multiple destinations rather than a patchwork of separate operators.
The numbers are worth noting. AMAALA Marina, part of AMAALA Yacht Club, has 119 berths and is paired with a clubhouse of roughly 7,900 square metres, blending yachting, hospitality and marine services in one spot. Shura Marina, with 159 berths, is the largest tourist marina on an island in Saudi Arabia. Together they offer 278 berths and can take yachts up to 120 metres in length — superyacht territory.
This is all part of a bigger picture. SRSA handles the regulatory side — licensing, permits, standards and investment encouragement — while RSG builds the destinations themselves. Both say the goal is to make the Red Sea competitive as a global coastal tourism hub, in line with Saudi Vision 2030's push to diversify the economy beyond oil.
For travellers, this matters if you cruise, charter, or simply like your beach holiday with a bit of maritime glamour. Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast is one of the most ambitious new tourism zones on the planet, and functioning marinas are the backbone of that. Expect yachting facilities at a scale and polish level that didn't exist in the kingdom a few years ago, alongside the resorts, diving and reef access the region is already known for. If you're not arriving by boat, AMAALA and the surrounding Red Sea Global destinations are positioning themselves as luxury resort stays where the marina and yacht club form part of the scenery — and possibly part of your itinerary, with sailing and water sports on offer.
The licensing milestone is mostly good news for the industry and for yacht owners eyeing new cruising grounds, but it signals that this once-quiet stretch of coastline is firmly open for business.
