Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM company has announced the discovery of giant and rare sea creatures and new islands in the northern Red Sea, local media from the gulf country reported on Thursday.
NEOM company along with OceanXplorer carried out a six-week long advanced exploration, research and media vessel, generated scientific research on marine ecosystems, megafauna, saltwater aquariums and coral reef conservation and regeneration.
According to the media reports, the mission unearthed two sightings of a large squid which uptill then went unobserved in the region and also unearthed the presence of 12 types of large creatures in the waters of NEOM, which include sharks, whales, dugongs, turtles and dolphins along with 341 species of fish.
“The mission efforts have made significant achievements in the identification of previously unknown natural areas, as well as unprecedented global scientific discoveries,” Gulf News quoted reporting NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr.
The staff included 30 international oceanographers and researchers, including 4 experts from NEOM, five others from the ministry of environment, water and agriculture and King Fahd University of petroleum and minerals, 11 experts from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and two explorers from National Geographic.
A nine-part series covering the journey will be launched on NEOM’s YouTube channel and OceanX’s social media channels.