WASHINGON: The Port of Salalah, a major regional gateway port and transhipment hub on the Arabian Sea, has achieved a maritime milestone by being the first and only port in Oman to handle a container vessel over 18000 TEU. Mayview Maersk, which was delivered to Maersk Line in 2014, has a Length of 399 metres and a capacity of 18,270 TEU, andhe vessel berthed at Port of Salalah on 10 April.
With the continued increase in the overall size of the vessels, such vessels are expected to be regular callers in main line hub ports. David Gledhill, CEO of the Port of Salalah, said: “The call is a testament not only [to] the infrastructure of the terminal but more importantly the confidence of the shipping lines on our employees’ ability to handle them in a safe and efficient manner.
“In order to maximise trade coverage of these calls and to allow the Omani businesses to be able to leverage main line connectivity, the Port of Salalah team has been successful in developing new feeder connections for other ports in the region and will continue to expand the same.”
Ahmed Akaak, Deputy CEO of the Port of Salalah, said: “We are excited to see an increasing number of services calling Salalah. Main line connectivity like these forms a critical backbone of an efficient and cost effective logistics and supply chain solution for the customers. “We continue to pursue opportunities with various Omani businesses that are keen to leverage the superior and geographically diverse connectivity offered at Salalah to expand their markets and support the national effort to diversify the non-oil trade of the country.”
Fact File: The Port of Salalah, which is operated by APM Terminals (APMT) as part of the APMT Global Terminal Network, and in which APM Terminals holds a 30% share, handled 2.6 million TEU in 2015. The Port of Salalah has recently undergone an expansion, which doubled the quay length, and increase dry bulk capacity to 20 million tons, and liquid bulk capacity to 6 million tons annually.
