After making history at Port Khalifa in Abu Dhabi yesterday, Cosco Shipping’s Solar container ship has docked in Dammam’s King Abdul Aziz Port, becoming the largest container ship ever to make port in Saudi Arabia.
Solar is 400 meters long, 59 meters wide and has a draft of 16 meters, but what makes it a record-breaker is its immense cargo capacity of 21,300 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit).
Waleed Al-Faris, director-general of King Abdul Aziz Port said the ship’s arrival was proof that the Dammam facility was a global logistics destination.
“King Abdul Aziz Port can handle any type of cargo with its diverse capabilities and solid infrastructure,” he said. “It has four terminals operated by the best in class port operation companies.”
The port includes two container terminals. The first, operated by the International Port Services Co., has a capacity of 2.5 million TEU and a 16-meter depth with 10 berths totalling 2,160 meters in length. It has 17 bridge cranes, five of which are operated remotely.
The second terminal, operated by the Saudi Global Ports Co., has a capacity of 1.5 million TEU with two berths totalling 700 meters in length and a 16.5-meter depth. It is equipped with six bridge cranes and has an additional 600,000 sq. meter area. The terminals are supported by a large number of mobile stackers and container cranes.
Earlier this year, the port welcomed CSCL Globe which, at the time of its launch in November 2014, was the largest container ship in the world, with a capacity of 19,100 TEU.
