Port of Salalah posts 29% surge in box volumes

The Omani port, which is equipped to handle the ultra-large containerships that have been entering service on the Asia-Europe trade, saw container volumes jump 29 percent year-over-year for the first half of 2016 to 1.6 million TEUs.    The Port of Salalah, located in Oman along the Arabian Sea, handled 1.6 million TEUs during the first six months of 2016, a 29 percent year-over-year increase, APM Terminals (APMT) said.
   Carriers have been deploying larger vessels on the Asia-Europe trade and the Port of Salalah is equipped to handle these ultra-large containerships.
   “Approximately 30 container liner services call Salalah on a monthly basis, linking the Arabian Sea facility to all major ports in Europe, the Mediterranean, the U.S. East Coast, East Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf,” APM Terminals said.
   The port has also experienced growth thanks to the completion of a new deep-water general cargo and liquid bulk terminal in December.
   Each month, the port’s general cargo facility handles about 200,000 metric tons of limestone and 550,000 metric tons of gypsum, among other types of cargo.
   “With the shipping industry witnessing significant changes in terms of structure and alliances, we have seen enhanced connectivity to East Africa, Somalia and North Oman in 2016,” Port of Salalah CEO David Gledhill said. “We are actively engaged in discussions with the shipping lines who want to leverage the location of Salalah to increase penetration into regional markets like Yemen, countries around the Red Sea and Iran.”