Salalah port handles biggest container vessel to call in Oman

Salalah: Port of Salalah, a major regional gateway port and transshipment hub on the Arabian Sea, has achieved yet another maritime milestone by being the first and only port in Oman to handle a container vessel over 18,000 twenty equivalent units (TEUs). Mayview Maersk, which was delivered to Maersk Line in 2014, has a length of 399 metres and a capacity of 18,270 TEUs. The vessel berthed at Port of Salalah on April 10. The previous record was MSC London of the Mediterranean Shipping, which also was called Salalah. With the continued increase in the overall size of the vessels, such vessels are expected to be regular callers in main line hub ports.
“We are delighted to earn the trust of the shipping lines to be able to handle these sizes of vessels. The call is a testament not only 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,” said David Gledhill, chief executive officer of the Port of Salalah.
In order to maximise trade coverage of these calls and to allow the Omani businesses to be able to leverage these 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.“
“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,” said Ahmed Akaak, deputy chief executive officer of the Port of Salalah.
"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,” he added.
The Port of Salalah, which is operated by APM Terminals as part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, and in which APM Terminals holds a 30 per cent share, handled 2.6 million TEUs in 2015, along with 12.5 million tonnes of bulk cargo. The port of Salalah has recently undergone an expansion, which doubled the quay length, and increase dry bulk capacity to 20 million tonnes, and liquid bulk capacity to 6 million tonnes annually.