Oman Observer’s Post

Port of Salalah Steps Up as Vital Link Amid Red Sea Crisis Shipping Arabia, May 11, 2024 — The ongoing Red Sea blockade has prompted the Port of Salalah in Oman to become a crucial alternative for maritime routes, avoiding the lengthy Cape of Good Hope detour. Strategically located at a global crossroads, Salalah offers direct access to major East-West shipping lanes, providing seamless connectivity across Asia, Europe, North Africa, the Americas, and East Africa. With disruptions expected to persist, Salalah's first-quarter performance has cemented its role as a competitive transshipment hub. The port is expanding its capacity by 30% from 5 million TEU to cater to the increased demand for efficient route alternatives. Salalah's geographical advantage eliminates the usual 4-5 day deviation required by other regional ports, offering significant time and cost savings. The port has introduced multimodal solutions, including a sea/overland route to Jeddah, which reduces journey times to Europe and the US East Coast via the Suez Canal. For urgent shipments, a sea-air option through Salalah or Muscat Airports, or Jebel Ali, offers faster transit times and cost reductions compared to full air freight. The port's facilities support scalable warehousing and advanced Container Freight Facilities, enabling tailored intermodal solutions. Collaborations with industry leaders like Maersk and Oman Airports have led to successful sea-air freight operations. Salalah's efficiency ranks second globally in the World Bank’s Container Ports Performance Index. Sunil Joseph, Commercial Officer at Salalah Port, highlights the port’s capacity to manage increased traffic efficiently. Ongoing reforms in Oman enhance its role as a full-service logistics solution, offering speed, flexibility, and value-added services. As the maritime industry adapts to geopolitical changes, Salalah is well-positioned to facilitate efficient global trade, showcasing its ability to meet challenges with innovative responses. Source: APM Terminals #Salalah #APMTerminals #Transport #Logistics #Oman #RedSea

Container ship named after Oman makes maiden call MUSCAT: A container ship named after the Sultanate of Oman docked at the container terminal facilities of Hutchison Ports Sohar on its maiden visit to Oman last week. MV ESL Oman – part of the fleet of UAE-based liner shipping company ESL – called at Hutchison Ports Sohar as part of the CMX (Cosmos) service connecting the Port of Sohar with major ports in China, Singapore, UAE and Malaysia. Hutchison Ports Sohar CEO Anacin Kum joined senior port executives and shipping agency representatives in a quayside ceremony to welcome the ship’s Master on the first-ever call by the cargo vessel proudly bearing the legend ‘Oman’ on its exterior. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dmm9-GHE SOHAR Port and Freezone Hutchison Ports Sohar Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology - Oman ESL Shipping Ltd #ContainerShip #Ship #Logistics #Oman #OmanBiz

Port of Salalah introduces viable alternative to #RedSea #route With first quarter results, the consensus among #shipping lines is an expectation that the Red Sea blockade will continue. In response, the Port of Salalah, located in the Sultanate of Oman, has launched #multimodal service options that provides a viable alternative to the time consuming and more costly re-routing around the Cape of Good Hope. Sea/Overland route offers comparable journey times From the #Port of Salalah, an in transit overland route by truck connects to #Jeddah located in the safer mid-point of the Red Sea in #SaudiArabia. The overland route takes approximately 4-5 days. From this point the journey can continue by #container #vessel through the Suez Canal to Europe or the US East Coast reducing the overall transit time under to current routing. Hossein N. Fashkhami APM Terminals Port of Salalah https://lnkd.in/dp5sqwuv

Salalah Port handles 1.7 million containers in H1 2024 MUSCAT: Port of Salalah has reported impressive figures for the first half of 2024, with the handling of approximately 1.7 million standard containers and 11.6 million tonnes of general cargo. This robust performance has resulted in a net profit of RO 1.570 million, reflecting the port's growing efficiency and operational success. To support its expanding capabilities, the port has recently added 10 new cranes to its fleet, raising the total number of cranes to 27. Eng Mohammed al Mashani, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Salalah Port, provided insights into the port's current and future strategies. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dWFFHu_U Port of Salalah @DhofarMun Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology - Oman @OmanLogCenter #Salalah #Port #Logistics #StandardContainers #GeneralCargo #Cargo #Oman #OmanBiz

With the first-quarter results in, the consensus among shipping lines is an expectation that the Red Sea blockade will continue. In response, the Port of Salalah, located in the Sultanate of Oman, has launched multi-modal service options that provide a viable alternative to the time-consuming and more costly re-routing around the Cape of Good Hope. Strategically positioned at the crossroads of trade between Asia and Europe, and servicing markets spanning East Africa, the Red Sea, the Indian Subcontinent, and the Arabian Gulf, the Port of Salalah is operated by APM Terminals as part of its global terminal network. It operates both a container terminal and a general cargo terminal. With an annual capacity of 5 million TEU and expansion currently in progress to add an additional 30% capacity, the Port of Salalah is ideally located on the main ocean routes connecting South and East Asia with Europe, North Africa, the Americas, and the upper Gulf with East Africa. No detour from East-West shipping routes Unlike other popular transshipment ports in the region, no detour from the main East-West shipping routes into the Gulf of Oman is required, saving a 4-5 day detour from the main east-west shipping routes. #bunkering #energy #shipping #marine #maritime #petroleum #shipowners #decarbonization #digitalization #energytransition #oilandgas #cleanenergy #carboncapture #ports #greenenergy #greenshipping #netzero #sustainability #bunkermarket #europe #usa #uk #canada #uae #netherlands #denmark #norway #sweden #finland #singapore #oman #portofsalalah #salalah #salalahport #apmterminals https://lnkd.in/dB6gj5pQ

Oman's Ascending Role in Regional Logistics: A Year of Positive Growth 🚢 🔗 As a key maritime hub in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, Oman's ports have shown remarkable progress throughout 2023. With a 1.5% increase in cargo handling and significant growth in vessel dockings and cruise tourism, Oman demonstrates robust operational capabilities and a strategic commitment to maritime infrastructure development—crucial for enhancing its role as a regional logistics hub. 👉 Dive deeper into Oman’s maritime advancements and their impact on the region in our latest article. 📲 For ongoing updates on Middle East maritime developments, make sure to follow Shipping Arabia. #OmanPorts #EconomicGrowth #MaritimeIndustry #Ports #Salalah #Sohar

🛳️ #Inland and #PortFreight volumes in Oman are set to grow in 2024, cementing the country's position as a key transshipment hub in the region. 🌀Recent reports show that Oman's top five ports handled over 93.2 million tonnes of cargo in 2023, representing a 1.5% annual increase. 🌀This growth highlights the importance of Oman's ports in #maritimetrade and underscores the need for continued investment in #infrastructure and #transportation sectors. 🌀With a strategic location and ongoing efforts to boost competitiveness, Oman is well-positioned for further development in the years to come. #Oman #Transportation #Infrastructure #MaritimeTrade #CargoHandling #TransshipmentHub ASCELA Middle East

Maersk Announces New Rate Adjustments and Expanded ME2 Service Coverage Shipping Arabia, April 12, 2024 — Maersk has announced the introduction of the In-Transit Landbridge Haulage (ITH) for all dry and reefer containers from India, Jebel Ali, and Salalah to Aqaba, effective from May 1, 2024. This new service is set to offer competitive transit times with rates of $1900 for dry containers and $2200 for reefer containers. Maersk is also revising its Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) for 20DRY containers from Mundra and Pipavav to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with the adjustments effective from April 9, 2024. The updated surcharge will be $250 for containers from Mundra and $500 from Pipavav, in response to the evolving market demands. Furthermore, Maersk has announced the enhancement of its ME2 service to extend coverage to North Europe, aiming to connect West India directly with this new region. The updated ME2 service rotation will now include ports such as Jebel Ali, Mundra, Jawaharlal Nehru, Port Tangiers, Algeciras, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, and returning to Port Tangiers and Salalah. The first vessel to operate on the westbound route will be Maersk Guayaquil, departing from Jebel Ali on April 19, 2024. The eastbound voyage will commence with Cap San Lazaro, departing from Rotterdam on April 22, 2024. Customers are encouraged to visit the Maersk website and check their latest advisories for more details on these updates and how they may impact shipping schedules and rates. Source: Maersk #Maersk #ShippingIndustry #MaritimeNews #ContainerLines

Salalah Port unveils major expansion to boost container handling capacity Scott Salman, Executive Director of Operations at Salalah Port, emphasised that the new cranes will significantly reduce ship turnaround times and enhance the port's ability to handle the world's largest vessels. By completing this expansion, Salalah Port aims to bolster global trade connectivity, improve infrastructure, and elevate maritime service efficiency through strategic partnerships. The "Megamax" ready terminal continues to attract major maritime industry players, solidifying its status as a key hub for the largest container ships. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dMSxwz8F Port of Salalah Salalah Free Zone الهيئة العامة للمناطق الاقتصادية الخاصة والمناطق الحرة - OPAZ Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology - Oman #SalalahPort #Port #Logistics #MaritimeService #ContainerHandling #Cranes #Ships #Oman #OmanBiz

Folk Maritime Launches Pioneering India Gulf Express Service Shipping Arabia, November 2, 2024 — Folk Maritime, a burgeoning Saudi feeder and shortsea shipping firm financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has inaugurated a new service that links India and Iraq with Saudi Arabia, marking the company’s fourth service and the first direct maritime connection of its kind between these nations through the Arabian Gulf. The new service, named the India Gulf Express, commenced operations with the ship Asterios on October 30. This 1,800 TEU vessel initially transported import cargo from India to Umm Qasr and will further connect the ports of Dammam, Nhava Sheva, and Mundra. Folk Maritime plans to enhance the service to a weekly schedule by December. This latest route follows the introduction of the India Red Sea service by Folk Maritime in September, which connects Jeddah to Nhava Sheva and Mundra via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This expansion reflects the company's rapid growth since its first service launch in April 2024. Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing Red Sea crisis, Folk Maritime has been actively expanding its fleet and service routes. Poul Hestbaek, CEO of Folk Maritime, emphasized the strategic importance of the new route: “Launching the India Gulf Express is a significant step towards fulfilling our mission to bridge key ports and foster connections that bolster Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading logistics hub under Vision 2030. Dammam is positioned as a pivotal logistics center in this vision, and this service proudly underscores our commitment as the first Saudi company to establish such a link.” Kim Larsen, Chief Commercial Officer at Folk Maritime, highlighted the service’s alignment with customer needs and its impact on the company’s operational scope. “The India Gulf Express Service expands our coverage, offering robust solutions that cater to the dynamic demands of our customers, reinforcing our role in the global logistics market,” Larsen stated. The launch of this service not only expands Folk Maritime’s network but also contributes to Saudi Arabia's strategic objectives to diversify its economic connections and enhance its maritime logistics capabilities on the global stage. Source: Seatrade Maritime #FolkMaritime #India #Maritime #Gulf #Iraq #GlobalTrade