Oman-based Sohar Port and Freezone’s container terminal received four new post-Panamax quay cranes, marking the port’s next stage of expansion. The cranes have an outreach to serve the latest 10,000 TEU containerships as well as 20,000 TEU future mega boxships.
The new cranes arrived by sea from Shangai, where they were manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (ZMPC) and the offloading began on Monday.
The handling capacity for container traffic at Oman International Container Terminal (OICT) has more than doubled in the last two years, according to the port ‘s data. Only in the last year, Sohar handled nearly one million tons of cargo, what was a new record for the port having only seen its first ship arrive in 2004. Subsequently, the port has now 1.5 million TEU annual capacity.
“As more lines from Asia start to make more direct calls to Sohar and the size of those container vessels continues to increase, Sohar Port Authority is actively working together with OICT and our other terminals to increase efficiency and help reduce costs,” Andre Toet, Sohar Port CEO , noted.
“For example, OICT recently introduced an automated truck appointment system to further reduce turnaround times and our Port Management System (PMS) is a new online platform that allows agents to access and share real-time information on cargo movements. These technologies ultimately generate costs savings that we can pass on right the way along the supply chain and will help make Oman even more competitive as a regional logistics hub for the future,” Toet added.
Operated by OICT, Sohar Port and Freezone are jointly owned by Hutchinson (HPH) in Hong Kong, the Oman Government, C. Steinweg and other investors. In the summer of 2014, OICT shifted its operations to the new Termminal C at Sohar in preparation for the relocation of all commercial traffic from Muscat’s Port Sultan Quaboos.