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Sharjah-headquartered terminal operator Gulftainer has invested US$60 million (AED 220m) in four state-of-the-art ship to shore (STS) and 12 rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes at the Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT), significantly strengthening the terminal’s operational capability and overall productivity.
According to Gulftainer, the new, advanced STS cranes are larger, with a greater outreach to better service massive 18,000 twenty-foot container (TEU) and above vessels. Due to the continued investment in modern equipment, last year, KCT was the first terminal operator in the Middle East to handle the CMA CGM Group’s 16,020 TEU capacity Marco Polo container ship (which is roughly the length of four standard football pitches).
Gulftainer expects the new equipment to provide greater flexibility in operations and speed up the turnaround of container vessels docking at the port. The new cranes also boast user-friendly interfaces and features to help the port operator maintain the highest standards of safety.
Located on Sharjah’s east coast, KCT is the only purpose-built operational container terminal in the UAE located outside the Strait of Hormuz. Due to its unique geographic location, the port has proven to be one of the most important transshipment hubs for the Arabian Gulf, the Indian Sub-continent, the Gulf of Oman and the East African markets.
Gulftainer also operates the Sharjah Container Terminal at Port Khalid located on the emirate’s Arabian Gulf coast, the first dedicated container terminal in the Arab world, and the Sharjah Inland Container Depot. The company has operations in Iraq, Brazil, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, where it manages container terminals in Jeddah and Jubail ports. The company has recently signed a 35-year concession with the Canaveral Port Authority in Florida marking Gulftainer ‘s first venture in the United States.
Source: Gulftainer
