Sohar Port seen as safe alternative gateway outside Hormuz Strait - By Conrad Prabhu - MUSCAT - Global shipping line APL is leveraging Sohar Port's strategic geographical location outside the Strait of Hormuz, as well as its deepwater capabilities, to enhance connectivity between Oman and the rest of the world. At the weekend, the container shipping giant celebrated the launch of its Pakistan Middle East Express (PMX) and Subcontinents Red Sea Express (SRX) services providing direct linkages between Sohar Port's Oman International Container Terminal (OICT) and markets of the Indian subcontinent and the Red Sea.
MV APL Brisbane made its maiden call at OICT yesterday as part of the newly unveiled PMX service that connects Sohar with Fujairah and Jebel Ali in the UAE with Karachi in Pakistan. The 3,398 TEU-capacity vessel will operate a regular weekly service on this key route. And today, APL is set to add Sohar to its successful SRX service which connects the industrial hub with Mundra and Nhava Sheva in India, as well as Djibouti and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on the Red Sea. The deployment of a quartet of 3,502 TEU-capacity vessels on this sector underlines the popularity and importance of this service.
Importantly, the new services come on the heels of the launch, barely three weeks ago, of APL's prestigious main line-haul Pacific South-1 (PS1) service. The new PS1 service is the result of an upgrade of the liner's previous China Middle East Express (CMX) service from a 4,000 TEU-capacity vessel to a 5,500 TEU vessel, and its integration with a pendulum service that now links up Middle East-China strings with the Trans-Pacific loop. Underscoring the significance of the PS1 service, a fleet of 10 container ships are deployed on this weekly operation.
The rollout of three new services in as many weeks underlines efforts by the Singapore-based global shipping line to position itself as a key player from Sohar's OICT. The industrial port's inclusion in these key strings is seen as a recognition of Sohar's, and indeed Oman's, growing strategic importance particularly as a time of heightening international tension over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Additionally, APL's decision to ramp up operations from Sohar is also viewed as an acknowledgement of the promising industrial and economic potential of the North and South Batinah regions and their vast hinterland.
For Omani shippers and traders, the new services provide speedy and direct connectivity with the high-growth markets of Pakistan, India and the Red Sea without the need for transshipment via a neighbouring port in the region. Access to the key markets of East Asia and North America has also been significantly enhanced via the new PS1 service. The shorter transit times offered by all three services also promise to enhance the competitiveness and overall bottom lines of Omani businesses.
Significantly, APL's expanding operations at Sohar Port are also seen as an endorsement of OICT's superior operational performance and high productivity, which are key to ensuring rapid vessel turnarounds. Since its inauguration in 2007, the deepwater terminal has attracted a growing number of major international and regional shipping lines, including Maersk Line, CMA-CGM, UASC, Hanjin, HMM and Oman Shipping Company, among other NVOCCs and feeder operators.
Container traffic throughput at OICT is expected to burgeon in line with the Omani government's directive calling for the conversion of Muscat's Port Sultan Qaboos into a maritime tourism facility, and for the relocation of all commercial traffic to Sohar. OICT, as a joint venture of HPH and Government of Sultanate of Oman, is a member of the multinational conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL), the world's leading port investor, developer and operator. The HPH network now covers 315 berths in 52 ports, spanning 26 countries around the world.
APL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, a global transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and related businesses. APL operates an extensive feeder network in the Middle East region, with hub-and-spoke connections to its global service network. The subsidiary currently serves 133 cities and ports around the world. In Oman, APL is represented by Muttrah Shipping & Trading Agencies LLC, which has offices in Muscat and Sohar.
© Oman Daily Observer 2012
