Highlights include efficient time saving with 24-hour access, enhanced online customs clearance, on-site cargo inspection, testing services and up to 80 per cent delivery cost savings

Dubai, UAE Gulftainer, the world’s largest privately owned independent port operator, based in the UAE, today unveiled the latest addition to its portfolio in the UAE – Sharjah Port of Trade (S.P.O.T) services, a new strategic sea cargo clearance offering.

Offering unparalleled connectivity between Sharjah and Dubai, S.P.O.T services can be availed at the crossroads of the E311 highway and Maliha Road.

S.P.O.T offers the fastest transit times and lowest service costs to deliver cargo north of Al Barsha area, as well as end-to-end connectivity across the UAE. Its strategic location, just 10 minutes from the E311 highway and 15 minutes from the E611 highway, enables a reduction of delivery costs from port to door by as much as 80 per cent.

Complementing the cost and time savings, the port offers enhanced online customs clearance, 24-hour access to major roads, as well as a state-of-the-art facility for on-site cargo inspection, quality sampling and testing services at the importer’s premises.

Fred Castonguay, Group Chief Operating Officer at Gulftainer, said: “Today we are taking further steps in transforming our business on a structural level and simplifying how we go to market, allowing us to provide more need-based solutions and greater convenience to our customers. This new offering is set to establish new benchmarks in Gulftainer’s current operations portfolio. In addition to its highly accessible strategic location, customers now have the flexibility to complete inspections in their warehouse via a phone call and easily clear their cargo.”

He added: “S.P.O.T geographically positions cargo in the heart of the UAE’s commercial operations, significantly cutting down on delivery time and final mile cost. In fact, over 75 per cent of the UAE’s local cargo base is closer to S.P.O.T than to any other port in the UAE. Consequently, customers can minimise time, trucking costs, as well as the environmental impact of their cargo deliveries.”

Several shipping lines have already expressed their interest to benefit from the strategic placement and value-added offerings of S.P.O.T and secure vessel calls at the Khorfakkan Cargo Terminal (KCT). S.P.O.T will serve as an inland extension of this seaport terminal.

For more information on S.P.O.T, please visit SPOT.Gulftainer.com or call 06-5128888.

About Gulftainer

Gulftainer is the world’s largest privately-owned independent port operator. Established in the emirate of Sharjah in 1976, the rapidly expanding ports and logistics company has built up a strong presence in various parts of the world. Gulftainer won the prestigious 2018 Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety by UK-based RoSPA Award Scheme and was also recognised for 'Technology Implementation of the Year' at the Logistics Middle East Awards 2017. In 2016 and 2017, the Seatrade Maritime Awards named Gulftainer the Terminal Operator of the Year in the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa region.

In the UAE, the company operates three main ports on behalf of the Sharjah Port Authority – Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT), Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) and Hamriyah Port. Its flagship terminal, KCT, was recognised by the Journal of Commerce as the fastest terminal in the MENA region and the third-fastest in the world.

Outside the UAE, the Gulftainer Group operates and manages ports and logistics businesses in several countries including Iraq (Iraq Container Terminal, Iraq Project Terminal and Umm Qasr Logistics Centre), Pakistan (GTL-MTI), Brazil (Recife Port), Lebanon (Tripoli Container Terminal) and Turkey (Momentum Logistics). In Saudi Arabia, Gulftainer acquired a 51 per cent stake in Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company (GSCCO) in June 2013 and operates the Northern Container Terminal in Jeddah, Jubail Industrial Port and Jubail Commercial Port. Gulftainer is the first and only port management company from the Middle East to operate in the United States. Under a 35-year agreement signed in June 2015, Gulftainer is tasked with managing the Canaveral Cargo Terminal in Florida, USA. In addition, it won a 50-year concession to operate the Port of Wilmington in Delaware, USA in 2018.

Currently handling an annual throughput of 6.4 million TEUs, Gulftainer aims to expand its global portfolio in the next 10 years to triple business volume worldwide to more than 10,000 vessel calls and increase container handling three-fold to 18 million TEUs. For further details, please visit www.gulftainer.com.

For further information, please contact:

Kathryn Bradley

PR and Communications Manager

Gulftainer

Tel: +9716 512 8888

Email: Kbradley@gulftainer.com

Tasneem Riyaz

APCO Worldwide

Tel: +971 52 863 1680

Email: triyaz@apcoworldwide.com

© Press Release 2019

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