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Salalah, Oman: As part of its ongoing equipment augmentation plan to cater to the growing customer base, the Port of Salalah recently acquired and commissioned a state of the art pilot boat Najm 2 which will join the existing pilot boat Najm 1 to assist in the marine operations of Port of Salalah.
The pilot boats have been given the series name of Najm, which means a star in Arabic drawing inspiration from the traditional use of stars for vessel navigation.
Najm 2 is manufactured by Damen Shipyard in Antalya, Turkey. It’s a high speed vessel, with a state of the art navigation system fitted with special propeller tunnels to increase propulsion efficiency, reduce draft, vibration and noise levels. Najm 2 became operational this month.
Najm 2 has been added to the fleet of existing boats in order to enable the increase of work flow and efficiency.
Being the largest private sector employer in the Dhofar Governorate, Port of Salalah continues with its long standing commitment to develop and train local Omani talent and the entire pilot boat crew are Omani having been trained and certified to operate these vessels.
Mr. Andrew Dawes CEO of Port of Salalah stated “The induction of this new state of the art pilot boat coming shortly after the recent commissioning of the tug underlines our long term commitment to the business in Salalah. These equipment are part of the initial stages of the execution of the long term equipment renewal and deployment plan developed by the port to proactively address the evolving changes in the shipping industry, customer and vessel profile. These assets will not only help our workforce to continue to provide a customer centric operating environment in Salalah but also new business initiatives of the port like the recent Ship to Ship Liquid transfer operations etc. . We continue to engage with the government for its support in expanding the port and the facilities which will allow continued roll out of the equipment deployment plan”.
About the Port of Salalah
Strategically located on the trade crossroads between Asia and Europe and serving the markets of East Africa, the Red Sea, the Indian Subcontinent and the Arabian/Persian Gulf – the Port of Salalah is operated by APM Terminals as part of the APM Terminals global terminal network. The port operates both a container terminal and a general cargo terminal. In 2017, the port handled record volumes in both the container and the general cargo business with an increase of 18.7 % and 4.2 % respectively.
© Press Release 2018
