Muscat port profit plunges
PORT SERVICES Corporation (PSC), the joint stock company that operates and manages Muscat’s Port Sultan Qaboos, has reported a 98.1 per cent drop in net profit for the first six months of this year compared with H1 2014.
The drastic fall in profit was a result of its transition from a commercial port to a cruise tourism and heritage port, said an Oman Daily Observer report.
The net earnings (after deductions towards tax and franchise fees) declined to RO73,140 ($189,974) for the six months ended June 30, down from RO3.882 million ($10.08 million) in H! 2014.
Irshad, Tasneef ink deal
EMIRATES Classification Society (Tasneef) and Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Operating Company (Irshad), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adnoc, recently signed a one-year contract to survey and classify 31 of Irshad’s offshore vessels.
They include tugs, pilot boats, crew boats and barges, a statement said.
This agreement comes in compliance with the safety regulations for non-conventional ships that are not covered by the International Convention (GCC Code) which came into effect on September 1, 2014.
GES opens US office
GLOBE Express Services (GES), a logistics service provider, has opened its new office in Houston, Texas to cater to the growing demand for comprehensive logistics services in the US.
The new office will allow GES to strengthen its market foothold as it continues to expand its presence in key global markets to provide integrated, tailor-made and end-to-end logistics solutions, said a statement. Mustapha Kawam, president and chief executive officer, said his firm would capitalise on US logistics’ many opportunities.
UQLC receives large vessels
UAE-based Gulftainer’s Umm Qasr Logistics Centre (UQLC) has welcomed two of Iraq’s largest LPG storage vessels at the Port of Umm Qasr in Basra, Iraq.
The two cylindrical LPG storage tanks each weighed more than 250 tonnes and measured 50 m in length. The logistics centre is part of a $150 million investment programme in the country by Gulftainer.
