Oman’s Salalah Port, a major hub in the West Asia region and a stakeholder in emerging industries in the sultanate’s southern region, is priming itself to stay competitive and remedy shortfalls in its business.

The port seeks to ramp up container traffic which saw a decline last year. General cargo, however, experienced volume highs.

Late last year, the port, operated by APM Terminals, was encouraged by French shipping line CMA CGM’s move to add two new weekly services to East Africa and Europe with Salalah calls. The Noura Express service added Salalah to its network on the East Africa trade line while the Europe-Pakistan India Consortium (EPIC) is using the port as a transshipment hub.

The EPIC service provides Salalah’s growing customer base with an additional opportunity for export to Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as for imports from the Indian Subcontinent, David Giedhill, CEO of Salalah Port, noted at the time it was introduced.

He said the Noura service call leveraged the strategic location of Salalah to provide a new and fast cargo connection from East Africa to Europe which could potentially be also used to accommodate Omani imports from Kenya and Somalia.

There was further good news for Salalah Port this year. India’s southern Krishnapatnam Port in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, tied up with Maersk Line India for a new service to the Omani hub.

The service, which has just begun, helps customers from the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka connect directly to Oman and neighbouring regions. 

It brings in faster transit time while the weekly fixed cut-off will ensure a smooth supply chain for customers, said Chinta Sasidhar, managing director of Krishnapatnam Port Company.

Oman Shipping Company has launched a new service linking all Omani ports including Salalah to the UAE.

New trade agreements the Port of Salalah has reached with key Iranian terminals signal the Omani hub is preparing for more intense traffic and profits.

MoUs have been signed with Iran’s biggest cargo port Bandar Abbas and with Chabahar Port. Chief executive Giedhill said Salalah Port envisages that landlocked countries adjacent to Iran will use the existing multilateral agreements for transport corridors to access new markets.

AP Moller Maersk unit APM Terminals has a 30.1 per cent holding in Salalah Port, which handled 2.6 million teu of container trade and 12.5 million tonnes of bulk cargo in 2015. More trade from Iran and neighbouring states could help boost container throughput at the Omani port, which was down 15 per cent compared with 2014. General cargo volumes though climbed 22 per cent from the previous year.

Any new transshipment service like the EPIC route will help Salalah Port’s bottom line as last year transshipment volumes were negatively impacted by the rationalisation of services by two of its largest customers and increased regional competition.

In Q1 2016, the container volume jumped 24.7 per cent to 782,000 tonnes compared with the same period in 2014. General cargo rose 7.7 per cent to 3.46 million tonnes.

And recently, Salalah welcomed the largest container vessel to call there. The Mayview Maersk has a length of 399 m and capacity of 18,270 teu.

Meanwhile, ahead of a possible recovery in the shipping business, Salalah Port has announced it will significantly expand its infrastructure with the addition of three new container berths, among other assets.

It will also gain in stature when a planned marine bunkering and product trading terminal is completed.