DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali Port recorded a world-leading 131 moves per ship per hour in 2014, up 10 per cent from 119 in 2013, according to the latest data.

Industry analysts Journal of Commerce compiled the port productivity data showing the port’s leading position. 

The ranking is based on JOC’s analysis of more than 125,000 port calls in 2014 that placed Jebel Ali from the UAE and six ports from China in the Global Top 10 for the year.

Asian and Middle Eastern ports by far recorded the best productivity for ships at berth and Jebel Ali remains the leader in servicing ocean-going container carriers.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of DP World, said: “Congratulations to Jebel Ali Port’s enterprising operations team members who have worked hard to earn DP World this honour. Our flagship port is holding DP World’s colours high as the most productive port in the world.

“The productivity achievement is also a reflection of our unshakeable belief that investing in our people and technology is the best way to deliver service excellence to our customers and support Dubai and the UAE’s development.”

Productivity is defined as the average of the gross moves made by Ship-To-Shore (STS) cranes for each vessel call recorded. Gross moves for a single ship call is calculated by dividing the number of container moves (onload, offload and repositioning) by the number of hours the vessel spends at berth.

“Jebel Ali Port remains focused on delivering service benefits to our customers. We constantly work towards improving turnaround times for ships at our berths, which in turn delivers benefits down the supply chain to other stakeholders. With its semi-automated Terminal 3 nearing completion, Jebel Ali will be able to handle more of the largest container vessels with the same efficiency that placed it at the top of the world,” Bin Sulayem added.

When fully operational, T3 with its 19 remote-controlled quay cranes will raise Jebel Ali Port’s total annual handling capacity to 19 million teu (twenty-foot equivalent unit) by the end of 2015.

DP World, UAE region, led by Jebel Ali Port, handled 15.2 million teu in 2014, while another strong quarter was recorded in the first quarter of 2015 with the handling of 3.9 million teu, representing growth of 7.7 per cent.