United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), which operates one of the world's largest and fastest growing shipping fleets, has commenced services from Sohar Port's Oman International Container Terminal (OICT), Oman Daily Observer reports.
MV Khaled Ibn Al Waleeed, a UAE-flagged feeder vessel operated by the Kuwait-headquartered global shipping line, made its maiden sailing to OICT on Thursday as part of UASC's IMC2 service that effectively links Oman with hub ports serving a number of booming economies across the globe.
The IMC2 service links the Sultanate with UASC's hub ports in a regular weekly run that provides rapid and seamless connectivity with the company's mainline strings. It enables the speedy transit of goods between Sohar's state-of-the-art deep-sea container terminal and destinations in the Far East, Europe, Indian sub-continent, Africa and the Americas, among other ports around the globe served by UASC and its partners.
OICT's inclusion as one of the main ports of rotation for this regular weekly service underscores Port of Sohar's growing importance to regional and international shipping lines, says Darrius Teo, Chief Executive Officer, OICT. "We are delighted by UASC's decision to commence operations from Sohar. It's a reflection of the increasingly vital role that Sohar, and indeed the wider region, will play in global trade.
Shippers and consignees now have a far greater choice of shipping lines, a far wider coverage of ports, and enhanced sailing frequencies to ship their goods to and from Sohar through the vast network of UASC which reaches more destinations around the globe via this service."
Together with the new service that connects Sohar with other ports in the region, OICT also enjoys direct connectivity with the Far East, India subcontinent and the Gulf, providing Omani importers and exporters with the most comprehensive and cost-effective logistics solutions for the shipment of their cargoes.
UASC's presence in Sohar represents yet another triumph for OICT's ongoing efforts to attract more shipping lines to the industrial port. It is the latest in a succession of prominent regional and international shipping lines, notably APL, Maersk Line, CMA-CGM and Oman Container Line, besides a number of NVOCCs, that have since launched operations from Sohar.
Established in 1976, UASC is a regional container shipping heavyweight with more than 75 ships in its fleet boasting a total capacity of 344,000 TEUs. The fleet operates more than 18 services connecting the Middle East to Europe, the Mediterranean, Indian subcontinent, Far East, West Africa and the Americas.
Its network covers over 200 ports and destinations worldwide, offering containerised and conventional cargo transportations, temperature controlled cargo and value added services to a diversified client base.
In the Sultanate, UASC is represented by the well-known shipping firm, Bhacker Haji Abdullatiff Fazul LLC as its general agent. OICT is a member of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), the world's leading port investor, developer and operator with interests in a total of 308 berths in 51 ports, spanning 25 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia.
HPH also owns a number of transportation-related service companies. In 2009, the HPH Group handled a combined throughput of 65.3 million TEU worldwide. Other OICT investors include the Government of Oman and a number of other local Omani investors.
MV Khaled Ibn Al Waleeed, a UAE-flagged feeder vessel operated by the Kuwait-headquartered global shipping line, made its maiden sailing to OICT on Thursday as part of UASC's IMC2 service that effectively links Oman with hub ports serving a number of booming economies across the globe.
The IMC2 service links the Sultanate with UASC's hub ports in a regular weekly run that provides rapid and seamless connectivity with the company's mainline strings. It enables the speedy transit of goods between Sohar's state-of-the-art deep-sea container terminal and destinations in the Far East, Europe, Indian sub-continent, Africa and the Americas, among other ports around the globe served by UASC and its partners.
OICT's inclusion as one of the main ports of rotation for this regular weekly service underscores Port of Sohar's growing importance to regional and international shipping lines, says Darrius Teo, Chief Executive Officer, OICT. "We are delighted by UASC's decision to commence operations from Sohar. It's a reflection of the increasingly vital role that Sohar, and indeed the wider region, will play in global trade.
Shippers and consignees now have a far greater choice of shipping lines, a far wider coverage of ports, and enhanced sailing frequencies to ship their goods to and from Sohar through the vast network of UASC which reaches more destinations around the globe via this service."
Together with the new service that connects Sohar with other ports in the region, OICT also enjoys direct connectivity with the Far East, India subcontinent and the Gulf, providing Omani importers and exporters with the most comprehensive and cost-effective logistics solutions for the shipment of their cargoes.
UASC's presence in Sohar represents yet another triumph for OICT's ongoing efforts to attract more shipping lines to the industrial port. It is the latest in a succession of prominent regional and international shipping lines, notably APL, Maersk Line, CMA-CGM and Oman Container Line, besides a number of NVOCCs, that have since launched operations from Sohar.
Established in 1976, UASC is a regional container shipping heavyweight with more than 75 ships in its fleet boasting a total capacity of 344,000 TEUs. The fleet operates more than 18 services connecting the Middle East to Europe, the Mediterranean, Indian subcontinent, Far East, West Africa and the Americas.
Its network covers over 200 ports and destinations worldwide, offering containerised and conventional cargo transportations, temperature controlled cargo and value added services to a diversified client base.
In the Sultanate, UASC is represented by the well-known shipping firm, Bhacker Haji Abdullatiff Fazul LLC as its general agent. OICT is a member of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), the world's leading port investor, developer and operator with interests in a total of 308 berths in 51 ports, spanning 25 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia.
HPH also owns a number of transportation-related service companies. In 2009, the HPH Group handled a combined throughput of 65.3 million TEU worldwide. Other OICT investors include the Government of Oman and a number of other local Omani investors.