Gulftainer container volume up 8% to 6.4 million TEUs in 2014
Gulftainer, a privately owned, independent terminal operating and logistics company, recorded an impressive eight per cent growth in container volume in 2014, achieving a total of 6.4 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) across its global portfolio, the company said in its press release.
In a year defined by international expansion and investments in new infrastructure to enhance operational efficiency, Gulftainer recorded robust growth across its entire terminal portfolio.
In global markets, Gulftainer’s Saudi terminals recorded impressive growth with Northern Container Terminal accounting for 1.9 million TEUs, sustaining previous-year trends, while Jubail Container Terminal (JCT) noted a growth of 22 per cent to over 396,000 TEUs. The total volume at the Saudi terminals was over 2.29 million TEUs.
Gulftainer’s Umm Qasr terminal also accomplished a significant growth of 46 per cent in 2014, while the Recife terminal in Brazil marked a growth in volume of 7 per cent.
Gulftainer’s UAE terminals recorded a total volume of 3.8 million TEUs in line with the all-round growth in business. The company marked another significant milestone, with the Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) surpassing 400,000 TEUs in annual throughput for the very first time. Operations at SCT were energised by the positive growth in global trade and the arrival of new services, such as UASC’s Gulf India Service (GIS1), which now connects Sharjah with Sohar in Oman, Mundra in India and Karachi in Pakistan. The addition of this service represented a significant development for Sharjah and boosted the national carrier’s volumes through SCT last year.
The only fully fledged operational container terminal in the UAE located outside the Strait of Hormuz, Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) has today emerged as one of the most important transshipment hubs for the Arabian Gulf, the Indian Sub-continent, the Gulf of Oman and the East African markets.
Further strengthening the operations at KCT, Gulftainer has received and commissioned new state-of-the-art Ship to Shore (STS) and Rubber Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes that will further increase overall performance and productivity. This enhanced infrastructure marks an investment of over US$60 million.
Gulftainer has set an ambitious target to triple the volume over the next decade through organic growth across existing businesses, exploring green field opportunities and potential M&A activities.