Gulftainer, an independent port operator, has announced that it has received the largest container vessel to call at Iraq?s ports to date
The vessel ? YM Wealth, deployed by Taiwan-based shipping line Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (Yang Ming), arrived at Gulftainer?s Iraq Container Terminal (ICT) facility.
Omran Radhi Thani, director general of National Ports Authority of Iraq; Osama Ali al-Maliki, director of Umm Qasr Customs Authority; and Rafi?e Yosif Abbas, director general of Iraqi State Company for Maritime Transport, were present at the occasion. Yang Ming currently operates a fleet of 98 vessels, primarily container ships, with the combined capacity of approximately 590,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The company deployed the YM Wealth for the China Gulf Express (CGX) service on a revised route that now includes a call at the Umm Qasr Port, offering a direct connection between the Far East and Iraq. On its maiden call to ICT, the 5,551-TEU vessel discharged and loaded more than 2,500 containers.
Flemming Dalgaard, Gulftainer?s CEO, said, ?The arrival of the YM Wealth marked a major milestone for Gulftainer as well as the Umm Qasr Port. This achievement reinforces Gulftainer?s commitment to providing Iraq with best-in-class container handling facilities. Having witnessed the tremendous potential this market offers, we remain dedicated to enhancing our capabilities in Iraq to attract the world?s leading operators and take on larger-capacity vessels.?
Gulftainer expanded its operations to Iraq in 2008, making it the first international company to set up a container terminal at the Umm Qasr Port. In addition to ICT, the company operates the Iraq Project Terminal (IPT).
In 2015, Gulftainer also set up the Umm Qasr Logistics Centre (UQLC) a 750,000 sq m facility, which offers significant logistics support to Iraq?s oil and gas projects sector. Managed by its 3PL logistics arm, Momentum Logistics, UQLC provides a wide range of value added services to customers in the port, including customs clearance, bonded and non-bonded storage areas, warehousing, cold storage, LCL services, rental offices and accommodation.
