Dubai: Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT), located in Sharjah in the UAE, will now be able to offer the fastest direct transit from the Gulf region to Japan, thereby continuing to cement its position as the region's leading transhipment hub, says operator Gulftainer.
This follows the recent upgrade of the CMA-CGM MEX Asia-Mediterranean Service, which has been calling weekly at KCT since February this year, and has been upgraded to include the ports of Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe in Japan.
Speaking of this development, Gulftainer Group Director and General Manager Peter Richards said, "KCT is ideally located to act as a relay point for containers throughout the region, and with the addition of the Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe ports in Japan to the MEX service, KCT will now be a true hub between the Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia regions, offering traders in the Gulf the fastest, most direct route to Japan."
The terminal has also stepped up productivity with the addition of two new gantry cranes earlier this year. Some of the world's largest containerships have called at KCT over the past few months, including the 11,400teu 'CMA CGM Andromeda' (pictured), which at 364 metres long, is the biggest container vessel to call at a UAE port.
"In these challenging economic times, high productivity, competitive transit times, and direct connections can all help cut down on costs," says Richards. Khorfakkan is already recognised as one of the top ports in the world as far as productivity is concerned, he claims - a position reaffirmed by the figure of 295 moves per hour achieved recently. The terminal also enjoys the advantage of being strategically located outside the sensitive Straits of Hormuz, close to the main east-west shipping routes. [15/05/09]
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