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P&O Maritime launches Sudan – Jeddah shuttle

Photo: P&O Maritime Containers stacked on an MCV
The outlook for Port Sudan has brightened through assistance being provided from the UAE.

DP World subsidiary P&O Maritime Logistics is shuttling what it calls two ‘Multi Carrying Vessels’ between the ports of Jeddah and Port Sudan, in an agreement with feeder line Unifeeder, potentially helping to reduce turnaround times by 70-80%, it claimed.

“P&O Maritime Logistics will help debottleneck customer supply chains by ensuring there is a faster cargo turnaround, enabled by the company’s unique and recently modified Multi Carrying Vessels (MCVs) that now can carry containerised cargo,” it said. “In partnership with Unifeeder, P&O Maritime Logistics will increase connectivity across the Red Sea between Port of Jeddah and Port Sudan.”        

Earlier this year P&O Maritime Logistics announced it was modifiying a number of MCV's to carry container stacks, and it is now modifying two more vessels and could have as many as 10 modified upon request. The LinkedIn post of a staff member said the company had seven container feeder vessels of various types under commercial management.

With a capacity of around 270 teu, the MCV’s unique characteristics allow it to bypass congestion, its shallow draft allowing access to port areas unavailable to larger vessels. “This is useful when connecting feeder ports, such as Port Sudan, with hub ports, such as Port of Jeddah,” P&O said.

According to Vesseltracker.com, the Topaz Lena has been shuttling between Jeddah and Port Sudan since at least late July. Two months ago, the Topaz Volga was calling Iskenderun and Istanbul, but switched to the Jeddah-Port Sudan short-sea route in mid-July.

The new contract marks another milestone for continued close collaboration between P&O and Unifeeder, following previous successful contracts in Europe.

The route enables P&O Maritime Logistics to deliver a faster-than-anticipated service to Unifeeder, DP World and other customers by offering a liner route between the terminals, helping to reduce port congestion, P&O said. “The MCVs call at different terminals at both Jeddah and Port Sudan, underlining the possibility to export this solution to other port combinations worldwide,” it said.

“[Additional P&O Maritime Logistics capacity] is particularly useful on lower-volume, higher-frequency trade routes, such as the Red Sea, where our MCVs can provide a more efficient service to our clients. Seeing such niche feeders operating successfully forms a blueprint for further expansion with new and existing clients,” Martin Helweg, CEO of P&O Maritime Logistics said.

“As we continue to work closely with our parent company, DP World, on expanding our containerised service, our partnership with Unifeeder, also a DP World company, is an example of our ongoing efforts to respond and adapt to wider industry changes.”

In recent years, senior UAE-based port officials have told Seatrade Maritime News that outdated terminal equipment has led to port congestion in Port Sudan.

P&O’s ships first crossed the Red Sea in 1842 after winning a mail contract from Britain to India, carrying mail, passengers and precious cargo.