Port of Salalah’s $300m expansion on track

Despite the extensive upgrade works that commenced last year, the company managed has maintained its port stay record for shipping lines. In the 2023 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) published this month by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, Port of Salalah held its position as the second most efficient container port in the world for the third consecutive year.

 “We expect these cranes to help us reduce port stay even further by giving us faster access to top tiers on the ship. They will also increase our capacity to bring in the world’s largest ships built to date – fulfilling a need for our customers and giving us an opportunity to handle more volume,” said Scott Selman, Chief Operations Officer at Port of Salalah.

The first four new ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, which arrived in February of this year, are already being tested for operational readiness and are expected to add to terminal productivity by August.

Two more cranes are currently being commissioned. Four smaller cranes have been retired, bringing the port’s crane count from 21 to 27 at the end of this year.

The new fully electric cranes are reportedly among the world’s largest of their kind, setting new benchmarks for size and efficiency. The cranes have a reach of 26 containers deep, a lifting height of 58 metres above the rail, and a total hoist height of 77 metres.

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With a maximum lifting capability of 105 tonnes, they can serve the biggest Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV) in use today.

Additional equipment to support the expansion includes 12 hybrid rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, two reach stackers, six empty handlers, and 30 terminal trucks and trailers.

The increased capacity will allow the port of Salalah to satisfy the operations of the Gemini Co-Operation Centre which is scheduled to commence operations in Q1 2025.