Hamad Port has reached the 1mn TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) mark in only under 14 months, a significant milestone described as “one of the fastest in the region” achieved amidst an economic blockade imposed on Qatar in June 2017.
“In such a record short time, Hamad Port today marks the handling of 1mn TEUs coming from regional and global seaports via 22 direct navigation routes and around 120 navigation destinations,” said HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti in a ceremony held at Hamad Port on Moinday.
Achieved well ahead of schedule, the rapid increase in the container handling business at Hamad Port “demonstrates its operational efficiency and relentless efforts toward holding a leading position among key regional and global ports, according to the plan overseen by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC).”


HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti speaks to the media at Hamad Port yesterday. PICTURE: Jayan Orma


Addressing the gathering, the minister said: “This achievement, under the current exceptional circumstances, would not have been possible without His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s vision and HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani’s unlimited support.
“The Prime Minister’s directives played a key role in enhancing the ranking of the port and transforming it into a key regional logistics hub, despite being relatively new.”
Al-Sulaiti said “the synergy of efforts” among all stakeholders played a key role in boosting productivity and accelerating handling operations, thereby raising the port’s competitiveness in terms of the time consumed in stevedoring services.
The minister said work will continue towards further achievements “and thus generate more support for the national economy, as well as for providing fast, effective services at the port.”
“Hamad Port has proved highly-capable of not only flexibly handling the logistics challenges that have emerged from the current circumstances, but also overcoming them efficiently, let alone its significant contribution to bolstering Qatar’s marine trade and overall development strategies,” he added. 
Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) CEO Captain Abdulla al-Khanji said: “The shipping routes that have been launched between Hamad Port and regional and international ports have provided additional reliable options and solutions for customers, playing a significant role in enhancing container handling operations and boosting trade via the port. 
“Mwani Qatar continues to support the establishment of Hamad Port’s network of navigation routes and broadening the services provided to customers according to the plan that MoTC oversees.”
Mwani Qatar, along with partners, has successfully launched 22 direct shipping routes between Hamad Port and several regional and international seaports and some 120 navigation destinations. The most recent was a new service from South Korean shipping line Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) as part of the South Korea-Middle East Express (KME) service.


Hamad Port anticipates another milestone in 2018

QTerminals CEO Neville Bissett has expressed optimism that Hamad Port would achieve another milestone by reaching the 2mn TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) throughput mark by the end of 2018.
“We’re actually hoping and we’re anticipating that 2mn would be achieved this year, so we’ll be looking at doing an additional 1mn TEU in a much shorter period of time; perhaps towards September, October, November we’ll be looking at the 2mn TEUs coming through Hamad Port,” Bissett told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony held at Hamad Port on Monday.
QTerminals, which manages the Hamad Port, is a joint venture between Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani – 51% ) and Qatar Navigation (Milaha – 49% ).
According to Bissett, traffic through Hamad Port “increased substantially” since mid-2017. During that period, he said container traffic increased by almost two and a half times and similarly, bulk and break bulk traffic, as well as other traffic increased.
“In terms of Hamad Port, from January to May 2017, the average throughput in the container terminal was just over 40,000 TEUs a month. After which, from October 2017 to March 2018, we’re looking at over 100,000 TEUs a month, so it’s almost two and a half times the volume on a monthly basis.
“We’re doing that with the same amount of people, equipment, and space. We’re working with the government agencies, the port authority, consumers, and other industry representative organisations to ensure that the blockade does not adversely impact business in Qatar,” Bissett noted.


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