Khorfakkan Container Terminal receives Hyundai Brave

The impressive 8,600 TEU, 339 metre-long, 99,000 DWT ship is the first of the new ships that were recently introduced by Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) into the French Asia Line (FAL) Europe/ Asia service operated by CMA-CGM.

As one of the giants of Korean and world business, HMM is strongly represented in the Gulf region, and welcoming the 'Hyundai Brave' was an important occasion for KCT, which had to ensure that operational performance was up to the usual high standards and that the ship was handled quickly and effectively to keep her on schedule.

This was particularly important as the container shipping industry is currently concerned about rising levels of port congestion throughout the Middle East and globally.

KCT rose to the challenge, achieving the excellent productivity figures of 155 moves per hour, allowing the ship to depart on schedule for the Far East.

Commenting on the occasion, Gulftainer Director and General Manager Peter Richards said:

"KCT has been busy in 2008, but thanks to the splendid performance of our staff at the terminal and the excellent co-operation of all our line customers and their agents, we have avoided congestion and are continuously achieving operational performances which are good by any standards. And the fact that we are able to maintain these standards at a time when there is concern about the ability of terminals in this region being able to cope with increased volumes is a particularly important accomplishment."

KCT is one of the world's leading container transhipment ports.

It is strategically located on Sharjah's Indian Ocean coast, outside the sensitive Straits of Hormuz and close to the main east-west shipping routes.

Only three hours from the UAE's main centres of population, Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, KCT is an ideal transhipment hub port with numerous feeder ship connections to Gulf Ports, Iran, India, Pakistan and East Africa.