Gulftainer Group Commercial Manager speaks at MEED Middle East Ports Development conference

Keith Nuttall, Group Commercial Manager of Sharjah-based Gulftainer, delivered a presentation entitled 'Realising the benefits of increased capacity and efficiency' at the conference.

MEED Middle East Ports Development is the leading forum for the latest information and discussion about the region's port industry, and attracted key industry players - including port authorities, terminal operators, marine contractors, shipping companies, logistic and freight companies, and financial experts - who discussed the region's new port developments and expansion plans, and some of the most important issues impacting port operations.

Mr Nuttall's presentation provided an overview of the expansion and technical upgrades at Gulftainer-operated Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT), as well as discussing how efficient practices are driving growth, and how working with the supply chain can ensure efficient and effective service for port users.

According to Mr Nuttall, the combination of difficulties being experienced by shipping lines, which have been hard hit by the financial crisis, and the continued movement of the Middle East region's imports and exports, the bulk of which are from Far East and Europe, will have a dramatic impact on ports in the region.

"Lines are using larger container ships of 10,000 TEU and above in order to consolidate shipments and cut down on costs. The Middle East region is a major importer, the 'Real Economy' is sound and infrastructure development is continuing throughout the region, so volumes in the Gulf will continue in 2009 and beyond, although the rate of growth will slow somewhat. The UAE acts as a relay and entrepot hub for the wider Gulf/ East Africa/ South Asia region, and will continue to be a dynamic major business hub despite challenges and downturns in other parts of the world. Trade may switch to this area as other regions slow down, which would result in more competition, bigger ships, and bigger feeders, all of which will affect the region's ports," he explained.

"There is thus a need for efficient, well-equipped relay terminals, such as KCT - which is one of the world's leading container transhipment ports, and the fastest working terminal on the East/West trades - to act as 'hubs' for the wider region. The expansion that both KCT and the Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) are currently undergoing is intended to increase their capacity and efficiency, which will, in turn help clients keep their costs down and efficiency up," Mr Nuttall concluded.

This ongoing expansion is already yielding results, as Gulftainer announced recently that volumes at Khorfakkan and SCT rose by over 15% in 2008, compared with 2007 volumes. This growth can be attributed to the combination of enormous development in infrastructure at both ports, and increasing customer confidence in the company.

Gulftainer has been operating in the UAE since 1976, and in addition to operating KCT and SCT has ventures in Pakistan, Kuwait, Turkey and the Indian Ocean. With terminals on both UAE coasts, Gulftainer is continuing to invest in the future and maintaining high productivity to save lines time and money. The company's terminals continue to provide the fastest transhipment and local cargo container gateway in the UAE, and are ideally located and equipped to cope economically and efficiently with the region's ship and volume demands.