The success story underlines CSCT's position as the hub for the Black Sea, as trade continues to expand in Eastern Europe. CSCT handles a mix of local cargo and transshipment cargo for many other countries in the Black Sea region. Barge services linking Constanta and Belgrade have recently been initiated, and there are plans for a rail link between CSCT and Budapest in Hungary.
Dubai's DP World, a leading global port operator, took over management of CSCT in January 2004, with operations commencing in April 2004, and has since set new productivity records at the Romanian terminal. CSCT recently operated the MSC Queensland at more than 80 moves an hour for 3,200 moves on the vessel. This was the largest number of moves per single vessel ever handled at the Port of Constanta, beating a previous record set in July by CSCT on the ZIM Marmara Sea. In another significant achievement, CSCT last week handled 22,890 TEU - 1.2million TEU on an annualised basis, and another record for the terminal.
Demonstrating its commitment to investing ahead of demand, DP World is in the process of expanding yard capacity at CSCT and has ordered five new rubber tired gantry cranes to be delivered mid-2006 and additional quay cranes due for delivery in first half 2007. DP World expects throughput for 2006 and beyond will continue to grow at a good pace, and in due course, additional berths will be brought on stream.
Commenting on the achievement, Mohammad Sharaf, CEO, DP World, said:
"This is a significant milestone for CSCT, and it demonstrates the effectiveness of our management model. We are fully committed to investing ahead of demand and to constantly improving our facilities to the advantage of our customers. Our achievements in Constanta reflect our experience and success in managing large ports around the world."
DP World Managing Director and Senior Vice President, Europe and West Africa, Simon Moore added: "One of the reasons for the early success of CSCT is the close partnership we have with the Maritime Ports Administration Constantza S.A.(MPAC). They have been key to establishing efficient services that enable us to serve our customers' rapidly growing needs in this important emerging market. We look forward to building further on this relationship and creating a world class terminal that Romania can be proud of."
* TEU = twenty-foot equivalent unit, a measure relating to container capacity
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Posted by Lara Lynn Golden, News Editor
