From left: Captain Igor Sikic of the Marco Polo; Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdullah Bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ports Authority; Peter Richards, Managing Director, Gulftainer Group, during the presentation ceremony. KHORFAKKAN Container Terminal (KCT) Sunday became the first terminal operator in the Middle East to handle the world's largest container ship, CMA CGM Marco Polo, owned by the CMA CGM Group. With a length of four standard football pitches (396 meters), 54 meters beam and requiring a draft of 16m, Khorfakkan is one of the few ports in the world able to accommodate Marco Polo's massive 16,020 TEU capacity. Having seen volumes increase by 26 per cent at Khorfakkan in 2012, Gulftainer has ensured it stays ahead of the trend and the terminal is well prepared to handle mega-container ships beyond the 16,000 teu handling capacity. “The size of container ship vessels is only expected to increase,” says Group Managing Director of Gulftainer, Peter Richards, “as clients demand more cost effective movement of cargo, and operators demand greater fuel efficiency. Marco Polo is the first of a new breed of container ship vessels, something that Gulftainer has pre-empted for many years, ensuring that its facilities are more than ready to accommodate these types of vessels.” Its arrival at KCT was marked with a presentation from Gulftainer to Captain Igor Sikic of the Marco Polo and CMA CGM representatives; Dubai Agency Deputy General Manager Prinson George and Arnaud Coudray, Commercial Regional Director for the Middle East Gulf. The Marco Polo will proceed to its final port at Ningbo, China on Jan. 23, 2013, having covered a total distance of approximately 20,000 nautical miles since the commencement of its voyage on Nov. 7, 2012. It is the first of a series of three 16,000 TEU vessels from CMA CGM, that will all be named after great explorers. “Having grown up with the industry here in the region, Gulftainer has evolved significantly during the past four decades and the arrival of this vessel is indicative of our forward-thinking approach and understanding of what we can expect in the years to come,” Richards added. Khorfakkan Container Terminal is an ideal transshipment hub with numerous feeder ship connections to Gulf Ports, Europe, Indian subcontinent and East Africa. Khorfakkan's location makes it an obvious choice for shipping lines with large transshipment volumes, which also require easy access to the UAE hinterland. — SG
