Foreign ship companies are threatening to take trade away from Dammam's King Abdul Aziz Port and use instead neighboring Gulf countries, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported Saturday. The daily said that perpetual delays and cargo pileups caused by slow loading and unloading at King Abdul Aziz Port was leading to vessels having to dock for three to four weeks. Both Saudi and foreign ship owners, agents and businessmen have reportedly appealed to the minster of transport in his capacity as head of the Saudi Ports Authority to solve what they described as a “crisis”. According to Al-Riyadh, blame is being primarily directed at a staff numbers disproportionate to the volume of work at King Abdul Aziz Port, a volume which habitually increases during the summer and Ramadan. “More ships are currently coming into the port, and the number will continue to increase over the coming days and will cause even greater pileups of cargo,” said one trader. Abdullah Al-Hamad, the deputy head of King Abdul Aziz Port, has in response formed a team to look at the situation and meet with unloading companies, agency directors and ship owners to find mutually acceptable solutions. Before the new unloading companies took over at the port, Al-Riyadh said, 3,000 tons per day were unloaded at the facility. The daily rate is currently between 300 and 550 tons.
