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During the first quarter of 2024, the Omani port of Salalah reported a container throughput of 878,000 TEUs compared to 1,056,000 TEUs in corresponding period last year, a sharp decrease of 17%. This was partly related to the disruption to regional trade caused by concerns about Red Sea shipping safety, but also to capacity constraints caused by the ongoing terminal upgrade work.
During the first quarter of this year, Salalah port received the first four new ship-to-shore container gantry cranes as part of the ongoing upgrade. Currently Salalah has a capacity of around 5 million TEU a year, which will be boosted by about 30% by the works in hand.
By contrast the Port of Salalah’s general cargo traffic increased by 14%, to reach 5.76 million tons, during the first quarter of this year, compared to 5.04 million tons during the equivalent months of 2023. This was driven by higher demand in export markets for gypsum and limestone in particular.
A statement from Salalah Port Services, said, “Forecasts for the remainder of 2024 indicate a sustained decrease in overall container volume, estimated at 20-25%, driven by transshipment volume, as the resolution of the ongoing crisis remains uncertain. However, forecasts indicate that the strong general cargo performance will be sustained throughout the remainder of the year.”
The Port recently teamed up with Maersk, Oman Airports and Transom to introduce a number of sea-air solutions via Salalah. This initiative has led to steady movements which are currently gaining momentum, the Port states.
