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A recent visit by His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Salem Al-Futaisi, Oman’s Minister of Transport and Communications, and His Excellency Sultan bin Salim Al Habsi, Chairman of the Board of Sohar Port and Freezone, marked the official completion of Terminal C at Oman International Container Terminal (OICT). The visit included the opening of the new Operations Control Centre (OCC), and the inauguration of a Remote Control Crane Centre.
The new facility allows the remote operation of recently installed quayside cranes that have sufficient reach to load and unload 20,000 teu capacity containerships. The inauguration of the terminal also coincided with the arrival of the 13,000 teu MSC Altair. At 366 m in length, this is the largest container vessel ever to visit the Omani port.
OICT is moving into a new era of automation to accommodate a container throughput that has more than doubled in just 18 months. In addition to faster turnaround times, facilitated through automated loading and unloading systems, OICT now boasts an online truck appointment system. The new communications software schedules container truck arrival times at the terminal through direct contact with the truck operators and drivers, reducing waiting times and minimising environmental impact by avoiding unnecessary fuel wastage.
In addition to the new quayside cranes, OICT has invested heavily in new RTGs for container stacking. The old container Terminal B is now being redeveloped as Sohar Food Zone, a dedicated agricultural products berth with planned facilities for rice, grain and sugar processing
The construction of a further Terminal D, with a 1200m long quay wall, is at the planning stage and this will increase OICT’s annual handling capacity by 400%, to six million teu. Construction may start as early as late 2018 or early 2019.
