Gulf stevedoring contracting company (GSCCO), part of the Gulftainer group of companies, has entered an agreement with red sea marine services company limited to manage and operate king Fahad industrial port in Yanbu (KFIP). This takes GSCCO’s portfolio of terminals in Saudi Arabia up to four, cementing the company’s position as the largest and most geographically diverse port operator in the country.
GSCCO will handle a variety of cargo at KFIP, including containers, breakbulk cargo, vehicles and bulk cargo. To support operations at the port, the company will invest in a substantial amount of new equipment to make sure it can deliver its award-winning levels of operational excellence and turn KFIP into yet another jewel in the crown of Saudi Arabia’s expanding maritime presence.
The decision to award the operation of the port to GSCCO was taken by Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) in recognition of the company’s longstanding track record of operational excellence – both at the Northern Container Terminal in Jeddah, which has long enjoyed the reputation of being the most productive and customer-centric terminal in the port, and at Jubail Commercial Port, which has consistently delivered the highest levels of productivity in the Arabian Gulf, while achieving double-digit cargo volume growth year-on-year over the past five years.
GSCCO also celebrated another significant landmark in 2018 when it passed the 30 million TEU mark in container volume, corresponding to a 50 % rise in throughput in just five years across all of its facilities.
Speaking on the new agreement, Richard James, Managing Director of GSCCO, said: “We are delighted at the well-earned trust that Mawani continues to place in GSCCO, and are truly excited at the potential to develop KFIP in Yanbu into another industry-leading port. In line with the strong commitment to the maritime and logistics industry expressed in the Saudi Vision 2030, we look forward to providing best-in-class services to the communities and markets around Yanbu and throughout the Northwest of the country.”
The existing infrastructure at KIFP enables the handling of container vessels with up to 8,000 TEU capacity. With roll-on/roll-o (RoRo) capabilities, an array of cargo-handling equipment and water depth of 18 metres at low tide, the port is equipped to deal with all types and sizes of cargo to support the growing developments in the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and the surrounding areas in the north-west of Saudi Arabia.
GSCCO’s long-term plans include things like investing in additional equipment onan extended quay in support of the Saudi Vision 2030 objective to establish the kingdom as a primary hub for logistics and transportation to serve mainline vessels calling on the major east-west trade lane between Asia and Europe, and act as a regional hub for transshipment to the fast-growing markets of the Red Sea and North Africa.