. "Hansa Liberty at KCT"

Confounding the somewhat gloomy predictions in some parts of the world, the economies of this region and the UAE in particular continue to go from strength to strength.

The progress is of course driven by the far sighted development policies of the emirates and neighbouring countries, with trade in particular flourishing to and from countries in the Far East.

Shipping lines are continuing to expand their services to cater for this growth in (particularly) containerised movements, to ensure that their customers receive the extremely comprehensive and regular coverage that they have come to expect.

The new 'FMS' service between the Far East and Gulftainer's Khorfakkan terminal started operation at the end of 2007 and is already expanding with additional ships.

The Korean Lines involved in the service, Hanjin, Heung-A, Sinokor, C+ Line, STX Panocean and KMTC have contributed a total of five ships for a weekly service - and the 28th of January saw the arrival of the latest Khorfakkan caller, STX Panocean's 34,000 DWT / 2,500 TEU 'HANSA LIBERTY'.

Gulftainer Director & General Manager Peter Richards commented "we always enjoy seeing new services and new ships calling at Khorfakkan, but it is particularly pleasing for us to see the start of new relationships with companies - of which there are several on this service - at a time when they are establishing and starting to build up their presence in this area. We are delighted that they - like increasing numbers of other lines and their customers - can see the benefits of calling Khorfakkan, allowing them not only fast transshipment to the wider region, but also to use the terminal as a rapid cost effective gateway into the heart of the UAE's commercial districts".

The attached photograph shows Terminal Manager Dag Froehmcke making a presentation to Captain Andrey Shtarkov with Chief Engineer Bozidar Petrovich in attendance.

Sharjah based Gulftainer, the operator of the Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) and the Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT), sponsored and participated in the Terminal Operations Conference & Exhibition for Asia (TOC Asia 2008), a key event in the global port and terminal calendar. The conference, organised for the first time in Shanghai, between 18 & 20 March 2008, fully reflected the significance of what has happened in China over the past decade and its overall impact on the global Shipping and Port Industries.

Gulftainer, which operates the SCT and KCT on behalf of the Sharjah Port Authority, participated in the global event as part of its plan to ensure Far East exporters to the Middle East, shipping lines, traders and international organisations alike were aware that Sharjah offers the most flexible & productive container gateways to this region and beyond.

. Press Conference in Shanghai

"Our participation in this significant event is part of our plan to update the Asian market on Gulftainer's activities and operations", said Gulftainer Director and General Manager, Peter Richards.

"With plans to expand our services and lend our expertise to even more worldwide locations, Gulftainer's growth, professionalism and expertise are set to continue to turn heads worldwide, thanks mainly to the highly productive operations and competitive prices in the ports we manage, when compared to neighbouring gateways," he noted.

Gulftainer's presence in Shanghai also included a press conference for members of the Chinese media at the exhibition site at where the company's activities and expansion plans were outlined and illustrated in a bilingual format.

The world's major port operating groups choose to participate in TOC because of its outstanding reputation as the key event in the global port and terminal calendar. The event brought together executives from the port, terminal and shipping industries, as well as government agencies and other industry stakeholders, to discuss the evolution of global maritime trade and how to improve the performance of shipping, port and hinterland services to support trade growth as effectively as possible.

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