Port Sohar celebrates arrival of 1,000th ship -Port set for strong traffic growth in 2010- As dignitaries, port officers and senior executives of firms linked to the port celebrated the arrival of the thousandth vessel, just by co-incidence at the end of the year, CEO Jan Meijer, told dignitaries, including the Wali of Liwa, Khalifa bin Hamid al Badi, that the port was on the way to a swift expansion in line with Oman’s fast growing economy.

‘‘The growth of the port and of the economy are very much linked,” he said. The port has taken just over five years to reach this figure (the first terminal operated by Steinweg took its first shipment in 2004), but as more terminals and docking facilities become available the 2,000 and 3,000 visit targets will be met much more quickly.

Sohar is now also very much in the big league in terms of capacity. It is one of only about ten ports worldwide that can accommodate the largest bulk carriers. Meijer said he was particularly happy about figures in 2009 when 30 per cent of the figure had been achieved. It was also appropriate that it was a Maersk vessel which became the 1,000th vessel because the line had added much to the business of the port through its regular service linking Muscat, Sohar and other Gulf ports. He hoped that the number of vessel visits to Sohar Port would double to 2,000 by the end of the coming year and achieve the 3,000 figure in the following year.

Also at the ceremony was Dennis Tam, Chief Financial Officer of Oman International Container Terminal, LLC, who said his organisation was expecting to profit from the expansion of Sohar Port. The port has also benefited from the experience of the Pilot, Captain Ziyad Faisal, who previously worked for many years at the Jordanian port of Aqaba.

The new deep draught facility now being built for the Brazilian mining giant, Vale, will also further increase the size and significance of this fast growing port and many other projects are under way as the new Sohar Free Zone begins to take shape. The new building for the International Maritime College, which will offer training to mariners throughout the Gulf, is being erected in the port area, so that it will be able to vacate temporary premises in Muscat, and use what will be first class facilities of a world standard. Another factor, which will be driving a speedy expansion of the port is the Sohar Free Zone, which is beginning to take shape. Interest has also increased following the announcement of the building of an airport at Sohar, plus a freeway, which will assist the flow of traffic.