Jordan’s container port sees pickup in Syria- and Israel-bound traffic – CEO

AMMAN, Might 31 (Reuters) – Jordan’s solely container port on the Pink Sea has been capturing site visitors to Syria, Israel and the West Financial institution as increased ocean freight prices give it an edge over nearer however closely congested Mediterranean ports, its CEO stated on Tuesday.

Crises from COVID-19 lockdowns to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have fed into a world provide chain crunch, with one research this month exhibiting one-fifth of the worldwide container ship fleet was presently caught at numerous main ports. learn extra

Given the present transport backlog and ocean freight charges, Syrian and Palestinian importers are discovering it more cost effective to get their cargos by way of Aqaba port than by way of Syria’s Latakia and Israel’s Haifa ports, Soren Jensen, the chief government of Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) advised Reuters in an interview

“A few of our regional opponents… are seeing the results of excessive ocean freight demand and ready time on the gate for patrons,” he stated. “We do not expertise that.”

Whole throughput at ACT, a part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, was anticipated to rise between 5 and eight% this yr above final yr’s 765,662 20-foot equal models (TEUs), which was down from a pre-pandemic 802,420 TEUs in 2019, Jensen stated. The port has capability to deal with 1.3 million TEUs.

ACT has invested over $320 million during the last decade and has seen improved truck ready strains and vessel port stays, with supply of cargo decreased to per week, Jensen stated.

Representatives of Latakia and Haifa ports didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon cargo supply instances.

“Now we have been in a position to appeal to much more cargo going to Syria and the West Financial institution and Israel. That mainly meant that our in-transit volumes have elevated significantly,” Jensen stated, referring to items shipped into Jordan for switch elsewhere by street.

Extra Syrians are additionally utilizing Aqaba to keep away from strict scrutiny and delays encountered after they import on transport strains on to Syria, which is beneath Western sanctions, two senior businessmen and a number one shipper advised Reuters.

The port can also be hoping for a revival in enterprise to Iraq, for which it was beforehand the primary gateway, and which for many years acquired at the least a 3rd of the port’s cargo.

Jordanian customs checks on Iraq-bound site visitors have hampered the return of Aqaba port’s transit enterprise. Jordan reopened its predominant border crossing with Iraq in 2017 after years of closure following the takeover of the primary freeway to Baghdad by militants.

The Pink Sea port’s geographic location made importing items by way of Aqaba to northwest Iraq extra possible than trucking items from Iraq’s Gulf port of Umm Qasr, he added.

“For northwest Iraq, in the event you discharge in Umm Qasr you must truck it an extended haul than in the event you discharge in Aqaba. The key transformative transfer can be to reopen the gateway to Iraq,” Jensen stated.

Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Modifying by Jan Harvey

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