The newly established Sohar Bulk Terminal celebrated the arrival of its first vessel last week, effectively marking a new phase in the industrial port’s evolution into a multi-cargo gateway.

MV Mandarin Glory arrived on July 1 to load a shipment of stone aggregates (gabbro) for Qatar. The vessel, with its cargo of 54,000 tonnes of high quality gabbro rocks, left for Qatar on July 6 in the first such shipment from Sohar Bulk Terminal.

This consignment was chartered by Al Batana Quarries, one of the quarries established for exporting gabbro to Qatar. With this landmark shipment, quarrying activities in the Batinah North and South governorates are expected to burgeon.

Port of Sohar, an ideal gateway to the region, set up the bulk terminal as part to support the handling of bulk minerals. Under a contract concluded with Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC) last year, a consortium of Khimji Ramdas Shipping and TM International Ltd (TMIL), a subsidiary of TATA Steel India, is establishing operations for the handling of dry bulk minerals.

The consortium partners Khimji Ramdas Shipping and TMIL have since made ready a temporary berth (Number 14) for the handling of bulk materials at the industrial port. This temporary berth is expected to be operational for the next two years for imports and exports of a full range of bulk minerals such as gabbro, limestone, laterite, coal and clinker, to name a few. By this time, a permanent terminal at Berth Number 25 is slated to be ready. This terminal will be equipped with a ship loader and unloader of very high capacity and also be linked to the yard with a 3.5-kilometre-long long conveyor system. The terminal is being designed for a capacity of approximately 10 million metric tonnes.

At the temporary terminal, bulk minerals will be handled by the ship’s gear. However, should the throughput volumes increase, the consortium will be prepared to add mobile conveying systems to speed up the loading operations. The terminal has about 45,000 sq metres area for the storage of minerals.

M C Jose, CEO, Khimji Ramdas Shipping LLC, said, “This latest shipment will herald a new beginning for the bulk terminal operation in Oman and particularly for quarries in Al Batinah which can look forward to increasing the volume of production and gain a share in the growing aggregate market in Qatar.

The 18-metre draft in Sohar will permit ship owners to load large vessels to full capacity. Other ports in the region have draft restrictions and the shipper will have to pay for the void space on board, as large and modern ships cannot be loaded to capacity. This is great advantage for exporters along the Batinah coast compared with the exporters in the wider region. Thus, more quantity on single bottom will attract more modern and larger vessels to Sohar at reduced freight rates.”

“Moreover, there is no congestion at Sohar Bulk Terminal whereas other terminals in the region are congested. User friendly documentation and support from all government authorities are also making this port more attractive,” he added.

Humaid al Muslmani, General Manager of Al Batna Quarries, stated: “Our longstanding dream has come true with the first vessel chartered by us for the export of aggregates through the sea route directly from Oman. We expect that with enhanced production and demand at Qatar, we will increase the throughput of the terminal in the future.”