Cargo handling at Qatari ports continues to rise, despite challenges posed by COVID-19 outbreak. Hamad Port, Ruwais Port and Doha Port have registered strong growth in cargo handling in May, showing robustness of Qatar’s maritime sector.
The ports handled 41,428 livestock heads in May, registering a growth of around 62 percent compared to previous month, said Mwani Qatar in a tweet.
The ports handled 154,314 tonnes of general cargo, reflecting an increase of 12 percent compared to April. The ports handled 21,521 tonnes of building material, showing a growth of 8 percent compared to April, while 110,874 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) containers were handled last month by these ports.
A total of 246 ships docked at the ports last month which was around 10 percent more than the number of ships docked in April. Hamad Port, Ruwais Port and Doha Port had handled 110,341 TEUs containers; 25,435 livestock heads; 19,870 tonnes building materials and 4,705 units of vehicles in April this year. Total 224 ships had docked at these ports during April.
The strong monthly numbers by these ports comes after an impressive performance during the first quarter of this year.
The ports handled 110,938 tonnes of building materials during the first quarter, reflecting 37 percent growth, compared to the same quarter last year.
The ports received 321,345 containers during the first quarter of 2019, registering 3 percent increase over the same period of 2018. The number of cruise passengers also surged as Doha Port witnessed the arrival of 89,188 passengers during the quarter, showing a massive growth of 99 percent compared to the first quarter of last year.
Strong momentum in cargo handling is the result of proactive steps taken by concerned authorities to ensure regular supply of goods, despite COVID-19 outbreak.
Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar), in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and relevant authorities, has implemented series of measures to limit the spread of coronavirus in the ports. The measures include sanitisation of containers, installing thermal cameras, submission of COVID-19 disclosures and making workforce at the port aware about how to limit spread of the virus. The steps were taken months before to ensure that the maritime sector remains safe. In January, all ship agents were notified of the necessity of submitting COVID-19 disclosure and IMO accredited medical declaration.
