Robert Wright, the Financial Times transport correspondent, boarded the container ship Pearl in Salalah, Oman, and rode it to its destination in Zeebrugge, Belgium. At Salalah, the Pearl was midway in a trip from Singapore to Zeebrugge. He reported on his trip here: The engine of trade (January 19, 2007.
Wright talks about the diverse crew, and challenge faced by the ship's officers - apparently successfully - in managing the differences, the training of merchant marine cadets, the responsibilities of the first mate, and more. I'm only going to pull out his paragraphs on the Port of Salalah:
Before the rise of the container, when manufactured goods, parts, food and other items had to be hauled piece-by-piece in and out of ships' holds, no big trading vessel would have called at a place such as Salalah, on the edge of the Arabian desert's empty quarter. The small town generated no traffic worth the expense and time of a port call; even now, grazing camels wander the roads outside the terminal. Opposite, traditional wooden dhows are waiting to take bags of cement and other commodities to obscure corners of East Africa or the Gulf.
Salalah's convenient position near several important sea lanes has come into its own because of the fast, efficient handling possible with containers. It would be expensive and time-consuming for APL, the part of Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines that operates the Pearl, to divert her from her main route to pick up a few containers in India, Pakistan or East Africa. It is more convenient to send them on small vessels from those regions to Salalah for the Pearl to collect there.
A click on the Google map below will blow it up enough to make the name "Salalah" (near the Omani border with Yemen) just barely reabable. The map clearly shows the port's position adjacent to the sea lanes entering the Red Sea.
The terminal - staffed partly by expatriate Indians, housed in barrack blocks near the control tower - handles the 600 containers due for loading or unloading at Salalah with admirable efficiency. Barely 10 hours after I watch the Pearl come into port, an Omani pilot is instructing Diogenes Braullo Malihan, a 37-year-old Filipino seaman, how to steer her out of the harbour. "Dead slow ahead," he tells Malihan in a surprisingly upper-crust English accent.
"Dead slow ahead," Malihan replies, to show he has understood.
"Starboard 20," the pilot says next, asking for the rudder to be turned 20 to the right, then, "hard to starboard", asking for the rudder to be turned as far right as it will go.
The Pearl is soon slipping past three vessels belonging to Denmark's Maersk Line, the container terminal's main user, and out of the breakwater, where anglers bob about in boats. The pilot shins down a ladder to a waiting boat, as land begins to fade from sight.
The Google satellite photo below shows the port (on the lower left) and the town (upper center of the picture). Wright notes that none of the Pearl's crew has ever actually visited the town:
...When the Pearl visits ports, huge cranes shift all the steel boxes in a few hours.
Even if there were time to go ashore, the steady increase in the size of ships has pushed ports towards deeper and deeper water and further and further from large cities. None of the Pearl's crew has ever visited the town of Salalah."
Here's a better Google picture of the port itself. The Port's web site (Port of Salalah) says that the contract for construction of the port was let in 1996, and the port began operations in 1998. It has five container berths now and should have a sixth by the end of 2008. The port can also accomodate other types of cargo.:
And an even more detailed view of the ships inside. This looks busy to me:
The port has a diverse group of owners. It's website notes:
The government holds 20% of the venture, which will be run for a 30-year concession period by Salalah Port Services Company (SAOG) to manage, operate and act as port authority.
The A.P. Moller - Maersk Group has 30% of the equity through its subsidiary APM Terminals.
The current shareholding also includes 21% with various institutional investors and 29% with pension funds and private investors.
Shares of Salalah Port Services Co. (SAOG) have been consistently strong on the securities market which views the company as one of the most efficient and well run organizations in the country. The Salalah Port Project is hailed as an example of a successful public private partner-ship. The project is seen as the engine for economic development of Southern Oman as well as significant in diversifying the economy away from the oil and gas sector and creating job opportunities for nationals.
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Posted by: ynotoman | April 25, 2008 at 03:55 AM
hello sir,this is hamid sodha from india state gujrat mandvi kutch.i want to now information about cargo vessel ship which is sailing on that side.i have three ships. from all of the three one of my ship al faruqi has failed its engine near by gowadhar and i want to now about the current situation of my ship.i dont now wer i am posting this message if i'm sending this message to a right place please reply us thank u for your co operation i appologise for inconvenience.
Posted by: hamid ali sodha | January 21, 2009 at 09:17 AM
and now Oman has a major new port up in Sohar for industry
a major new port up and coming in Duqm in case a ship needs repairs
and a chance that Mina Qaboos will become passenger (cruise) only
Posted by: Oman Ports | June 21, 2010 at 07:25 AM
It's really great achievement, I am happy to see this....
Posted by: Port Authority shirts | December 02, 2010 at 02:41 AM
The peaceful country (oman) around the world if any doubt come and live salalah or muscut whereever in oman
Posted by: AM Shiek abdullah | July 23, 2011 at 05:09 AM