Salalah Port, Oman’s major cargo gateway and a notable transshipment hub for the West Asia region, halted operations yesterday (22 October) until further notice in the wake of a severe storm heading towards the southern part of the country.
According to the latest weather reports, Cyclone Tej is expected to make landfall along the coast late on 24 October or early 25 October.
According to container carrier sources, while berthing delays are imminent, some vessels are likely to skip scheduled calls to the port.
Salalah Port is managed by APM Terminals, providing container capacity of some 5 million TEUs annually, according to available information.
Maersk has several weekly calls at Salalah. The Danish carrier’s network calling there includes the ME7 between South India and Europe, which rotates Ennore, Colombo, Salalah, Algeciras, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Jeddah, Salalah, Colombo and Ennore.
“We expect about six to seven vessels to be impacted, either delayed or omitted,” a Maersk source noted.
Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC)’s premier HEX (Himalaya Express) routing, connecting West India and Europe, also calls at Salalah.
The Arabian Sea and its surrounding regions are often prone to cyclones and severe weather, wreaking havoc on normal life and supply chains.
In 2018, operations at Salalah Port remained shut for several days as a consequence of extensive damage caused by Cyclone Mekunu.
Salalah is a multi-purpose port, equipped with facilities to handle bulk, liquid and other general cargoes.
However, according to reports, the storm is unlikely to cause any major disruptions on India’s Gujarat coast and as such, no port service suspension warnings for the region have been issued.