02 May 2018 – 19:12
QNA
Doha: Milaha has announced the launch of a direct container feeder service between Qatar and Iraq, with the first vessel set to depart from Hamad Port on May 7 and reach Umm Qasr Port in Iraq on May 9.
The new service will be initially served by one vessel with a 1,015 TEU capacity and 110 reefer plugs and will have a transit time of 2 days, making it particularly ideal for dry and refrigerated food stuff, consumer electronics, and construction materials, among other cargo.
The new service will be an expansion of the existing Qatar-Kuwait service that the company launched last year, will follow a Hamad Port-Umm Qasr-Shuwaikh (Kuwait)-Hamad Port rotation.
“There has been an excellent demand on the Qatar-Kuwait service that we launched last year, and we have been looking at ways to further expand that service to give our Iraqi clients and partners more convenience through greater port coverage and reduced transit times,” Milaha’s President and CEO Abdulrahman Essa Al Mannai said.
“This new service will contribute to the reconstruction efforts in Iraq, and will also help boost the growing trade and economic relations between Qatar and Iraq,” he added.
Milaha continues to enhance its international presence and diverse portfolio of maritime and logistics services. Since last year, the company has expanded into several new shipping routes and accelerated deployment of new supply chain solutions across a number of countries.
Milaha currently calls two ports in Oman (Sohar and Salalah), three ports in India (Nhava Sheva, Mundra, and Kandla), one port in Kuwait (Shuwaikh), one port in Pakistan (Karachi), one port in Sri Lanka (Colombo), and one port in Bangladesh (Chittagong), offering enhanced connectivity and transit times to Qatar and the region.
The company was established in 1957 as the first public shareholding company registered in Qatar and holds commercial registration No. 1. Its current activities include marine transportation in gas, petroleum products, containers and bulk, offshore support services, port management and operations, logistics services, shipyard, trading agencies, real estate investments and asset management.
