Gulftainer handles largest container vessel to arrive at Iraqi ports

Jul 26, 2017: Gulftainer, the largest privately owned, independent port operator, received the largest container vessel to call at Iraqi ports to date. The vessel, YM Wealth, deployed by Taiwan-based shipping line Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (Yang Ming), arrived at Gulftainer’s Iraq Container Terminal (ICT) facility.

Yang Ming currently operates a fleet of 98 vessels, primarily container ships, with the combined capacity of approximately 590,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The company deployed the YM Wealth for the China Gulf Express (CGX) service on a revised route that now includes a call at the Umm Qasr Port, offering a direct connection between the Far East and Iraq. On her maiden call to ICT, the 5,551 TEU vessel discharged and loaded over 2,500 containers.

Flemming Dalgaard, Gulftainer’s CEO, said, “Having witnessed the tremendous potential this market offers, we remain dedicated to enhancing our capabilities in Iraq to attract the world’s leading operators and take on larger-capacity vessels.”

Gulftainer expanded its operations to Iraq in 2008, making it the first international company to set up a container terminal at the Umm Qasr Port. In addition to ICT, the company operates the Iraq Project Terminal (IPT). In 2015, Gulftainer also set up the Umm Qasr Logistics Centre (UQLC) a 750,000 sq m facility, which offers significant logistics support to Iraq’s oil and gas projects sector.