Philippines-based port management company International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) has formally inaugurated two new berths which for the first time offer the Port of Umm Qasr, Iraq’s main dry cargo port, the ability to handle container vessels of up to 14,000TEU capacity.
The port’s Berths 25 and 26 were constructed as part of a US$250 million programme for the development of ICTSI’s Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT). Located in Umm Qasr’s North Port, BGT operates a high capacity container terminal together with specialised facilities for the handling of general cargo, Ro-Ro, dry bulk, and project cargo for the oil and gas sector.
Earlier development included the construction of Berth 27, adjacent to the new berths, with the three berths now offering a combined continuous berth length of 600 metres. Design depth alongside Berths 25 and 26 is 14 metres.
The two new berths are extensively fitted out with container handling equipment and IT systems. Three new quayside gantry cranes, each with an outreach of 56 metres and able to handle up to 21 rows of containers on the deck of a vessel, are installed on the quayside.
On the landside, seven new, six high stacking, rubber-tired gantries (RTGs) join three existing units bringing the total fleet to 10 RTGs.
