DP World volumes rise 16% in first half

Author: 
WALID MAZI | ARAB NEWS
Publication Date: 
Tue, 2010-07-27 23:05

DP World handled 23.7 million TEUs, or 20-foot-equivalent container units, during the period from its broadest portfolio of cargo shipping ports, according to the Middle East's biggest port operator.
Volumes in the first half grew seven percent to 13.2 million TEU, driven mainly by terminals in Asia.
DP World, which manages ports from the UK to China, aims to start operations at terminals in India and Pakistan this year, the company said.
"These first-half volumes, along with the continuation of cost management, will lead to an improvement in first-half profit after tax against the same period last year," said DP World Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Sharaf.
The company plans to announce first-half results on Aug. 18.
Terminals in Australia, where volumes are ahead of 2008 levels, and the recovery of some volumes across European ports are also key contributors to the growth, the company said.
"Whilst uncertainty remains over the sustainability of trade volumes reported in the first half of the year we currently expect to deliver full year results in line with expectations," said Sharaf.
In the UAE region, DP World handled 5.5 million TEUs in the first six months, a three percent rise over the corresponding period last year.
The cargo volumes at Abu Dhabi's Port Zayed also increased by 12 percent to 2.98 million tons. However, the number of containers dropped by seven percent to 206,866, according to Julian Skyrem, acting chief executive of Abu Dhabi Terminals.
Abu Dhabi Terminals is managed by DP World, which has been ring-fenced from asset sales by parent firm Dubai World, now grappling with a $23.5 billion debt restructuring at the heart of the emirate's recent economic woes. The port has a total capacity to handle 650,000 TEUs and 7.5 million tons of cargo.
Separately, the UAE government is working to revamp the maritime laws, paving the way to bring more locally owned vessels under its jurisdiction and boost the nation's shipping sector.
An amendment to the nation's maritime laws has been drafted by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and submitted to the UAE government, and the provisions could become law by the end of this year, according to a report published on Tuesday.
"We are revamping the whole registry," Nasser Saif Al-Mansoori, the director general of the NTA, was quoted as saying by the Abu Dhabi newspaper The National. "We intend to operate as an international flag on similar lines as Singapore, the Marshall Islands, Denmark and Norway."
The new provisions include a more flexible approach to crewing and taxes while not compromising on safety and security, the report added.
There are 628 vessels operating under the UAE flag, according to the NTA. Overall, UAE-based ship owners have 974 vessels, with another 110 on order.
The size of the local fleet has helped the UAE become one of the top 20 maritime nations in the world, according to a 2008 report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
The UAE has become a complex global shipping industry, with half of the world's internationally trading fleet of tankers passing the UAE shores twice a year.

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