Qatari ports have delivered a stellar performance in the first half of this year, despite a challenging environment created by COVID-19 outbreak.
During the first six months of this year, Hamad Port, Ruwais Port and Doha Port have registered 102 percent increase in general cargo handling compared to the same period in last year.
During the first six months, 1,509 ships docked at Hamad Port, Doha Port and Ruwais Port, making it a busy period for Qatar’s maritime sector.
The ports handled 727,716 tonnes of general cargo in the first six months of this year, compared to 360,644 tonnes in the same period in 2019.
The ports handled 32,779 units of vehicles and 305,504 livestock during the period, according to figures shared by Mwani Qatar on its official twitter account.
The ports received around 673,399 containers in the first half of 2019, which is around 2 percent more than what it was in the same period of the previous year.
The strong halfyearly performance by maritime sector follows all-round performance shown by the ports in the first quarter of this year. The ports handled 110,938 tonnes of building materials during the first quarter, reflecting 37 percent growth, compared to the same quarter last year.
The ports had received 321,345 containers during the first quarter of 2019, registering 3 percent increase over the same period of 2018. Strong momentum in cargo handling is the result of proactive steps taken by authorities concerned to ensure regular supply of goods, despite the COVID-19 outbreak.
Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar), in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and relevant authorities, has implemented a series of measures to limit the spread of coronavirus in the ports.
These measures include sanitisation of containers, installing thermal cameras, submission of COVID-19 disclosures and educating workforce at the port about ways to limit the spread of the virus.
The steps were taken months in advance to ensure that the maritime sector remained safe. In January, all ship agents were notified of the necessity of submitting COVID-19 disclosure and IMO accredited medical declaration. Qatar’s maritime sector had registered strong growth last year also.
The ports had set the new volume and productivity benchmarks in 2019. Hamad Port, Ruwais Port and Doha Port received 4,082 vessels and handled 1.34 million TEUs containers during the year