IRAQ: As fighting in Syria escalates, ships are changing their routes and diverting to southern Iraq, resulting in an increased in revenue for Basra's Umm Qasr port

Record ID: 281396

  • Title: IRAQ: As fighting in Syria escalates, ships are changing their routes and diverting to southern Iraq, resulting in an increased in revenue for Basra's Umm Qasr port
  • Date: 20th September 2012
  • Summary: UMM QASR PORT, BASRA, IRAQ (RECENT, 2012) (REUTERS): VARIOUS OF UMM QASR PORT CARGO HANDLING EQUIPMENT UNLOADING SHIP CARGO CARGO LIFTED BY HANDLING EQUIPMENT CARGO BEING LOWERED AT WAITING TRUCK TRUCKS NEAR ANCHORED SHIP AT PORT MORE OF TRUCKS NEAR SHIP AT PORT EXTERIOR ADMINISTRATION BUILDING OF UMM QASR PORT DIRECTOR OF UMM QASR PORT, MARITIME ENGINEER SAFA ABDU
  • Embargoed: 5th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Business,Conflict,Economy
  • Reuters ID: LVA5PTABD2ENWPLIHDZJ4JU32R5W
  • Story Text: The Iraqi southern port of Umm Qasr is enjoying brisk business over the past month as some ship operators are avoiding Syrian ports due to raging violence, ports officials said.
    They said that escalating violence in Syria has prompted many shipping lines to change routes from Syrian Mediterranean ports of Tartour and Latakia to Iraqi ports, and in particular to at Umm Qasr port for security and better services.
    "Definitely shipping lines heads to the port that provides the best of services and security because as you know ships and cargoes cost huge amounts of money, therefore maritime risks and security risks affect decisions of the owners of the vessels and shipping lines. Now they see that it is better for them to head to the Iraqi ports, and in particular to Umm Qasr port instead of going to Syria. In fact, all the cargoes are bound for Iraq but because of previous conditions, they were used to be shipped through Syria," said director of Umm Qasr port, Maritime Engineer Safa Abdul Hussein al-Maliki.
    Nearly 40 per cent of Latakia's total incoming cargo volume has been Iraq-bound, according to shippers and Syrian transportation officials, while for Tartous the figure has been as high as 70 per cent.
    According to Maliki, the port's monthly revenues in 2011 were 11 billion Iraqi dinars (10 million U.S. dollars) compared to 14-15 billion Iraqi dinars (11,570 - 12,400 million U.S. dollars) a month early this year and increased to 18.7 billion Iraqi dinars ( 15,450 million U.S. dollars) last June, up by more than 60 percent from the same period of last year, noting that the level of the revenues is the highest since the establishment of the port in 1965.
    He said violence and bloodshed that have plagued Iraq in the past few years have forced Iraqi traders and importers to ship their goods through Syrian or Jordanian ports, but current stability and the rehabilitation of Iraqi ports coupled with unrest in neighbouring Syria have encouraged vessels to head to Iraq.
    "Some of the cargoes, especially cargoes that come from Europe have also changed routes to Aqaba port (in Jordan) or to Turkey because they are the nearest ports for them. So, instead of taking a turn and go to Hormuz Strait and the Suez canal, they (ships) preferred to go to Aqaba or to Turkey to shorten the distance and from there shipments are transported by land. However, some of the shipments, even if they were coming from Europe have started to head directly to Umm Qasr Port. And such kind of shipments is now on the rise, thanks God. Now shipments like that of construction iron and vessels carrying equipment and even foodstuff have started to change routes from the Syrian ports to Umm Qasr port," Maliki said.
    The Shatt al-Arab, a waterway formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, empties into the Gulf below Iraq's port city of Basra and is Iraq's only shipping outlet Iraq has only a sliver of coast, squeezed in between Iran and Kuwait. Umm Qasr, one of four Iraqi commercial ports but its only deep water one, handles 80 percent of Iraq's imports, including grain for a huge public food ration programme.
    Iraqi importers and traders said that arrival of their goods through Iraqi ports saves time and reduces cost, urging the Iraqi government to lower insurance fees and ease import license restrictions.
    "It is much better in terms of price and time. When the ship anchors it takes only three days to unload shipment, whereas it takes a long time to come from Treebel . Work is much better now, thanks God," said Iraqi importer Sabeeh Haider Hassan.
    Umm Qasr is already one of the most expensive ports in the world for shippers, and importing firms complain of being asked for heavy bribes, of poor service and high handling costs and exorbitant port fees, up to eight times that in others ports around the world.
    According to the media officer of Basra ports, Ammar al-Safi, the Umm Qasr port, the entry point for 80 percent of Iraq's imports, is running at full capacity along with Iraq's four other ports of al-Maqal, al-Faw, Abu Flous and Khour al-Zubair, with container ships have to double bank at the port's berth with up to 30 ships are forced to wait their turn to proceed to the wharf and unload.
    "There is a big increase of up to 15-20 percent in the number of ships, which entered the port during this month compared to last month. There was also an increase in the amount of goods because all the ships were laden with goods. The ports, almost all the five ports are working full time 24 hours a day," Safi said.
    Cargoes, according to Safi vary from construction materials and electrical devices and equipment to foodstuff
    "In fact cargos are of different kinds and ships too are of various nationalities including Panamanian and Tanzanian, but most of ships that changed their route from Syrian ports like Tartous to Umm Qasr port are those which carry cargo of iron. Ports are ready and docks are prepared to handle these cargos," he added.
    In an attempt to rectify the debilitating situation with Iraq's main port, authorities have implemented a number of rehabilitation projects designed to modernise and upgrade the country's port facilities, including work to clear the Shatt al-Arab waterway and its deep water ports from war wreckage and sunken ships to clear the navigation route and increase the depths in addition to the rehabilitation of the main road that links Umm Qasr port with Basra city , which is the main route for goods and cargo arriving into the port from abroad.
    As part of a drive to modernise public infrastructure and kick-start Iraq's economy now that major new oil contracts have been signed. Iraq is planning to build a new multibillion-dollar port at Faw, the southernmost tip of Iraq.
    The project will be built in two stages and is expected to take about four years to complete. It will include 7,000 metres (23,000 feet) of dock to receive container ships. The dock for general cargo would be 3,500 metres (11,500 feet). The commercial port will also include two docks for unloading oil products.
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