Deepwater Hubs Support Energy Transition

By Simon West

Oman has set its sights on becoming one of the region’s major shipping and logistics hubs.

Breakbulk movers can already rely on several deepwater ports capable of handling industrial-sized project cargo, such as Duqm and Salalah on the Arabian coast and Sohar on the northern coast.

Upgrades and expansions at all three facilities will boost capacity and improve cargo flows even further.

At Sohar, Oman’s second-largest deep-sea port, breakbulk handler C. Steinweg Oman is adding 27 hectares of storage space to the port’s general cargo terminal to meet rising demand for minerals and other bulk items.

CSO, a unit of C. Steinweg Group, has a long-term concession to handle all breakbulk, project cargo, dry cargo and roll-on, roll-off stevedoring operations at Sohar.

At Duqm, meanwhile, state-owned Oman Oil Marketing late last year launched a new bunker terminal to meet demand from the growing number of vessels being lured towards the port.

Duqm lies within the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, or SEZAD, home to some of Oman’s largest energy projects and the most likely site for large-scale solar and wind energy buildout.

“You see lots of project cargo happening through Duqm, because that is where you have most of the plants. The oil plants are there, the hydrogen plant is going to be there – most of the big mega-projects are happening in that area,” said Salim Ahmed, CEO of Oman Integrated Logistics Services.


Colombia-based Simon West is senior reporter for Breakbulk.

Image credit: ASYAD