Sharjah – MENA Herald: Gulftainer, the world’s largest privately owned independent port operator, marked the maiden call of Evergreen Marine Corporation’s (Evergreen’s) 366 m long Tampa Triumph vessel with a capacity of 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) at the Northern Container Terminal (NCT) in Jeddah Islamic Seaport.
Taiwan-based Evergreen currently operates the fourth-largest container fleet in the world, comprising over 190 ships with a combined capacity of approximately 850,000 TEU. Its first ultra-large container vessel (ULCV), the Tampa Triumph, was deployed for the new Ocean Alliance MED1 eastbound service, and is scheduled to call to Jeddah Port on weekly basis. Tampa Triumph was built at the Japanese Imabari Shipyard and was delivered to Evergreen on the 31st March 2017. This vessel is the second of five 14,000 TEU vessels to be delivered to Evergreen this year.
Speaking on the occasion, Flemming Dalgaard, CEO at Gulftainer, said: “We are extremely proud to welcome Evergreen’s first ULCV to the Northern Container Terminal. The arrival of the Tampa Triumph is an indicator of NCT’s continuous track record of operational excellence. Having significantly enhanced our facilities in Saudi Arabia, we are more than ready to take on dedicated and larger capacity vessels, and thank Evergreen for its continued confidence in our capabilities.”
Gulftainer expanded its business to Saudi Arabia in 2013 through the acquisition of a majority stake in Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company (GCSSO). The company now operates the Northern Container Terminal in Jeddah, the Jubail Industrial Port (JIP) and the Jubail Commercial Port (JCP). Gulftainer’s Saudi Arabia terminals registered a strong performance in 2016, with NCT and JCP collectively achieving an impressive 10 per cent spike in container volumes.
