New market study, "Oman Shipping Report Q3 2010", has been published

May 28, 2010 - PRLog -- The government of Oman and Port of Antwerp International (PAI), a subsidiary of Belgian Antwerp Port Authority (APA), in late March signed an agreement to set up a joint company to manage the planned Omani port of Duqm. The JV will see both partners hold a 50% stake in new company Port of Al Duqm, which will manage the port. BMI notes a trend in the developing Omani port sector of calling upon the expertise of well-established European ports to help in the development of the Sultanate's ports. The Omani port of Sohar is managed by the Sohar Industrial Port Company, a 50/50 JV between the government of Oman and the Dutch port of Rotterdam. The development of the port of Duqm, due online in 2012, ties in with Oman's plan to develop Duqm into a major industrial city, boasting a free trade zone, a power plant and an oil refinery. The planned port is expected to boast an 18m draught, allowing it to accommodate chemical and liquid carriers. The port will handle oil exports, as well as containers, conventional freight and bulk cargo. Also planned are an airport, port, dry dock, commercial and residential areas, and tourism development. The port is located nearly 700km south of Muscat and is likely to serve as a maritime, industrial and commercial hub due to its proximity to the busy regional sealanes traversing Oman's coast.

Oman's shipping and port sector will benefit from relative political stability and a strong macroeconomic recovery in 2010. The Port of Sohar should experience its third year in succession of significant tonnage increases. In 2009 BMI estimates that throughput at Sohar surged ahead by 55% to 10.67mn tonnes. In 2010 we see a further 30.7% volume gain to 13.95mn tonnes. The strong gains are a function of capacity expansion as the port's ambitious development programme moves ahead and it takes advantage of its position outside the Straits of Hormuz to capture more regional and international trade. Despite having its own expansion plans the Port of Salalah on the other hand will for the moment tend to see more 'business as usual'. Here volumes will ease down from 7.3% growth in 2009 to 5.4% growth in 2010, taking the total to 3.92mn tonnes.

The Port of Salalah will remain Oman's prime box facility and BMI expects it to handle 3.755mn 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2010, an increase of 7.5% on 2009. The Port of Sohar, meanwhile, a much smaller container facility, will nevertheless experience some faster growth. The total number of boxes handled there will double in 2010 to 211,309 TEUs.

BMI is predicting a moderate improvement in trade, measured in real terms. We see total trade (imports + exports) growing by 2.5% in 2010, marginally up from 2009's growth of 2.4%. Imports will stand still with most growth coming on the export side (5.8%), lifted by gains in oil shipments. In nominal terms 2010's export growth will total an impressive 25.6% to US$32.2bn, lifted by increases in both the volume and value of hydrocarbon exports. Imports will revive from the previous year's standstill, gaining by 17.1% to total US$25.8bn.

For more information or to purchase this report, go to:
-  http://www.fastmr.com/prod/61109_oman_shipping_report_q3_...

Report Table of Contents:

Executive Summary
SWOT Analysis
- OmanShipping SWOT
Global Overview
- Container Shipping Overview
- Dry Bulk Overview
- Liquid Bulk Sector Overview
Industry Trends And Developments
Market Overview
- Port of Salalah
- Overview
- Terminals, Storage And Equipment
- Expansions And Developments
- Multi-Modal Links
- Port of Sohar
- Overview
- Terminals
- Expansions And Developments
- Multi-Modal Links
- Port Sultan Qaboos
- Overview
- Terminals, Storage And Equipment
- Expansions And Developments
- Multi-Modal Links
Industry Forecast
- Table: Major Port Data
- Table: Trade Overview
- Table: Key Trade Indicators
- Table: Main Import Partners
- Table: Main Export Partners
Company Profiles
- A.P. MOLLER-MAERSK
- Mediterranean Shipping Company
- CMA CGM
- Evergreen Line
- China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO)
- Hapag-Lloyd
- Neptune Orient Lines (& APL)
- China Shipping (CSCL)
- Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK)
- Hanjin Shipping
- Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL)

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