UAE-based Gulftainer, one of the largest privately-owned port management and logistics companies, said it has registered a 24 per cent overall increase in its trade volumes in 2012 when compared to the previous year.

Its Sharjah ports saw the greatest volumes throughout the year, with Khorfakkan Container Terminal seeing growth of 28 per cent on its 2011 figures with a staggering throughput of over 3.3 million twenty- foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The consistent organic growth of Gulftainer is the largest of any Middle East port operator, with trade volumes more than tripling in the past decade, said the company in its statement.

The company’s portfolio covers three UAE operations, Khorfakkan, Sharjah and Ruwais, as well as in Iraq at Umm Qasr, Recife in Brazil, and the recently acquired Tripoli Port in Lebanon, with further plans across the Middle East and international territories for 2013.

“The past year has seen growth across a number of our operations, as well as expansion of current and new locations,” remarked Peter Richards, the group managing director of Gulftainer.

“Khorfakkan Container Terminal accounted for a majority share of trade volume and continues to see phenomenal throughput with 28 per cent growth in 2012 in its own right,” he revealed.

For 2013, Richards said Gulftainer has already moved forward with further expansion plans within existing operations to allow for greater capacity and the increasing size of vessels now requiring access to the ports.

“Our figures are indicative of the UAE’s growing influence as an import and export hub, and even more so of the east coast’s popularity for containership operators,” noted Richards.

“This is an exciting time for the company, as we increase our footprint both locally and globally, and we anticipate similar double digit growth again in 2013,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service