Abu Dhabi: AD Ports Group and Transmar International Shipping Company have launched a new container shipping service that will link Karachi, Pakistan’s busiest port, with major maritime economies of the Middle East and East Africa.
The new route will provide weekly connections for cargo between Karachi Port and AD Ports Group’s flagship Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, in addition to Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, Dammam and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Aqaba in Jordan, Sokhna and Adabiya in Egypt, plus Port Sudan and Djibouti.
Karachi Port deals with approximately 60 per cent of Pakistan’s cargo, handling on average 26 million tonnes of cargo per annum. The deep natural port offers an 11km approach channel, which enables safe navigation for vessels up to 75,000 tonnes deadweight.
The launch of the new Pakistan route follows AD Ports Group’s acquisition of a 70 per cent shareholding in Egypt-based Transmar and Transcargo International S.A.E. (TCI) in September 2022.
The new service uses containers provided by Transmar on slots, largely provided by other AD Ports Group companies SAFEEN Feeders and Global Feeder Shipping (GFS), which it acquired earlier this month.
Captain Ammar Mubarak Al Shaiba, Acting CEO – Maritime Cluster and SAFEEN Group, AD Ports Group, said: “AD Ports Group is working to continuously improve the level of excellence, efficiency and connectivity available to our customers, leveraging the synergies of our recent acquisitions and the high level of support provided by our integrated team. The new weekly service will connect Pakistan’s busiest port with key maritime hubs across the Gulf, Red Sea, and East Africa, enabling the region to foster and increase integrated and collaborative trading partnerships.”
Ahmed El Ahwal, Managing Director, Transmar International Shipping Company said: “As a result of AD Ports Group’s shareholding in Transmar, we are pleased to be able to offer customers across the Middle East and East Africa greater connectivity to Karachi, which is one of the largest ports in South Asia, as well as the enabling customers in Pakistan to reach a wide range of key markets.”
Bilateral trade in 2021-22 between the UAE and Pakistan was valued at approximately $10 billion. In 2020, the top exports from Pakistan to the UAE were $122 million in gold and $109 million in beef. Top exports in 2020 from the UAE to Pakistan were $2.21 billion in refined petroleum and $1.04 billion in crude petroleum.
