The shipping platform

Location: Hamad Port is Qatar's main seaport, located south of Doha in the Umm Al-Houl area. General overview: It is one of the biggest ports in the Middle East, representative of the Qatar National Vision 2030. This port is crucial for the nation’s maritime trade industry along with the socio-economic progress of Qatar. The port activities and construction is aimed at economic diversification, increasing competitiveness and international trade, while attracting foreign investors. Covering an area of 26km², the port is planned to have livestock, vehicle and general terminals, an offshore supply depot, a facility for the Qatari coast guards, and a grain facility. The facility for the Qatari coast guards consists of a 4.5km² offshore naval base. Hamad port spans around 29 km and has an annual handling capacity of 7.5 million TEU, 1.8 million general cargo, and a million tonne of grains. The port is currently undergoing expansion and one of its operational container terminals can handle 2 million TEU annually. ● Container Terminals Hamad port has three container handling facilities that can collectively handle more than 7 million TEU annually. All the terminals have the latest port equipment such as ship-to-shore cranes and high-tech gantry cranes for efficient cargo handling. This facility also incorporates the latest container scanning technology that drastically reduces the containers’ processing time. ● General cargo handling facility This facility deals with all kinds of non-containerised cargo such as machinery, steel and its products, dry bulk, construction equipment, fertilizers and petroleum goods. It has ample storage space in the form of sheds, paved and sheltered storage and cold storage facilities and can handle around 1.6 million tonnes. ● Multipurpose Terminal This terminal is divided into smaller units or facilities to handle specific goods such as grains, livestock and automobiles. The grain handling facility has automatic loading and unloading conveyor belts that discharge grain directly into silos, hence eliminating the need for manpower. The automobile terminal deals with shipments of more than 450,000 vehicles every year. The livestock terminal comprises multiple automatic gates that separate the different kinds of livestock. The port has world-class security systems including a Port Tower measuring 110 m and a customs inspections area that clears more than 5500 containers in 24 hours. Also, a ship repair and inspection facility and numerous maritime services are offered at Hamad port. Since Qatar had planned to increase its non-petroleum exports, a zone has been constructed in the port vicinity which has manufacturing units. Traffic figures: 1,700,000 tones of general freight, 1,000,000 tones of grain and 7,500,000 TEUs are handled annually. Load line zone: Tropical. Max. size: Breakbulk: Depth 15.0 m. Containers: Depth 15.0 m. Ro-Ro: Depth 15.0 m. Bulk: Depth 15.0 m. The largest vessel called at the port: LOA: 398 m, draught: 14 m, deadweight is 176,727 t.