Independent port operator Gulftainer marked the maiden call of the CMA CGM Virginia vessel at its flagship Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) in a record 5.6 hours, approximately 8.4 hours ahead of schedule
The vessel, with a capacity of 5,095 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), comes under CMA CGMs newly launched INDIAMED service that links the strategic zones of the East Mediterranean with Djibouti, Arabian Gulf, Pakistan and India. The 294m long vessel covers the rotation Khor Fakkan, Oman; Karachi, Pakistan; Nhava Sheva and Mundra, India; Djibouti; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Damietta, Egypt; Piraeus, Greece; Malta; Aliaga and Mersin, Turkey; Port Said West, Egypt; and back to Khor Fakkan.
Speaking on the occasion, Flemming Dalgaard, CEO of Gulftainer, said: The maiden call of the CMA CGM Virginia marks yet another milestone for Gulftainer and Khorfakkan Container Terminal. The achievement reinforces KCTs strategic role as a prominent transhipment hub for the Arabian Gulf, Indian subcontinent and East African markets. We thank CMA CGM for its continued confidence in our capabilities and look forward to working together on this new service.
Operating KCT on behalf of the Sharjah Port Authority, Gulftainer has welcomed some of the worlds largest container ships in terms of capacity, including the CMA CGM Kerguelen, which regularly calls at Khorfakkan on CMA CGMs flagship service French Asia Line 1 (FAL1).