Qatar ports see brisk movement of cargoes, containers, RORO and livestock in May

Qatar's maritime sector saw brisk business year-on-year this May with more vessels calling on Hamad, Doha and Al Ruwais ports, leading to higher cargoes, container handling, vehicles (RORO) and livestock through the three ports, according to the official data.

The positive momentum in the ports reflects the optimistic outlook, especially for the country’s non-energy private sector, as indicated by the latest purchasing managers’ index of the Qatar Financial Centre.

The number of ships calling on Qatar's three ports stood at 242 in May 2024, which saw 6.61% and 26.04% increase year-on-year and month-on-month respectively.

Hamad Port, whose strategic geographical location offers opportunities to create cargo movement towards the upper Gulf, supporting countries such as Kuwait and Iraq and south towards Oman, saw as many as 129 vessels call (excluding military) in the review period.

A total of 1,081 ships had called on the three ports during January-May this year.

The general and bulk cargo handled through the three ports surged 158.19% on an annualised basis to 213,492 freight tonnes in May 2024. However, it was seen declining 9.32% month-on-month in May 2024.

Hamad Port – whose multi-use terminal is designed to serve the supply chains for the RORO, grains and livestock – handled 136,716 freight tonnes of breakbulk and 52,654 freight tonnes of bulk in May 2024.

A total of 816,274 freight tonnes of general and bulk cargoes were handled by the three ports during the first five months of this year.

The container handling through the three ports saw 29.6% and 41.98% year-on-year and month-on-month jump respectively to 123,530 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in May this year.

The container terminals have been designed to address the increasing trade volume, enhance ease of doing business and support economic diversification, which is one of the most vital goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Hamad Port, which is the largest eco-friendly project in the region and internationally recognised as one of the largest green ports in the world, saw 122,238 TEUs this May.

The container volume at the three ports totalled 562,099 TEUs during January-May 2024.

The three ports handled 10,632 RORO (vehicles) in May 2024, which registered 71.1% and 1.92% growth year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in May 2024.

Hamad Port alone handled 10,610 units this May. A total of 40,264 RORO units were handled by three ports during January-May 2024.

Qatar's automobile sector has been witnessing stronger sales, especially in heavy equipment, private motorcycles and private vehicles, according to the latest data of the National Planning Council.

The three ports were seen handling 58,374 livestock in May 2024, which showed 19.3% and 198.24% surge on yearly and monthly basis respectively. As many as 299,342 livestock heads were handled by three ports during the first five months of this year.

The building materials traffic through the three ports stood at 40,094 tonnes this May, which declined 35.8% year-on-year but shot up 67.53% month-on-month.

As much as 206,911 tonnes of building materials were handled by Hamad, Doha and Al Ruwais ports during January-May this year.