Oman now ‘a trans-shipment hub for Qatar’

Oman has emerged as the regional trans-shipment hub for Qatar since the start of the Saudi-led siege, director of Arabital Shipping Qatar Ibrahim Mohamed Rafi has said.“Oman’s Sohar and Salalah ports have replaced the port of Jebel Ali in Dubai as the trans-shipment hub for Qatar,” he told Qatar Urdu Radio’s live radio show, Haqeeqat yesterday.“The majority of cargo shipments bound for Qatar used to move through Jebel Ali before the GCC crisis started, but Qatar has swiftly established new routes to cope with the trade disruption caused by the crisis,” he added. Besides the ports in Oman, direct services have also been launched from Hamad Port to India, Pakistan and Kuwait, among many other countries, he said. “Currently, food items are coming into the country through Ruwais Port. This is via a land route from Turkey to Bushehr Port in Iran and then by sea to Ruwais Port,” Rafi, who is a civil engineer by profession, explained.Haqeeqat, which aims to engage and interact with the large South Asian expatriate community in Qatar, is a joint venture of Gulf Times and Qatar Media Corporation Urdu Radio. It is broadcast from Sunday to Thursday on FM107. Individuals can log on to Qatar Urdu Radio on Facebook and ‘@QatarUrduRadio’ on Twitter for feedback and comments about the show.