New Hanjin IMU service begins at Khorfakkan

Gulftainer, the region's leading port management and logistics firm, has announced that its Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) received the first of Hanjin's ships on its new 'IMU' (India/ Middle East/USA) service, which is the result of Hanjin (and partners UASC) revamping their services covering South Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and US East Coast.

The 'Hanjin Rio De Janeiro' called at Gulftainer's Khorfakkan Container Terminal on Sunday under the command of Captain JS Lee. The 4,275TEU, 52,000 DWT container ship, built in South Korea in early 2008, is one of Hanjin's contribution of four ships to the service.

"Khorfakkan Container Terminal is already well-established as one of the fastest container terminals in the world, and such productivity – and the resultant cost savings – will be more important than ever in the challenging year ahead," said Gulftainer Group Director and GM Peter Richards

"KTC will continue to ensure its clients save time and money through our quick and efficient service."

Strategically located on Sharjah's Indian Ocean coast, outside the sensitive Straits of Hormuz and close to the main east-west shipping routes, KCT is one of the world's leading container transshipment ports. Gulftainer's prime role is to manage and operate the container terminals in Port Khalid and also Khorfakkan on behalf of Sharjah Port Authority.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) recently launched the Middle East-Indian Sub-continent-North America (Mina) service that will combine its current MIX and Sina services.

The new service is a combination of the current MIX (Mediterranean-India Express) and Sina (South East Asia, India-North America) services. MIX runs between the US East Coast, Mediterranean, Middle East and India with 11 2,000-TEU class vessels of which nine are supplied by UASC and two by Hanjin Shipping.

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