With a presence spanning over 30 years, and having managed 14 concessions, handling over 35 million TEUs and 10 million tonnes of general cargo, GSCCO plans to expand further in the kingdom, says KSA Managing Director Jason French

Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company (GSCCO), a key player in the port services and offers industrial and commercial entities in the region an attractive value proposition at the Jubail Commercial Port (JCP) & King Fahad Industrial Port (KFIPJ) Jubail.

The company has led extensive development at the port in recent months with an aim to connect customers from around the world to the most happening business centres in the energy world.

JCP has an annual handling capacity of 1.8 million TEUs (twenty-foot containers) and has been re-organised and strengthened with more equipment, introduction of new systems and processes, allowing the company to expand into a fully-fledged maritime supply chain solution provider, says industry veteran Jason French, GSCCO/Gulftainer KSA Managing Director.

French ... expanding presence in KSA

The port’s strategic location makes it a key maritime gateway for Jubail, home to the largest industrial city in the world; and one hour away from the newly-developed Industrial Maritime Industries and the Kingdom’s mining activities in the Ras Al Khair.

With direct inland connections to the capital Riyadh, JCP also provides an alternative gateway to the ever growing Saudi market, and serves both the upstream, including general cargo/bulk and import; and the downstream for refineries, exporting polymers based products.

A newly developed inland container depot (ICD) / empty park has been integrated at the JCP into the JCT terminal system to optimise supply chain and new investment in trucking, logistics parks and brokerage/clearance is taking place.

JCP also offers superior quay crane productivity, with 35 to 40 moves per hour supported by 8 tugs per crane. Three new quay cranes and five rubber tyred gantries (RTG) worth an investment value of $49 million are on route and will be delivered shortly.

French says: "Working with our logistics partners such as Gulftainer’s specialised logistics company Momentum and Saudi Rail (SRO), who are due to complete the first rail connection to Jubail, GSCCO is able to offer a seamless supply chain from Plant to Port.

New investment is being done in trucking, logistics parks and brokerage/clearance services

French states: "JCT has plenty of yard space, low dwell times and truck turnaround time is an average of nine minutes, further adding that more companies operating through JCP will lead to lesser usage of the Dammam-Jubail Highway, and thus taking trucks off the road decreasing the Kingdom’s carbon footprint."

Furthermore, a new maintenance dredge has ensured the depth is at 14 m Chart Datum (CD) for some of the largest vessels to access the port. French says GSCCO is working with the National Develop Logistics Program (NDLP) in line with the 2030 Vision, and working with Mawani, the Kingdom’s seaports authority, to develop the Sea Express Highway Initiative which will link ports such as Jubail and Yanbu to the wider regional network.

Last year, an updated AG3 service of The Alliance was launched at JCP, establishing a strategic new connection between the port and Port Kelang in Malaysia.

The service further strengthens trade between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, one of Saudi’s biggest export markets, as well as key trade hubs across Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Kaohsiung, and crucial markets in China.

The AG3 service enables end users to benefit from direct weekly calls at JCP by dedicated vessels that boast a 13K + -TEU capacity on a weekly basis as part of The Alliance network, comprising Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Ocean Network Express and Yang Ming.

With the development of Jubail importers and exporters will have more choice for gateway cargo, particular given the fact that all exports are produced in these regions and currently trucked hundreds of miles to far away ports.

"It is these initiatives such as the development of the Jubail supply chain for the exporters that will achieve the third pillar of the 2030 Vision making the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a regional powerhouse in ports and logistics," says French.

GSCCO’s is specialised in the development, management, and operation of seaports (container and general cargo), bonded zones and logistics operations. As a member of the Gulftainer Group of Companies, it is part of one of the world’s largest, privately owned, independent port operators based in the UAE.

GSCCO’s presence in Saudi Arabia spans over 30 years, having managed 14 concessions, handling over 35 million TEUs and 10 million tonnes of general cargo, making it the most experienced terminal operator, by volume, in the Kingdom.

Its current operations include the Jubail Container Terminal (JCT) and the Jubail Industrial Port (King Fahad Industrial Port) and several ICD/ Empty parks located at the heart of the Berri Oilfield, in the centre of Saudi Aramco’s offshore oilfields.

GSCCO’s plans to expand further in the kingdom while it remains committed to developing a best-in-class port and logistical infrastructure across its facilities.

The company is working closely with Mawani to ensure that appropriate investment is put into terminals to make sure that its port infrastructure can support the country’s ambitious goals to develop as the pre-eminent logistics hub along the main East-West trade route, connecting Asia with Europe.

GSCCO has extended full support to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 roadmap, particularly that Saudi Arabia is pitching to become the primary logistics hub in the region. It realises the Kingdom’s an unmatched location, which is at the crossroads of the main East-West and North-South trading corridors.