Qatar's maritime sector posts robust performance month-on-month in August

Qatar's maritime sector witnessed robust performance this August, registering a double-digit monthly growth in number of ships calling on Hamad, Doha and Al Ruwais ports, according to the official data.The number of ships calling on Qatar's three ports stood at 267 in August 2022, which saw a 10.79% increase compared to July 2022. However, it was 3.26% lower on an annualised basis.As many as 1,900 ships had called on three ports during the first six eight months of this year.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 124 vessels call on the port in the review period.The general cargo handled through the three ports was 100,866 tonnes in August 2022, which showed a stupendous 54.77% jump month-on-month in the review period. However, it fell 32.07% year-on-year, said the figures released by Mwani Qatar.Hamad Port – whose multi-use terminal is designed to serve the supply chains for the RORO, grains and livestock – handled 91,146 freight tonnes of breakbulk in July this year.On a cumulative basis, the general cargo movement through the three ports totalled 1.02mn tonnes during January-August this year.The three ports handled 8,249 vehicles (RORO) in August 2022, which registered a 14.9% and 20.53% increase on an annualised and monthly basis respectively. Hamad Port alone handled 8,218 units in August this year.The thre....