Gulftainer Holds Talks on Strengthening Ties with Brazil

Gulftainer, the privately owned port operator based in Sharjah, recently welcomed an official delegation from the Port of Recife, in north east region of Brazil, and held talks about building on and strengthening the ties between the two companies. Peter Richards, Gulftainer MD, welcomed the visitors and accompanied them on the site inspection of both terminals where he explained the latest developments in operations and the technology used in container-handling at Gulftainer, "We are delighted to welcome Mr. Sidnei Aires and his group to Sharjah to show him first hand the outstanding facilities at our Ports and give them a taste of what we hope to achieve at the facilities in Recife," he stated.

Members of the delegation, which was led by Sidnei Aires, Port Commercial and Operations Director of Recife Port, visited Gulftainer's Sharjah offices and toured the terminal facilities at Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) and Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) where he expressed his appreciation of the terminal facilities and operations. The Gulftainer company was awarded the Port Operator Certification at the end of 2011 by the Port of Recife and already has lines queuing up to make use of these new services. The first cargo shipment; which will be a steel consignment, is due to arrive imminently into the port.

The Recife group began their visit at an audience with Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdullah Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman at the Sharjah Port Authority, and concluded their trip with a meeting at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), where they met with government officials, including Hussain Al Mahmoudi, Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), who warmly welcomed the visitors and encouraged the newly-formed ties between Recife Port and Gulftainer. Currently, there are shipping services linking both countries, where Brazil exports fruit, meat, sugar and granite to the UAE, and discussions were held with a view to trading for return cargo from Sharjah, UAE, in the future. Gulftainer Group has been operating in the UAE and around the world for over 35 years. In the UAE it operates three main UAE ports: two on behalf of the Sharjah Port Authority - Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) and Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT); and one in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, on behalf of the international plastics solutions company, Borouge.