Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT) won the prestigious “Contribution to the Development of the Regional Maritime Cluster Award” at the Seatrade Maritime Awards Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa 2018 for the second time in three years.
Phillip Marsham, CEO of Basra Gateway Terminal received the award on behalf of the company at a ceremony held at the Palm, Dubai. This reward recognizes a company that has made substantial contribution to strengthening the links between the region’s maritime elements.
Reflecting on the win, Phillip Marsham said: “Winning the ‘Contribution to the Development of the Regional Maritime Cluster Award’ for the second time in three years validates our commitment to high levels of operational excellence, and impeccable customer experience standards. Considering BGT is a new terminal that started operations in September 2014, this achievement would not have been possible without our highly qualified team who work relentlessly to deliver industry-leading services to our clients.”
He added: “This award belongs not only to us but to all our partners in Iraq. I take this opportunity to thank the Iraq Port Authority (IPA) and General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) and all the other Authorities for their ongoing support.”
BGT is currently expanding operations in Umm Qasr which includes the construction of two new berths. Once completed, BGT will become the first terminal in Iraq to allow Umm Qasr port to transition to a major port capable of efficiently handling container vessels of up to 9000 TEUs. It will also facilitate direct calls by vessels operating on major trade lanes thus reducing feeder costs for shipping lines and, in turn, shipping costs for cargo owners. Simultaneously it will also reduce reliance on ports of neighbouring countries for Iraq’s trade by increasing the capacity of Umm Qasr - making Iraqi ports even more competitive to alternative ports.
When fully developed, BGT will have four berths catering for containerized traffic, offering 800m berth space and 60 hectares of yard area with a handling capacity on the excess of 1 million TEUs. In addition to these four berths, BGT is also managing two berths for Oil & Gas Project cargo and RORO vessels.
