Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07DUBAI281
2007-04-26 08:24:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Dubai
Cable title:  

MINA SAQR - RAS AL-KHAIMAH'S MAIN PORT

Tags:  ECON EINV EWWT PINS KU AE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7678
RR RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDE #0281/01 1160824
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 260824Z APR 07
FM AMCONSUL DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5352
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 2360
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/CDR USTRANSCOM SCOTT AFB IL
RHBVAKS/COMFIFTHFLT
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 8439
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 000281 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/4/2017
TAGS: ECON EINV EWWT PINS KU AE
SUBJECT: MINA SAQR - RAS AL-KHAIMAH'S MAIN PORT

REF: DUBAI 00103

DUBAI 00000281 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Paul R Sutphin, Consul General, Dubai, UAE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)


C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 000281

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/4/2017
TAGS: ECON EINV EWWT PINS KU AE
SUBJECT: MINA SAQR - RAS AL-KHAIMAH'S MAIN PORT

REF: DUBAI 00103

DUBAI 00000281 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Paul R Sutphin, Consul General, Dubai, UAE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



1.(SBU) SUMMARY. Ras al-Khaimah's main seaport is Saqr Port. The
port primarily handles bulk exports of aggregate and gravel. A
container terminal, managed by Kuwait Gulf Link (KGL),was
recently completed and will soon become operational. RAK Customs
has installed an x-ray scanner at Saqr Port. RAK has three
smaller industrial ports that are independent of Saqr Port
Authority. End Summary.

2.(SBU) Poleconoffs met with five members of Ras al-Khaimah's
(RAK) Saqr Port Authority on April 12. They were Captain Ibrahim
Ahmed A. Al-Tunaiji, General Manager; Captain Mohamed Shaker
Rashid, Deputy Port Manager and Operations Manager; Ismail Ahmed
Mattar, Admin and Financial Manager; Hussain M. Sayed,
Engineering Department Manager; and Captain Abdelouhab Abida,
Harbor Master. Earlier, on March 28, poleconoffs met with the
RAK government's Customs Center Manager, Fahem Abdullah al-Habsi
who provided an overview of both the port and customs operations
at Saqr Port.

Saqr Port - RAK's Main Port
--------------

3.(SBU) Saqr Port is RAK's main seaport. The port is located on
the Persian Gulf, north of the town of Rams and a few miles
south of the UAE-Oman border at al-Jeer. The port has 12 deep
water berths, eight of which are used for loading locally
quarried gravel and aggregate for export. Some of the eight
berths are also used for break-bulk cargo and bulk petroleum
products. All of the berths have a draft of 12 meters. The
longest vessel the port can accommodate is 225 meters (731 feet)
and 80,000 Dead Weight Tons (DWT) is the largest bulk carrier
that the port handles. According to port management, 1,500,000
metric tons of aggregate, gravel, and limestone are exported per
month. Most of is shipped within the Gulf, but some is shipped
to India. Mattar said the port can load 50 tons of aggregate in
24 hours and about 600,000 tons of bulk materials, mostly

refined petroleum products, are unloaded at Saqr Port every
month.

4.(SBU) Port management repeatedly stressed that the port's
purpose is to serve RAK's economic development, rather than to
make a profit. Saqr Port's management claims to charge the
lowest fees per ton for loading of any port in the UAE. An
example was given that the port only charges AED 4 (USD 1.07)
per ton for loading bulk gravel. Comment: no figures were quoted
for loading at competing ports. End comment. The port employs
approximately 250 workers.

5.(SBU) The Saqr Port Authority administration is separate from
other RAK ports and management reports directly to RAK's de
facto ruler, Crown Prince Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qassimi.

Container Terminal Inauguration in May
--------------

6.(C) Saqr Port has recently been upgraded to handle container
ships. Kuwait Gulf Link (KGL),the terminal operator, has
entered into a 21 year contract with Saqr Port to operate the
container terminal. KGL is said to have spent over USD 50
million upgrading the container terminal and has 50-60 personnel
working there. Saqr Port's container terminal is ready for
operation, but has yet to handle any container traffic -- the
port authority claims it is waiting for the formal inauguration
by Sheikh Saud in May 2007. Port authority officials said they
chose KGL -- presumably over the obvious choice DP World --
because they believe KGL will offer the best service and
identify reliable customers.

7.(SBU) The container terminal has four berths. The port
management expects KGL to initially handle 300,000 twenty foot
container equivalent units (TEU) per year. They said the
container terminal has the capacity to handle more than
1,000,000 TEUs per year.

RAK Customs Scanners at Port Saqr
--------------

8.(C) Fahem Abdullah al-Habsi, the Customs Center Manager at
Saqr Port, stated that RAK Customs recently acquired two x-ray
cargo scanners from China. One of the scanners is fixed at the
port. Its location, near the container terminal gate, is to

DUBAI 00000281 002.2 OF 002


facilitate the scanning of containers as they leave the port.
RAK Customs' second scanner is mobile. Though it will be
initially used at Saqr Port, al-Habsi said it will be used at
RAK airport and other locations in RAK. The Chinese have a
two-year support contract and engineers stationed at the port to
train and assist RAK Customs.

Saqr Port Upgrades and Expansion
--------------

9.(SBU) In addition to the new container terminal and the
construction of a new, wider road leading to the port, Saqr Port
expects delivery of mobile cranes in mid-May and several new
tugs in 10 months. By mid-August, Al-Tunaiji said a new
ship-loader should be in operation. The Port Authority has also
recently taken possession of new administrative buildings which
Sheikh Saud will inaugurate at the same time as the container
terminal.

10.(SBU) The Saqr Port Authority owns more than 500,000 square
meters of land on the north side of the port's present boundary,
currently used for worker housing. There are plans to develop
the land into more berths and a shipyard, but the Port Authority
is looking for investors. This would more than double the port's
size.

RAK's Other Ports
--------------

11.(SBU) Three smaller ports are operational in RAK. These ports
are independent of the Saqr Port Authority. The descriptions of
the ports given by al-Habsi and Saqr Port management closely
mirrored those of RAK Customs Director General Mohammad Al
Mehrizi (reftel).


12. (SBU) The port of al-Hamra is located south of the town of
RAK. It is a small industrial port where the main activity is
loading barges with quarried boulders that are shipped to the
various land reclamation projects along the UAE coast, most
notably the World and three Palm Island projects in Dubai.

13.(SBU) A small port at Khor Hanna, to the immediate south of
Saqr Port, is currently dedicated to loading barges with
boulders for the offshore projects. Though separate from Saqr
Port, vessels entering Khor Hanna port must get clearance from
Saqr Port.

14.(U) The smallest port in RAK is along RAK creek. Small
product carriers use the creek to supply fuel to RAK's main
power station. Small vessels carrying bulk and break-bulk cargo,
fishing boats, and cargo dhows use the creek. Until late 2006
two small passenger ferries were based in RAK creek, but they
are no longer in use.

15.(C) Comment: It is unclear if the choice for KGL over DP
World arose from the well-known rivalry between RAK's Sheikh
Saud and UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, or if DP World was even
interested in the RAK container facilities. On the surface, it
appears a good initial decision since the container port at
Fujairah -- run by DP World -- has seen few container ships
since handing over operations. The real challenge will be
whether KGL is able to lure ships with Saqr Ports' low rates and
open berths, and expand outside of purely RAK-based business.
SUTPHIN