US-based SSA Marine has sent the first team of civilian port operations experts to the Persian Gulf, to begin the process of returning the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr to regular shipping operation.
The team of 15 employees and contractors working for SSA Marine left the United States on Saturday. They arrived in Kuwait City on Monday, and will begin their assessment of the port on Tuesday, or as soon as permitted to do so by the military currently responsible for the port.
"Umm Qasr is Iraq's only seaport, the only deep-water access," explains President of SSA Marine, Jon Hemingway. "Before the war, a very large part of Iraq's food supply was imported through Umm Qasr…" has added.
SSA Marine was the successful bidder for a $4.8 million contract from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to cover the reopening and operation of the port for the first year. "For the cargo handling, we expect to rely heavily upon local labor. The best people to do those jobs are the Iraqi dock workers who were working there before the war," noted Hemingway.
Assessing the condition of the port, including its docks, cranes, warehouses and other facilities, is the company's first assignment. Its team will recommend to USAID any needed repairs and create an implementation plan for reopening the port.
SSA Marine has 150 operations worldwide, including port operations in Panama, Mexico, Chile, Bangladesh, South Africa and New Zealand, and more than 10,000 employees. On the US West Coast, the company operates five container terminals, making it the largest leaseholder of West Coast waterfront. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
