Balaji Shipping Lines (BSL), part of the Transworld Group of Companies, has started a direct shipping service — AGS Liner Shipping Services — on the India-Port of Sohar sea route, the company has announced.
The new direct service will connect Mundra Port in Gujarat to Oman’s Port of Sohar, further connecting Dammam, Jebel Ali, Karachi and the North Indian ICD via Mundra port, a statement released on the Sohar Port Web site said.
AGS’ services, which commenced in 2011, have provided connections between the Indian sub-continent, Saudi Arabia and Iraq via the leading regional hub of Jebel Ali-UAE, it said.
The Port of Sohar, which is a 50-50 joint venture between the Government of Oman and the Port of Rotterdam, is a deep sea port with a draft of 18 metres. It is located 220 km northwest of the capital Muscat.
“This industrial port is a deep sea port and has grown tremendously in size and importance, in only eight years since inception in 2003.
“This volume together with the growth of the Port of Sohar and the development of a free zone, Sohar will emerge an ideal point of entry for products shipped around the Gulf countries and as a gateway to the rest of the world,” CEO of the Port of Sohar, Mr Andre Toet, said.