DP World, a leading provider of global supply chain solutions, has launched the first direct freight service between the UAE and Iraq to make the flow of goods between the two countries faster, safer and more efficient.
The service caters for what the industry calls “unaccompanied trailers” – trailers which can be transported by sea without the driver and truck cab travelling alongside them, DP World wrote in a statement.
Instead, the trailer is left at the quayside at the port by the driver and is then pulled on and off the ship alone.
“This is the first service of its kind in the UAE and runs under the name of P&O Maritime Transports, a DP World company,” the statement noted.
The service takes approximately 36 hours to travel between Jebel Ali Port in the UAE and Umm Qasr Port in southern Iraq, and will offer a new route between the two countries for road trailers, alleviating challenges faced by customers using cross-border land transport, which can take up to 14 days.
Unaccompanied trailers are loaded on to roll-on, roll-off (RORO) freight vessels, leaving the driver and cab behind at the port.
Once the trailer reaches Umm Qasr Port, an Iraqi truck can drive it to its final destination anywhere in the country. Once delivered, the empty trailer is then returned to Umm Qasr and shipped by to Jebel Ali.
Until now, goods transported by road from the UAE to Iraq must be trans-loaded–a time-consuming exercise of transferring cargo from the original truck to a locally licensed vehicle. It is also risky, exposing the cargo in terms of damage, contamination and security.
DP World’s unaccompanied trailer service allows cargo owners and logistics companies to load a UAE-plated trailer in their local warehouse, ship it securely to Iraq and get the same trailer back, without the cargo having to change hands along the route.
Jesper Kristensen, Group Chief Operating Officer, DP World Marine Services, said, “The launch of this new route is a step change in our service offering in the UAE. It is a great example of our customer-focused approach at DP World, using innovative and tailored solutions to enable the flow of goods. Iraq’s economy is growing rapidly, but until now it relied on transit through its neighbours for its import and export needs.”