The UAE's Khor Fakkan port handled 2.75 million TEUs last year, an increase of 9.9 per cent over the previous year, according to TradeArabia.

Khor Fakkan port is a key transshipment centre and only 25 per cent of containers handled there are bound for the local market. The rest are transferred to smaller ships and delivered on to India and Pakistan, east Africa, Oman and ports lying within the Gulf including Abu Dhabi and Iran.

The port has a maximum capacity of 4.5 million TEUs and is considering further expansion.

Meanwhile, Gulftainer, which operates the port of Khor Fakkan and the Sharjah Container Terminal, has joined the Arab Federation for Freight Forwarders and Logistics (AFFFL) as an acting member, which will allow the company to participate in the federation's activities and suggest projects and ideas on how to develop the logistics industry in the Arab world.