Bahrain-based Sulb Steel has inaugurated a new wharf located at Salman Industrial City in Hidd and received a port/private jetty operator licence from the government. This will facilitate the billet and section producer’s exports, which form the bulk of its business. It expects to export some 700,000 tonnes of product in 2021.

The new private port facility, developed at a cost of nearly $20 million, is 230 metres long and can accommodate ships of up to 180m length overall (LOA) and 40,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT), a Sulb spokesperson informs Kallanish.

The facility will significantly enhance the company’s supply chain since it exports 99% of its products to customers in more than 25 countries, in the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asia, the Americas and Europe.

The investment will take almost 1 million tonnes/year of Sulb’s products currently carried on 40,000 trailers off Bahrain’s roads and cut nearly 18,000t of greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to Sulb’s previous exports from Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Sulb will save some 30% on its annual freight on board (fob) charges. This will also reduce customers’ procurement fees by up to 20% as a result of the onsite loading and shipment capabilities.

Sulb chief executive Ravi Singh said: “The new facility will help us operate more efficiently. It significantly strengthens our export supply chain for the benefit of our customers, the Kingdom’s economy and our position as one of Bahrain’s largest exporters and net foreign exchange earners.”

“Ships are cost in terms of days they are in port for loading,” Sulb tells Kallanish. “A faster loading rate will reduce freight to customer. The wharf can handle about 3-4 ships per month depending on their arrival time slack.”

Two ships are scheduled to arrive at the new facility in October. The first will load for export approximately 13,000t of “Made in Bahrain” steel beams, and the second with 32,000t will be loaded by end-October.

Sulb produces 1.7m t/y of direct reduced iron from iron ore pellet manufactured by adjacent sister company Bahrain Steel. It also produces up to 1.2m t/y of crude steel and almost 800,000 t/y of beams, angles and channels, together with its sister company in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

A majority, 51% stake in Sulb is owned by Foulath Holding, established by the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries through their investment holding company Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC). The remaining 49% is held by Yamato Kogyo, a Japanese structural steel producer.