BAHRAIN’S Khalifa Bin Salman Port will  get busier with the announcement that it will soon have direct services to the US, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea and China.

The announcement was made by Marco Neelsen, chief executive of APM Terminals Bahrain, which is operating the port. Starting from this month, customers will be able to book a container from Bahrain to Los Angeles, direct through, he said. “It will be a weekly service provided by NYK from Japan and Hanjin from Korea. We expect the connection to open up many opportunities, more so because of Bahrain’s free trade agreement with the US,” the official said.

“The competitive advantage is not only for Bahrain-based manufacturers but also for shippers and carriers alike as this means no offloading or transshipment in Jebel Ali or Singapore. This is good for raw materials coming into Bahrain as well. In simple terms, it means goods come in faster and cheaper. The time saved is at least a week or more. At the moment, it takes about 40 days to ship from Bahrain to Los Angeles,” he added.

According to Neelsen, the move also cements Bahrain’s role as a logistics hub for the Northern Gulf, targeting countries like Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.