America's North Shore Journal

DoD
By Mohammed Aliwi, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region South District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has turned control over the newly completed “roll-on/roll-off” berth at Umm Qasr Port to the Iraqi Port Authority.

Known as a RoRo because it serves “roll-on/roll-off” ships that share the acronym, the $2.7 million berth project doubles the number of the ships that can dock and unload simultaneously, said Rebecca Wingfield, GRS project engineer with Thi Qar Resident Office.

And that means that more goods can be delivered, raising the income of the port and subsequently its workers, she noted.

It is the second such berth to be completed at the port. The special berths are needed to accommodate the so-called “RoRo” ships, which come in a variety of capabilities. Some RoRo ships carry freight vehicles only, some carry freight vehicles and containers, and others transport cars without passengers. Freight-only ships represent three-fourths of the worldwide fleet of RoRos.

Natalie Sudman, the GRS project engineer, explained that the new berth was needed to replace an older, smaller one situated at the north end of the current berthing area of the port.

The existing ramp was unable to handle the increasing cargo demands and traffic congestion in the port and was posing a problem because vessels had to wait to dock and unload.

“For the shipper the RoRo vessel offers a number of advantages over traditional ships, notably speed,” Sudman said. “As the name of the system implies, cars and lorries can drive straight onto a RoRo ship at one port and off at the port on the other side of the sea within a few minutes of the ship docking.”

While the project was funded by the Army Corps of Engineers and supervised by its Gulf Region South District engineers, the berth was designed and built by Iraqis, Wingfield said.

“The Iraqi people can be proud of this project because it is theirs alone,” Wingfield said.