UAE-based port operator DP World yesterday began operations at Tartus port in Syria.

Running of the port was handed over from the Syrian General Authority for Land and Sea ports.

DP World will be managing port operations under a 30-year concession agreement, which the firm referred to as “one of the largest international investments in Syria’s logistics sector in recent years”.

The port operator has plans to boost Tartus port, including an $800m investment to transform it into a “highly efficient trade and logistics hub”. The port had been damaged because of the civil war in Syria.

The firm will be working closely with the Syrian government on further development on the port, as the government has ambitions of increasing Syria’s presence in global trade.

“We are committed to applying DP World’s global expertise to build a modern and digitally enabled port that will grow trade, create opportunities and firmly position Tartus as a key trade hub in the eastern Mediterranean,” said DP World chief executive Fahad al-Banna.

Banna was newly appointed to oversee the development of Tartus port.

Short-term plans for port development include dredging port access channels, basins and berths, and rehabilitating and replacing existing handling equipment to facilitate servicing bulk and breakbulk cargo.

Digitalisation will also be key as DP world aims to optimise port operations. The firm also plans to upgrade the port’s infrastructure and superstructure, expand handling and storage capacity, add on bulk handling systems, and new containerised and non-containerised facilities.

DP World also launched a new harbour tug Al Fath (IMO: 1037232). It is 22 metres long and has a 50-tonne bollard pull with firefighting water cannons.

The formal commencement of port operations by a big port operator is a significant step for Syria in international trade, following the recent lifting of sanctions on the country.

Syria this year resumed oil exports following 14 years of being on the sidelines due to sanctions. It is also set to welcome oil imports from Saudi Arabia.

Port calls at Tartus have also been on the rise.

In May this year, a few months after the new interim government came to power and started diplomatic relations with the West, calls at Tartus tripled from the month before and diversified, including some vessels coming from European ports. After a peak in May, port calls in Tartus continued increasing slightly.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows cargo-carrying vessels made 39 traceable calls at Tartus port in May, a more than fourfold increase on the nine calls recorded in May 2024. Port calls in April this year hit 13.

After the EU and the US lifted the sanctions on Syria in June, cargo-carrying vessels made 47 traceable calls in July. The number of traceable calls was five a year before.

There were 47 traceable calls in Tartus in August, 50 in September and 49 in October.

A traceable call is when a vessel is captured berthing by Automatic Identification System data, and AIS is enabled throughout the entire voyage.

DP World first signed a Memorandum of Understanding to manage and develop the port of Tartus with the new Syrian government in May.