Oman’s Ministry of Health has recently issued a notification concerning the country’s port operations, as a precaution in view of the coronavirus threat.
According to the statement, specifically disclosed by Salalah port administration, any vessel that has visited China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Iran, the vessel crew and the nationals of the said countries are not allowed to proceed ashore, even if 14 days have passed since their departure. Moreover, all shipping agents have to submit a list of the last 10 ports visited by their vessels and the crew lists with detailed information. In addition, the shipping agents have to declare the vessels arriving from the abovementioned countries well in advance to the competent port authorities. So far, Oman has four coronavirus cases, specifically connected to travels to Iran.
The taken precautions may have an influence on the country’s imports operations, on the raw material and steel segments specifically, SteelOrbis understands.