Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) said it has provided essential maritime logistics support to the World Food Programme by handling 4000 metric tonnes of date shipments from its base in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

The WFP is the food assistance branch of the United Nations and the world's largest humanitarian organisation addressing hunger and promoting food security.

The dates, which have proven health and nutritional benefits, will supplement the diets of vulnerable people in countries across the Middle East and Africa (MEA), said a company statement.

WSS, a leading global provider of products and services to the shipping industry, has a long history of supporting WFP. The two first worked together 35 years ago, with WSS acting as Norwegian agents for shipments of fish oil, stock fish and salt fish for the UN’s food assistance organisation.

The Dammam office of WSS has operated alongside WFP for the past decade, as detailed by Mohammed Noor, assistant logistics operations manager, WSS Dammam.

Commenting on the shipment, Noor said: “WFP rely on us here in Saudi Arabia. We have a long relationship with them, providing full maritime logistics services and ensuring their shipments are handled quickly, professionally and securely.”

“This is vital humanitarian aid and we are proud to be a key link in a supply chain that brings it to the people that need it most, when they most need it,” he said.

Noor pointed out that the shipments were handled across a 45-day period, with 320 containers being loaded and shipped by the WSS team.

“Providing a one stop shop solution – everything from pre-arrival planning through to departure. WSS’s unrivalled network also provides obvious benefits for WFP, ensuring the standard of service they receive here is replicated globally,” he concluded.-TradeArabia News Service