The two new services will each run three times a week between Qatar's Hamad Port and Omani ports of Sohar in the north and Salalah in the south, Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani), a Qatari shareholding company established in 2009, announced on Sunday. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are among several countries which last week announced the suspension of all ties to Qatar over what they say is the state's support for extremist groups and its political proximity to Shiite Iran. The embargo bans "all Qatari aviation companies and aircraft registered in the state of Qatar" from landing or transiting through the airspace of the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, according to the statements published by the national agencies of the three countries.
Iran sends five 90-tonne air cargo payloads of perishable food to Qatar. More shipments by air and sea are underway.