Colombo Port to record best ever performance this year
Due to the Red Sea crisis, the newly added infrastructure development in the last 8 months and steps taken to increase productivity, the Colombo Port will record its best ever performance this year, said Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Keith D. Bernard.
“This will be in terms of both container movements (TUI’s) as well as in revenue.” He said that at the end of the first quarter of the year (January to March end) TUE’s volumes have gone up from 441,032 TEUs to 652, 766 TEUs by 48% which is a phenomenal increase compared to the previous year.
“We hope to record an increase of around 1.5 million TUE’s this year.”
Due to Sri Lanka’s geographical location vessels steering clear of tensions in the southern Red Sea have found Colombo as a convenient transit point for convenient access to the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia.
Due to this there was huge increase of business and to cope up to this they had requested for 12 carinas from China to increase efficiency. “We have received 6 of them so far and the balance will arrive before the end of the year.”
The new carinas are installed at the Colombo East Contender Terminal (ECT) and the yellow cranes which were in use there have been shifted to Jaya container terminal.
Furthermore, the completion of the East Container Terminal (ECT) Stage II and the acquisition of new ship-to-shore cranes will further enhance POC’s position as a leading shipping hub in the region.
The JCT was developed with a 120-meter length new berth being installed.
“The new cranes will enable the port to handle ultra-large GMX 24 ships, allowing it to accommodate higher volumes in the future.”
This increase by SLPA also contributed to the overall rise in the Port of Colombo’s (POC) total transshipment volume, which reached 1,729,314 TEUs for the first three months of this year, representing a 24.20% growth compared to the same period in 2023.
SLPA and the Port of Colombo (POC) have effectively managed the situation which has resulted in a significant increase in throughput. The Port of Colombo (POC) experienced a substantial surge in volumes, reaching 2,002,077 TEUs, a notable increase of 24%.
“Hence Colombo Port is poised to become a key transshipment serving the Middle East, as many shipping lines are rerouting vessels to avoid prevailing risks in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.”
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