News / Colombo capacity crunch adding to container line woes

East Container Terminal of port of Colombo, Srilanka © Prabath Darshana

Container lines are facing severe capacity problems at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port, as they reshuffle calls in the wake of the worsening maritime security situation in West Asia.

A recent terminal change by Maersk amplifies that concern: the Danish carrier hosted a call at Colombo’s East Container Terminal (ECT) for the first time, previously always using APMT’s South Asia Gateway Terminal and/or the newer Colombo International facility managed by China Merchants Port Holdings.

The shift came despite the low productivity rates and infrastructure challenges at ECT; the terminal, in the midst of development by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), has just three older cranes capable of handling relatively smaller vessels. The relocated call was with Maersk Edmonton — one of 13 vessels deployed on the West Africa Express (WAX) service, operated with CMA CGM.

“This occasion not only marks Maersk’s first call at ECT, but also signifies the beginning of a promising partnership between Maersk  and SLPA,” an official statement said.

The known WAX rotation is Qingdao, Gwangyang, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Nansha, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Tema, Lekki, Abidjan, Pointe Noire, Colombo, Singapore, Xiamen and Qingdao.

The terminal switch seems to have been spearheaded by CMA CGM. The SLPA said: “This collaborative effort between the shipping line and its local agent, CMA CGM Sri Lanka, has significantly contributed to the anticipated success of Maersk’s deployment of the WAX service to Colombo, promising growth and prosperity for both entities.”

According to industry sources in Colombo, with rapidly increasing vessel calls for transhipment connectivity, particularly for cargo to and from the Middle East, berth availability at Colombo remains extremely tight.

And sources expect the resurgent demand for ad-hoc transhipment calls to heighten as carriers see no resolution in sight to the vessel rerouting around southern Africa.

Riding on this rush, Colombo’s transhipment volumes have seen strong traction in the past few months, with year-on-year gains reported at 29% in February, 25% in January and 10% in December, according to available data.

Earlier, MSC had held a call at Hambantota International Port, due to the capacity constraints at Colombo, kicking off commercial container operations there.

The sudden stronger-than-expected volume boost has turned the spotlight on Sri Lanka’s port capacity expansions in the works.

According to current indications, a 600-metre quay at ECT is expected to be commissioned in Q4, with full operations due to start sometime next year. Out of  12 new ship-to-shore cranes ordered, three have arrived and are in the early stages of installation, sources noted.  ECT has been designed with 2.4m teu capacity, in two phases.

But the nearer bet seems to be Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT), a project led by India’s Adani Group, with 3.5m teu capacity at full build-out.

“CWIT should be operational before ECT,” a Colombo-based port veteran told The Loadstar.

The source also believed that some potential spillovers from Colombo’s capacity pressure could Adani’s Vizhinjam container transhipment terminal project in southern India a head start. Vizhinjam is targeting next month for trial vessel operations.

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