2.6% decline in Colombo Port performance in July: East Container Terminal on hold
While the global maritime sector is grappling with many challenges due to the impact of the US-China trade war, Brexit and the Russian sanctions, trends in the global trade environment container volumes are seen as achieving positive growth this year. However the performance of the Colombo port has declined in the past two months, according to Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Ports and Shipping and Southern Development.
Mr. Ratnayaka made this remark during the ‘German Sri Lanka Logistics Conference 2019’ organised by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo last week.
He said, “As per provisional data the transshipment of Colombo port in July has declined by 2.6 per cent from last year. Comparing the global trends, the port of Colombo has managed to remain afloat under challenging circumstances.”
Growth of the Colombo port requires some crucial decisions which have not been made in the last four years to increase the port capacity. “As per the current situation we need to fast-track the decision-making process on the East Container Terminal (ECT) and enter into a memorandum of cooperation with Japan and India on its development. The maritime sector has become the lifeline of the national economy of Sri Lanka. It is of vital importance to make the right strategic decision at this point to ensure that the industry sustains its growth in the years to come. The growth will be influenced by many internal and external factors that are completely beyond our control to steer the industry in the right direction,” he added.
He also mentioned that the global industry is seeing a trend for greater regionalisation of trade and shipping in general. Regionalisation is driven by issues including protectionism, automation, the ability to carry on manufacturing for quality consumption, changing labour costs and the emission regulation. As a cumulative effect of all these changes, during the first quarter of this year, container ships across the world have grown by only 0.5 per cent. In 2018 there was a growth of 3.6 per cent and in 2017 it was 6.6 per cent. Consequently the growth has gone down from 3.6 per cent to 2.5 per cent in 2019.
Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping Admiral Srimevan Ranasinghe during a panel discussion on ‘Maritime Strategy in Sri Lanka; Opportunities and Corporation’ pointed out three top priorities for the Colombo port: Immediate cooperation and coordination between the three terminals, infrastructure building and getting all the ancillary services together.
The Colombo Port must be ahead of the game, add capacity and additional infrastructure. “We will lose the competitive position if we don’t make use of the ECT. Port terminals need to be up and running. Losing a shipping line will not be easy to get back on track and connectivity is important. There should be a definite maritime strategy and it must be implemented,” said Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd, Managing Director, Iqram Cuttilan.