Colombo port is the best connected-port in South Asia – UNCTAD

The Port of Colombo is the best-connected port in South Asia, according to the annual report of the Maritime Transport Review released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the year 2021.

According to the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI) at port level, eight of the top ten ports were in Asia, led by Shanghai; the remaining two are in Europe – Rotterdam and Antwerp.

The best-connected port in Latin America and the Caribbean was Cartagena, Colombia; in South Asia, it was Colombo, Sri Lanka; in North America, it was New York/New Jersey, United States; and in Africa, it was Tanger Med, Morocco, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said.

In April 2021, to provide stakeholders with a reference point for maritime trade and transport the World Bank and IHS Markit published a new index, the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI). This index combines data on vessels, their port calls and the cargos they load and unload, as well as the time they spend in ports. According to the CPPI index, the Port of Colombo is ranked at 17 out of 25 best ports in the World.

“The first version had data for 2019 and the first half of 2020 and was dominated by ports in East Asia, led by Yokohama in Japan, which was ahead of King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia and Qingdao in China.

In Europe, the highest-ranked port was Algeciras in Spain at 10; in South Asia, it was Colombo in Sri Lanka at 17; and in the Americas, Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico at 25,” the UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport quoted the Container Port Performance Index of World Bank and IHS Markit