Fewer vessels calls but Hong Kong throughput rises - Greg Knowler, Senior Asia Editor | Dec 12, 2014 2:07AM EST - JOC HONG KONG — One of the effects of larger vessels being deployed is that transshipment hubs will see fewer vessels making calls, but they will stay for longer and generate more container volume, a trend that is becoming more evident in Hong Kong. According to the latest available ship arrival data from the Port Development Council, the number of ocean-going container ships calling at Hong Kong fell 6.5 percent from January through August, a drop of 838 vessels. Yet in that same eight-month period, throughput at the Kwai Tsing container terminals increased by 6.5 percent. Month-over-month comparisons with 2013 show a steady decline in ship arrivals this year, and if the falling monthly trend continues, Hong Kong will record a drop in vessel numbers of about 8 percent over 2013. The vessel numbers have been falling since 2011, when 22,774 container ships called at Hong Kong. In 2012, the decline was 7 percent to 21,171, and it dropped a further 10.2 percent last year when 19,018 ships called at the port. Last week, while addressing Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, the Transport and Housing Bureau said trade groups had estimated that 9 percent of container ships skipped port calls at Hong Kongs Kwai Tsing terminals from January through October. That would equate to around 1,300 vessels, or almost an entire month of arrivals. However, in the same 10-month period, container throughput at the terminals rose by 4.7 percent year-over-year to 14.79 million 20-foot containers, which supports the assumption that fewer larger ships are arriving in Hong Kong, staying longer and are carrying greater cargo volumes. A research analyst at one of the investment banks, who declined to comment on the record, agreed that the drop in vessel arrivals had more to do with larger vessels than with port congestion in Hong Kong. Although he pointed out that the two issues were related. According to the Marine Department, the average dwell time in port for container ships in Hong Kong increased from 11.5 hours in 2011 to 11.8 hours in 2012, and 13.1 hours in 2013. The average number of containers loaded and unloaded by each container ship also rose from 1,350 TEUs in 2011 to the current level of 1,700 TEUs. This means berths are tied up for longer and a surge in container volume comes at peak periods. Because of the difficulties in filling large container vessels, the lines must join alliances, which further complicates the transshipment process at hub ports and adds to the congestion. In Hong Kong, thousands of additional inter-terminal truck moves have been created as alliance ships arrive carrying the boxes belonging to several container lines. “It is not just a matter of the individual alliance members, either,” MOL senior vice president for Asia-Europe and West Africa trade management Stanley Smulders told JOC. “All the alliance members are also serving other non-alliance lines that they need to connect with once arriving in a port. Ideally, a terminal needs to have all the services together, but if you have six lines with six different services each connecting with other trades it just increases the complexity.” Congestion in Hong Kong is definitely playing a role in cutting down vessel arrivals. Throughput had a marginal decline of 0.5 percent in September and fell 3.9 percent in October. November figures are not yet available for Hong Kong, but other Pearl River Delta ports recorded a 12.8 percent growth last month, a possible indication that vessels were diverted to the neighbouring terminals.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 05:36:49 +0000