SINGAPORE, HONG KONG REPORT DECLINES IN BOX VOLUMES
Container volumes for the ports of Singapore and Hong Kong, the world’s two largest container ports, decreased last year.
The port of Singapore, operated by PSA Corp., handled 15.5 million TEUs, a decrease of 8.9 percent from the 17-million TEUs volume reported for 2000.
The switch to the port of Tanjung Pelepas by Maersk Sealand, the port of Singapore’s largest container line customer, is the main reason for the lower port volume.
“This is in line with our projections earlier in the year for a decline of about 10 percent for the whole year,” a spokesman for the port operator PSA said. “Year 2001 was a most difficult and challenging year for many industries worldwide, and also for PSA.”
Container port throughout at the port of Hong Kong decreased by an estimated 1 percent last year, to about 17.9 million TEUs, according to the marine department of Hong Kong.
The yearly figure compares with a total throughput of 18.1 million TEUs in 2000.
Volume from ocean-going vessels in Hong Kong decreased by about 4 percent last year, to an estimated 13.2 million. Container traffic from river-trade vessels, which bring cargoes from mainland Chinese barge ports, rose about 10 percent, to about 4.8 million TEUs.
The port of Hong Kong has also lost business from deepsea vessels to the South China container terminals of Yantian and Shekou.
Final port statistics for the port of Hong Kong for 2001 will be published in March, the marine department said in a statement.
Despite its lower container volume, Hong Kong has remained the world’s number one container port, ahead of Singapore.
“Hong Kong gets one vessel arriving or departing every 1.2 minutes, one TEU handled every 2 seconds,” a spokesman for the marine department said.