HONG KONG PLANS FOR INCREASINGLY LARGE CONTAINERSHIPS
The port of Hong Kong is capable of receiving the next generation of container vessels, Hong Kong’s Marine Department said after conducting a study of trends in mega-containership sizes.
A spokesman said in a Marine Department study, “Yesterday Evening and Tomorrow Morning of Container Fleet,” that water depths alongside the container terminal complex of Kwai Chung are currently adequate to meet navigational requirements of large containerships.
The study confirms that Kwai Chung is able to serve not only large containerships currently in service, but also those expected to be in operation within the next few years.
The study considered the port requirements of potential mega-ships of 10,000-TEU or more capacity.
“As for future five-digit containerships, given their draft is still uncertain, there is a need to regularly review their development in terms of physical dimensions so that dredging can be planned in good time to meet their operational conditions,” the spokesman said.
The study concluded that the proportion of future “five-digit containerships” is expected to account for a small percentage of the total containerships calling at Hong Kong, based on the current distribution of large containerships visiting the port.
The study was initiated to find out whether Hong Kong could handle containerships which were increasingly becoming larger.
The study also revealed that the trend towards larger containerships to achieve better economies of scale and to lower operating costs would continue, with indications that a sizeable fleet of 10,000 to 12,000 TEU ships would come on stream between 2005 and 2010. The study is “uncertain at present” regarding the advent of ships of 15,000 TEUs or more.
The study recommended that Hong Kong maintain water depth of 15.5 meters in the approach channels and alongside berth to meet future requirements up to 2005, with a need for regular review to keep its objectives in line with future development of five-digit containerships. The draft of five-digit containerships is seen as unlikely to go beyond 15 meters in the next five to six years.
Presently, the CT9 container terminal is being built at Kwai Chung, with a quayside draft of up to 15.5 meters. This will accommodate containerships that are even bigger than the 7,500 TEU containerships now being handled in Hong Kong.