Abstract:
Due to the characteristics unique to vehicle transhipment, the Colombo Port is unable to
handle much vehicle transhipment, since it gives priority to container transhipment. As an
effective measure to ease the long berthing delays experienced by car carriers at the Port of
Colombo, Sri Lanka Port Authority has decided to route all such vessels to the Hambantota
Port, which is officially known as MRMRP and is now "vigorously campaigning" to make
the MRMRP a "preferred transhipment hub port for vehicles". A transhipment hub port is
determined by not just one factor but a collection of factors. This study investigates the
reliability of twelve such factors including location, cost, infrastructure, other services
provided by port, port safety, man power, industrial zone, port connectivity, hinterland
accessibility, port efficiency, government policies and international relationships to create a
vehicle transhipment hub at Hambantota. Whether a port is used as a hub port or not is solely
decided by shipping lines. Thus, this study includes a survey with a sample of shipping companies who are engaged in vehicle transhipment in Sri Lanka. Since vehicle transhipment
activities are only being carried out at the Hambantota port, this study has been developed as
a case study of the Hambantota port. SWOT Analysis tool has been used to strategically
analyze each factor. The most influencing factor to create a hub port in Hambantota has been
identified through the weights given by shipping companies. According to these shipping
companies’ point of view, the great possibility of converting Hambantota port to a vehicle
transhipment hub has been recognized and recommendations have been presented for policy
makers’ consideration to take immediate action for the health of this particular industry. The
location of the Hambantota Port plays a vital role and in most of the cases, the management is
the prevalent weakness of the port. Opportunities in each aspect have not been correctly
utilized by the port authorities yet. This study strongly recommends to the responsible parties
to make provisions in order to to convert weaknesses in to strengths and to capitalize on
opportunities.
