Opportunities and Challenges for Port of Colombo to become a successful hub port: Comparison of Port of Colombo’s performance with the region

Abstract

Over the past decades, major ports around the world have faced challenges due to significant changes in the logistical systems worldwide attributing to volume growth and increased demand. This situation led to rapid evolvement in ship designing and marine technology to increase the cargo carrying capacity of the ship. In every wave of growth in ship size, ports were compelled to acclimatize with new demands in cargo-handling technology and operations. Today’s trend of all main line operators deploying mega-container ships continues to force key ports around the world not only to replace the existing cargo-handling systems with longer out-reach third generation of post-panamax gantry cranes and other equipment, but also to design the ports infrastructure to accommodate and handle these mega carriers. Each subsequent generation of containership is facing a limitation in number of port calls since not many ports being able to handle such mega carriers. Main line operators are incited to use the largest containerships possible on their shipping routes, since they are benefited from economies of scale. However, ports and inland transportation systems have to provide substantial capital investment if they expect to accommodate larger containerships. There are thus operational limitations to deploy ships bigger than 8000 TEU’s in terms of ports of call and the required infrastructure to provide an acceptable loading and unloading throughput. In the container trade, specialization meant ports were required to invest in modernized quay walls, deepening access channel, expanded basins, turning circle, water depth at berths, ship-to-shore quayside gantry cranes with longer outreaches, expanded land-side container storage yards, improved and automated container handling equipment, and on-dock rail transfer systems. Also, large containership deployments require an efficient feeder connectivity and substantial amount of cargo to be commercially feasible. The other related drive that affecting ports, is the features of country’s integrated logistics system, reflected by an expanding network of improved inter-modal links based on the ‘hub and spoke’ system and the rationalization of overall logistics chain. This paper focuses on challenges and opportunities for Port of Colombo to become a Successful Transshipment Hub examining the empirical data and literature review of worlds’ ports and container terminals. Keywords: Marine Technology, Third Generation Post-Panamax, Integrated Logistics System, Inter-modal links, Hub and Spoke system