Colombo Port transshipment volumes up in Oct. ending 3-month declining streak

The transshipment container volumes at the Port of Colombo rose for the first time in October ending a 3-month declining streak due to disruptions in global vessel movement, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) data showed. 
In October, the transshipment volumes handled by the Port rose 3.2 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to 499,886 TEUs, after recording declines of 10.5 percent YoY in September,7.9 percent YoY in August and 4.1 percent YoY in July.

However, the container handling at China Merchant Port (CMPort) Holdings-managed Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) declined by 4.7 percent YoY to around 262,000 TEUs in October, though the volumes grew by 4.9 percent YoY to 2.54 million TEUs in the ten month period according to the company.

According to available data, the container volumes handled by South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) declined by 18 percent YoY to 433,535 TEUs in the September quarter (from July-September) while container volumes handled by SLPA-managed Jaya Container Terminal (JCT)  and East Container Terminal (ECT) declined by 10 percent YoY to 554,946 TEUs. 

SAGT noted that the volume decline was due to disruptions in global vessel movement. However, SAGT managed to increase its profits due to the improved volume mix and higher revenue from ancillary operations.

Despite the slowdown seen during the September quarter, the transshipment container throughput at the Port of Colombo in the first ten months of the year recorded 1.4 percent YoY growth, handing 4.84 million TEUs.

The domestic container throughput of the Port marginally declined by 0.2 percent YoY to 94,491 TEUs in October. However, the rest of the volume grew by a record 39.1 percent YoY to 21,578 TEUs in the month.The overall container throughput of the Port was up by 3.6 percent YoY to 632,028 TEUs in October.

Meanwhile, ship traffic at Sri Lanka’s ports recorded a decline of 9.7 percent YoY in October and the cargo handled by the country’s ports decreased by 4.2 percent YoY to 9.01 million MT in the month.

The cargo (excluding vehicle volumes)  handled by CMPort-managed Hambantota Port was also down by 70.83 percent YoY to around 96,000 MT in October. However, the volumes were still up by 39.5 percent YoY at 1.26 million MT in the 10-month period.

The cumulative cargo volumes handled by the country’s ports in the 10-month period was up by nearly 6 percent YoY at 91.28 million MT. (NF)