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Maersk agrees to renew Kaohsiung terminal contracts

Denmark's A.P. Moller Maersk Group, one of the world's leading container shippers, has decided to renew leasing contracts with two terminals in Kaohsiung Harbor, officials said yesterday.

Maersk is scheduled to sign the renewal contracts on Sept. 22 for another five years of operations, a harbor official said.

The current contracts expire on Oct. 18, he said, adding that contracts for another two terminals in Kaohsiung would expire in May 2005.

Maersk had reportedly planned to withdraw from Taiwan which it feared was losing competitiveness in the global container shipping business.

"During the negotiations, Maersk never said to us it wanted to leave Taiwan. The discussions proceeded very smoothly," the official said.

Kaohsiung is ranked the world's fifth largest container port, handling 8.49 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year, after Hong Kong, Singapore, Fusan and Shanghai, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Maersk's decision was made amid hopes for better business prospects after the opening of direct transport links with China expected in the future, a Chinese-language newspaper reported.

Maersk Taiwan Ltd declined to comment on the contracts.

Announcement of the renewal came just two days after the Mainland Affairs Council gave the green light to indirect air charter cargo services across the Taiwan Strait by local companies.

The council said that Taiwan-based carriers will be allowed to fly goods to Shanghai with stop- over in either Hong Kong or Macau. The new measure is scheduled to take effect Sept. 25.
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