The Port of Long Beach in California and the Port of Majuro in the Marshall Islands yesterday became the Port of Kaohsiung’s newest sister ports after the three signed agreements during the Association of Pacific Ports (APP) annual conference in the city.
The ports in Long Beach and Majuro are the Port of Kaohsiung’s 19th and 20th sister ports respectively, the Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) said.
The port authority has signed similar agreements with 18 international ports in 13 countries: the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Canada, the US, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, China, Poland and South Korea.
Photo courtesy of the Port of Kaohsiung
TIPC chairman Lee Hsien-yi (李賢義) said that he looks forward to communicating and growing with the two sister ports in port construction and operation, operation management and other areas.
The Port of Kaohsiung had hosted the APP annual conference in 2015, which was attended by 18 guests from eight ports in six countries, he said.
This year, the seaport company hosted the annual conference again, which was attended by 72 representatives from 30 ports in nine countries, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Port of Kaohsiung
“This demonstrates Taiwan’s soft power in promoting port diplomacy, which was jointly promoted by the port company and other government agencies,” Lee said.
The Port of Long Beach is a major port for trade between the US and Asia, with Taiwan ranking as the port’s second-largest export trading partner, the seaport company said.
The Port of Long Beach has six container centers and 72 cranes, with an annual container handling capacity of more than 9 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), the company said.
“The port authority there has long been committed to environmental sustainability, including having energy action plans, promoting biodiversity and setting a goal for net zero emissions. It has also taken the lead in moving towards a world-class ‘green port’ by slowing down ships with environmental protection flags, improving air quality and having shore power systems available at all container terminals,” the company said in a statement.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands, which consists of 33 large and small atoll islands, is a diplomatic ally of Taiwan.
The Port of Majuro, on the eastern side of the Marshall Islands, has oil tankers, containers and cruise ships docking and other operations in its commercial port area, the company said.
It is the Marshall Islands’ main port for importing international goods. It consists of two districts, Delap and Uliga. The former accommodates facilities for international sea liner services, while the latter is built to handle domestic goods, the company said.
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