Global seaports must carry out massive expansion and modernization within the next decade to cope with the entry of mega-container ships carrying an ever-growing volume of global trade, industry players say.
As countries build new airport terminals or renovate existing ones to accommodate the new double-decker Airbus A380 jetliner, seaports also need to build wider berths, automate cargo handling and storage facilities and invest in bigger cranes, the industry players told a cargo-handling conference in Singapore.
An estimated 80 percent of global trade is carried by sea. Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa (
"The size of the vessels is increasing, yet ports ... have been struggling over recent years to cope," International Association of Ports and Harbors secretary-general Satoshi Inoue said.
"Already, we are experiencing serious congestion in major ports in the world, particularly in the United States and Northern Europe," he told the conference on Wednesday organized by the International Cargo Handling Coordinating Association (ICHCA).
"In 10 years' time, the world's ports need to more than double their capacity in handling if they are to play a central role in the global logistics system," he said.
This means having to turn around much bigger ships, including vessels being planned to carry up to 14,500 20-foot container boxes -- more than double the size of current sixth-generation ships with capacities of between 6,000 and 7,000 boxes.
By 2010, the number of "post-Panamax" ships -- modern vessels that are too big to pass through the Panama Canal -- would number 682, nearly double the current fleet of 391, ICHCA International Ltd director Peter Bosmans said.
He said the biggest container ship currently in service can carry 9,200 20-foot equivalent units.
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
RSS