June 03, Colombo (LNW): The Colombo Port in April experienced a deceleration in its transshipment volume growth, shifting to single-digit figures after four consecutive months of double-digit expansion, a report by Daily Mirror disclosed.
This slowdown was influenced by disruptions in the Red Sea attributed to Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
During the month, transshipment volumes at the port increased by 8.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY), amounting to 525,936 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). This marks the lowest growth rate observed since November of the previous year.
However, the overall container throughput at the Port of Colombo saw a 10.2 per cent YoY growth, reaching 626,926 TEUs, primarily driven by escalating imports.
Import container (laden) volumes surged by 22.7 per cent YoY to 36,457 TEUs in April, while export container (laden) volumes also experienced a rise of 6.6 per cent YoY, totaling 21,816 TEUs.
Conversely, restowing volumes at the port recorded a substantial increase of 60.9 per cent YoY, reaching 19,957 TEUs during the month.
The Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), the port’s sole fully operational deep container terminal, managed to handle 268,513 TEUs throughout the year, marking a 7.8 per cent increase from the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) managed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, along with its partially operational East Container Terminal (ECT), jointly handled 184,286 TEUs in April, reflecting a 3 per cent YoY growth.
Furthermore, container volumes processed by the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) notably increased by 23.5 per cent YoY, reaching 174,130 TEUs during the month.
April witnessed 312 vessel calls at the Port of Colombo, a decrease from the 345 vessels reported in the corresponding period of the previous year.
These calls included 276 container cargo ships, five conventional vessels, and 16 other cargo ships.
