One of the most talked about subjects in the port and shipping industries is how the introduction of giant container ships, of now rumored up to 24,000-TEU capacity under consideration, is transforming the way we operate our facilities, and the industry’s overall business model.
While the oceans are effectively limitless, ports and terminals are very finite, and no matter how large a ship is, at some point it will have to tie up alongside a pier to be unloaded and loaded. New ship designs are regularly stretched, pulled and widened to accommodate the economics of lower fixed costs per container transported. Apparently, these modifications are a relatively easy process, in the blueprints, and in the shipyards, and that’s fine.
Existing terminals, particularly those located near major cities in what are referred to as “economically mature” markets, however, simply do not have the luxury of easily creating extra space to stage and store containers in the scale required by simultaneous vessel calls of ultra-large container ships.
The solution to the issue of larger vessels and static terminal space is to be realized through higher productivity and advanced operational capabilities. That is the only solution. With the new wider locks of the Panama Canal scheduled to be completed in 2015, “Panamax” vessel size will more than double to 13,000-TEU capacity, bringing a whole new class of vessels to the North American trade lanes. In June 2014, the 13,000-TEU capacity Cosco Development called at the APM Terminals Los Angeles Pier 400 facility, and became the largest container ship to call at the Port of Los Angeles.
This next phase has already started, and we as an industry need to be ready. Together with port labor, new technology, including automation, and more crane moves per hour, we can succeed.
Jeff de Best, Chief Operating Officer, APM Terminals