There is no doubt that ports around the world are facing challenges accommodating mega-container ships that are becoming bigger in size. It is also the case with major cruise ports in the world that are adjusting to accommodate mega-cruise ships whose sizes are also increasing because of a booming international cruise business.
The following is an excerpt of my presentation at the Minister’s Roundtable meeting on “Mega-ships and their Impact on Port Development and Safety,” OECD’s International Transport Forum (ITF), which was held in Leipzig, Germany, last May. The meeting was attended by the ministers of transport from France, Norway and Malta, vice ministers from other countries and the industry representatives, including the European Shippers’ Council and the International Chamber of Shipping. From my standpoint, it was quite significant that the OECD convened a meeting focused on port issues for the first time in their history.
In my presentation, I pointed out some challenges ports face to accommodate mega-ships. Ports need to develop deep and large container terminals with sufficient infrastructure such as deep approach channels, which require a lot of resources and sometimes financial support from the public sector.
Port operational efficiency needs to improve because mega-ships call at specific ports less frequently, but with a larger amount of containers loaded/unloaded for a call. A Port Community System is necessary to smoothly transact port and import-export procedures. And ports need to develop efficient hinterland connections in collaboration with other landside authorities.
Finally, ports also may need to develop a contingency plan for possible accidents of mega-ships because the intensity of accidents would be much larger and the recovery efforts would require much more time and resources.
Susumu Naruse, Secretary General, International Association of Ports and Harbors