Cargo volumes at the troubled Ba Ria-Vung Tau port system in Vietnam reached 50.36 million tons in 2013, hitting the port’s target for the year but still failing to make a dent on its persistent problem of under-utilization.
Compared to 2012, the volume of containerized imports and exports rose slightly, with dry goods movement increasing by 7 percent, local media reported.
On the other hand, transshipped cargo tonnage continued to decline, down to 15.27 million tons from 16.67 million tons in 2012.
The Department of Transport said the maritime, port, and related support services sectors had to deal with a domestic manufacturing slump last year that saw only 12 percent to 15 percent of the capacity of the port complex utilized.
On the other hand, the Port of Shanghai in China, the world’s busiest container port, recorded a 9.8 percent hike in throughput in February year-over-year.
The port processed about 2.2 million TEUs (20-foot-equivalent units) of containers in the month, up from 2.01 million TEUs recorded in the same month of 2012.
Throughput slowed month-on-month, however, to 26.4 percent as a consequence of the Lunar New Year holiday break.
The port’s performance in the first two months of the year totaled 5.2 million TEUs, 5.5 percent higher than in the corresponding period last year.
Meanwhile, APM Terminals handled 36.3 million TEUs across its global terminal network in 2013, an increase of 3 percent as operations continued to expand into underserved and high-growth markets.
In a statement the company said it spent US$6.1 billion on seven new terminals projects and on the expansion and upgrade of 16 operating facilities last year.
Major portfolio activities for the group in 2013 included the opening of the Brasil Terminal Portuário at the Port of Santos, Brazil, which has a 1.2 million-TEU annual capacity, and the acquisition of Russian terminal operator NCC Group.
New terminal project agreements finalized in 2013 included a new deep-water terminal near Izmir, Turkey, with a 1.5-million-TEU annual capacity, and a second container terminal at the Port of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with an annual throughput capacity of 2 million TEUs.
