6. ASIA PACIFIC 

MAERSK ASKED TO ‘COME CLEAN’ ON NZ PORTS

Maersk has come under fire after its New Zealand managing director apparently said that its choice of New Zealand port calls could come down to "the toss of a coin" in a response to a media question.  The mayor of the largest South Island city of Christchurch told Radio New Zealand, “They've removed about a billion dollars of value from Auckland and Tauranga ports as they have played one port off against another”.  He added, ‘'I think New Zealand is in a potentially disastrous situation where we will be at the beck and call of a few companies”. Maersk is being urged by MUNZ, politicians and others to ‘come clean’, finish its review and confirm urgently the outcome on affected ports.  Reports suggest that the shipping line would cut calls to five ports, two primary ports, either Lyttelton or Port Chalmers, and three secondary ports. Maersk carries 40% New Zealand’s container traffic following its takeover of P&O Nedlloyd, and its decision will have serious impacts.  

INDIA REFUSES HUTCHISON ON SECURITY GROUNDS

Lloyds List reported at the end of August that India’s cabinet committee for internal security has denied Hutchison Port Holdings security clearance and barred it from applying to run container terminals in its major ports.  Hutchison had bid to operate the proposed Mumbai offshore terminal, the second container terminal in Chennai with local engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, and had expressed interest in bidding for the fourth container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru port, next door to Mumbai.  The Indian government apparently does not want companies seen as being close to the Chinese government to run sensitive facilities. The government also recently invited expressions of interest for the development of a deep sea port in West Bengal.  It is reported that national security considerations would be relevant in the shortlisting process.  A local company, ABG Heavy Industries was recently handed control of Kandla container terminal.  The bid had initially been won by P&O in 2002 but the Kandla Port Trust went back on its decision on competition grounds and a new tender was floated.

DP WORLD CONTINUES EXPANSION IN ASIA PACIFIC REGION

DP World has signed an agreement with the Port Qasim Authority to invest in a new container terminal near Karachi, Pakistan on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis.  This would be the second container terminal at Port Qasim.  DPW World is already the majority shareholder in the 3 berth Qasim International Container Terminal which it acquired when it bought P&O.  DP World is also bidding for Pakistan’s Gwadar port concession where it faces competition from Hutchison and Singapore’s PSA.  In south east Asia, the company has started to construct the joint venture Saigon Premier Container Terminal close to Vietnam’s industrial heartland of Ho Chi Minh City. 

HUTCHISON DENIES UNDER-PERFORMANCE IN JAKARTA

Hutchison has denied that its terminal in Jakarta is under-performing following indications by the Indonesian transport minister that the government was considering buying back shares in foreign-operated terminals that had not showed sufficient growth.  The company said that it was committed to developing JICT into a world-class container-handling facility and the country’s national hub port, and clarified that it wasn’t aware of the government’s plan to buy back shares.  According to the Transport Ministry, 80% of Indonesia’s imports go through Singapore or Malaysia, resulting in losses of over US$2Bn to the economy.

7.  EUROPE

APMT BACKS ROTTERDAM’S MAASVLAKTE II AND SELLS 50% INTEREST IN EUROMAX

APM Terminals has become the first big customer in Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte II development by signing the first concession for a container terminal with the port authority.  The deal, which is awaiting board approval by AP Moeller-Maersk, would give APMT the lease on 167ha of land and a potential handling capacity of 4.5m teu.  However, AP Moller-Maersk has sold its 50% shareholding in Rotterdam’s Euromax terminal to ECT which is owned by Hutchison.  Euromax is under construction and due to be operational in 2008.  It is unclear whether there was any link between the two.

HUTCHISON OPENS GYDNIA TERMINAL

Hutchison’s container terminal in Gydnia, Poland has started its cargo handling operations.  ICTSI’s Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) is also in Gydnia.  Some commentators believe that the small increase in BCT’s traffic of 6% in 2005 suggests that overland transport from Western and Central Europe is still the dominant force.

HUTCHISON TO RUN NEW BARCELONA TERMINAL

The Barcelona port authority has awarded Terminal Catalunya, an existing Hutchison operation in Barcelona, a 30 year concession to build and operate the Prat Pier container terminal.  Hutchison sees Barcelona as its key port in Southern Europe.  Since winning the concession, the company  has reportedly said that its trade imports from Asia would be concentrated in fewer Mediterranean ports once the Prat terminal becomes operational in 2008.

DP WORLD’S COSTANZA TERMINAL SEES MASSIVE GROWTH

Costanza South Container Terminal (CSCT) handled over 581,000 teu in 2005, 450% more than the previous year which was its first year of operation.  The terminal is thought to be on course to handle 860,000 teu in 2006.  CSCT serves the Romanian market and also acts as a transhipment centre for most other countries around the Black Sea.  68% of its activity in 2005 was transhipment.  In the first four months of 2006, this figure had risen to 77%. DP World is making further investments in the terminal in an effort to achieve a handling capacity of 1m teu a year.

THE ROLE OF STATE PORTS IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

A report commissioned by the Irish Ports Association has found that the country’s 11 state commercial seaports are significant contributors to the Irish economy and that 2/3 of exporters believe the investment in port infrastructure should be addressed in the government’s national development plan.  The report by Indecon International Economic Consultants provided an independent analysis of ports’ economic contribution, income, spending generated and employment levels.   It concluded that the net economic impact from the presence and operation of these ports was an estimated €5.5bn (US$7bn).  They also supported about 57,500 full time workers across the economy.

AARHUS ASPIRES TO BE BALTIC-FAR EAST SERVICES HUB

Aarhus, Denmark is working to promote itself as a major hub for services between the Baltic Sea and the Far East.  The port’s management believes that it can offer minimum savings of between US$7 to US$10 per container unit for feeder costs between the Baltic and the Far East.  They argue that these savings, and avoiding the Kiel Canal, more than balance the cost of sailing to Aarhus.  Aarhus has two terminals handling 500,000 teu a year.  A new post-panamax terminal under construction will be completed in mid-2007.  K-line, Samskip and UniFeeder are among those understood to have committed to shifting their operations to this new site.  Marketed as AAR.HUB, the port will come up against larger competitors such as Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Bremerhaven for the transhipped containers to and from the Baltic Sea rim.  The port also has expansion plans that will see it doubling in size.

CMA CGM LOOKING FOR BIGGER SHARE OF TERMINAL MARKET

CMA CGM is reported to be redoubling its efforts to move up into the top league of container terminal operators.  It’s senior VP for container logistics has declared that the company is looking to establish an extensive global network within a couple of years in order to secure competitive operations.  Speaking to a French press agency in China, another CMA CGM official revealed that the group is trying to move into the Chinese terminal sector.

COBELFRET TO TAKE OVER UK PORT COMPANY

Belgian carrier Cobelfret is due to acquire the Simon Group, a UK port company which owns and operates two facilities in the UK - the Humber Sea Terminal (HST) ro-ro facility at Killingholme, and a facility at Port Sutton Bridge in the Wash.  Simon Group’s board of directors are reported to have recommended the offer to its shareholders.

Port Industry Update is available in a number of languages on the ITF website: http://www.itfglobal.org/ports/bulletin.cfm

PIU contact: Sharon James, Dockers’ Assistant Secretary (james_sharon@itf.org.uk; tel: +44 2079409310; fax: +44 2079409275).