Red Sea crisis boosts Colombo port business to record high

Monday, 29 January 2024 01:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Container handling soars 14% to record 631,617 TEUs in December; First 25 days of January volume up 27.5% to 554,651 TEUs

The crisis surrounding the Red Sea has propelled the Colombo port to post positive growth with record handling since November.

The eruption of the Israel-Palestine clashes on 7 October and the tensions spilling over to select parts of the region including attacks on cargo ships has had a positive impact on the Colombo port.

In November, transshipment traffic at the Colombo port saw an 8% negative growth year on year, and 2.8% negative growth in overall volume.

However, both turned positive in December. The total throughput jumped by 14% or 77,727 TEUs to a record 631,617 TEUs. The SLPA terminals saw 24% to 188,750 TEUs.

From January to November 2023 the total number of containers handled remained flat at 6.3 million as against the corresponding period the previous year.

However, the surge in December saw the Colombo port ending 2023 at 6.94 million TEUs, thereby enjoying a 1.17% growth over 2022. Growth in 2023 was driven by transshipment as handling of domestic import and export boxes was down by 6% in the first 11 months.

The spike in demand for the Colombo port has spilled on to January as well. In the first 25 days of January the total throughput rose by 27.5% to 554,651 TEUs. The SLPA terminals saw their volume jump by 70% to 193,524 TEUs.

Given the surge in activity, Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva visited the Colombo port yesterday.

The Ministry confirmed that due to the current crisis in the Red Sea in the Middle East, the number of cargo vessels arriving at the port of Colombo has increased resulting in an increase of the container operation capacity.

During the visit the Minister gave instructions to the officers to carry out the ship operations effectively and efficiently. He expressed gratitude to the management, executive officers, employees and trade union representatives for their support to make this process a success.