PoRtS


Complementary growth T


Singapore well placed to benefit from growing intra-Asia trade


he port of Singapore can benefit from China's economic growth through its offering as a major transshipment hub in the region, according to Singapore's


flagship port operator PSA International. China's growth propelled its Shanghai port to


overtake Singapore for the first time last year in container throughput volumes,where the former registered 29.1m teu and the latter 28.4m teu. “Given China's position as the largest manufacturing base in the world, Shanghai's performance in 2010 was not unexpected,” a PSA corporate spokesman tells Seatrade. Analysts have long predicted that Shanghai


would eventually overtake Singapore due to its more even mix of import/export and transhipment cargoes. Singapore, on the other hand, relies heavily on transhipment. With Singapore's position as an integrator of


high quality maritime services and connectivity, PSA seeks to continue supporting Singapore's development as an international maritime centre and as a hub port. In 2010, PSA SingaporeTerminals handled


27.68m teu of containers, a 10.1% increase over the previous year. The port operator said it will continue to invest


in quality and timely port infrastructure, technology and equipment.“Our challenge is to find innovative ways to maximise our asset potential, improve productivity and enhance our value to customers,” the spokesman says.“We also work closely with the Singapore PortWorkers Union and the Port Officers' Union to ensure that our employees are well-trained, and stay relevant to the ever-evolving industry landscape,” he adds. PSA's Pasir PanjangTerminal (PPT) phases one


and two are currently in operation,while it is working closely with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and other government agencies on the development of PPT phases three


and four. The operator expressed confidence in offering


fast, flexible and reliable services to its customers. PSA SingaporeTerminals is connected to 600 ports worldwide and its container berths are capable of handling the newest fleet of super post-panamax vessels and beyond. The PSA spokesman also said that Singapore is


well-placed geographically to benefit from the growth in intra-Asia trade flows and transhipment cargoes,which have been rising steadily in the past few years. PSA International is at present the world's


second biggest container terminal operator, behind Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings.The Singapore-based operator has operations in 28 ports in 16 countries with a global capacity of 111m teu over 66 km of quay lengths. In its global container throughput handling volumes, PSA last year achieved 14.4% year-on- year growth to record 65.12m teus. It attributed the rise in volumes to the recovery and newly commissioned terminals in South Korea's Busan port, India's Chennai port andVietnam'sVungTau port. The handling volume growth allowed PSA to


register net profit of S$1.18bn last year, up from S$976m in 2009 while revenue also rose 6.3% to S$4.1bn. Looking ahead, PSA is staying prepared for any


unforeseen challenges and to seize any opportunities that come along, according to Fock SiewWah, group chairman of PSA International. “Some analysts and economists have high


expectations for 2011, believing that global economic recovery is now on a solid foundation,” Fock said in an earlier PSA statement. “I hope they are right though I continue to be


bothered by the lingering economic problems in the developed countries and the unfolding of a slowdown in China.”


JurongportcountSon tecHnology


Jurong Port is relying heavily on technology to enhance its operational efficiency. InApril 2010, it re-engineered and


transformed its general and bulk cargo operations by creating a new integrated operations management system that leverages on information and mobile technologies. It is hoped that the revamp will allow the berths to achieve higher utilisation rates, shorten turnaround time for ships and


increase overall efficiency for a port call. Jurong Port has also launched a container


terminal management system to improve efficiency and productivity by leveraging on information and engineering technologies to automate operations processes. On the operations side, it will commission


two units of level luffing cranes in late-2011 to enhance its bulk cargo handling capacity. The port operator is also developing an


additional cement terminal facility in the second-half of 2011, scheduled for completion in 2014.The new terminal is expected to boost its annual cement handling volumes by about 60% from the existing 3.8m tonnes. Jurong Port moved marginally higher


container volumes last year at 747,600 teu compared to 724,393 teu in 2009. Its general and bulk cargo volumes also improved to 14.8m tonnes last year, up from 13.5m tonnes in 2009.


Seatrade Singapore Report 2011 19


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