Technical Report No. 8 PORT AND SHIPPING

II-4-14
Vietnam National Transport Strategy Study (VITRANSS)
Technical Report No. 8
Shipping and Ports
sea route. If the volume of collected containers is enough to justify using a
larger container vessel, a shipping line tends to avoid costly transshipment
services. On the other hand, if the volume of containers is not enough to
justify direct shipping between specific ports on a long sea route, a shipping
line tends to choose transshipment services. In case of a short sea route,
there is no significant difference between an economical main-line vessel and
a feeder vessel. Hence, on a short sea route, a shipping line tends to choose
multiple calling services using moderate-size main-line vessels to avoid costly
transshipment, regardless of transport volume.
Hong Kong, Jebel Ali, Colombo, Mediterranean ports, etc. are major
transshipment ports on the Asian-European container route. An increasing
trend in container cargo in Hong Kong is rather different from that of
Singapore because of the developments of ports in Shenzhen City. Jebel Ali
and Colombo ports are competing with Khor Fakkan and Fujaila for container
cargoes to/from India-Pakistan feeder ports. In the Mediterranean Sea,
Damietta, Malta, Gioia Tauro, and Algeciras are major transshipment ports,
where transshipment ratios are higher than 50%. Generally, maritime
transport business is fiercely competitive, hence shipping liners are used to
changing port calls based on contract conditions. If a port has a disadvantage
such as deviation from international container route, it provides compensation
to port users for their additional time and energy. Therefore, the decision to
invest in a transshipment port must be made carefully.
Traffic characteristics
Long Distance Short Distance
Less Volume Large Volume
Figure 4.4.1
Transshipment Trend by Distance and Volume
1.00
0.90
0.80
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
Low (Direct) High
Transshipment Level