Colombo port November transshipment volumes decline

• Records 7.4% decline amid disruptions caused by COVID-19 second wave
• Transshipments in first 11 months down 2.3%YoY to 5.17mn TEUs
• Overall container handling declines 4.5% to 6.29 TEUs

The transshipment container volumes at the Port of Colombo slumped in November as the port’s operation faced disruptions due to the second wave of COVID-19 in the country, leading to congestion at the container terminals.
Accordingly, the container transshipment volumes declined by 7.4 percent YoY to 394,737 TEUs in November, after recovering to pre-pandemic levels in July, the Central Bank (CB) data showed. 

The container throughput at the port’s deep-water terminal, Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT), declined by 11.5 percent YoY to 206,000 TEUs in the month. Consequently, the overall container handling at the Port of Colombo, including domestic container handling, fell by 9.2 percent TEUs to 491,836 TEUs in November. 

Last week, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman General (Retd.) Daya Ratnayake said the operations of the port returned to normalcy by early part of December.  Meanwhile, the container transshipment volumes in the 11-month period declined by 2.3 percent YoY to 5.17 million TEUs.

The overall container handling at the port stood at 6.29 million TEUs during the 11-month period, recording a decline of 4.5 percent YoY.

CICT was the largest contributor by handling 2.625 million TEUs despite recording a decline of 0.1 percent YoY in the period. SLPA officials project the container throughput at Port of Colombo to come close to 7 million TEUs at end of this year, down from 7.2 million TEUs in 2019. (NF)