Concerns raised over operational readiness of Colombo port’s new eastern terminal berth

Colombo, Jan. 23 (Daily Mirror) - The Colombo Port’s top management recently held a ceremonial opening for the third berth at the Eastern Container Terminal, but trade union representatives have expressed concerns about the terminal’s operational readiness.

According to unions, while the berths up to the Quay Wall area of 1,096 metres have been completed, the new yard remains under construction. This, they say, prevents the terminal from efficiently handling three ships at the same time. They also noted that the existing old yard lacks the capacity to support simultaneous operations of multiple vessels.

Although 12 ship-side cranes have been installed, only nine are currently operational.

The old yard has 12 rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, but with three routinely deployed for maintenance and repairs, only about nine cranes are available for daily operations.

Shipping experts point out that for efficient terminal operations, three yard cranes (RTGs) should support each ship-side crane (STS).

Attempting to operate three ships simultaneously could reduce the efficiency of all vessels.

Trade unions and shipping experts caution that while the opening ceremony was visually impressive, the terminal will not reach full operational capacity until the yard construction is completed and all cranes are fully functional.