By PATRICK BEJA
A global ports organisation has called on maritime nations to embrace deeper and greener seaports.
International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) wants ports to prepare for bigger ships being commissioned and urgently turn the facilities green to address challenges posed by climate change.
As Kenya pushes for the development of Lamu as a deeper seaport, IAPH president Francis Ndua sees such facilities as urgent, as bigger or new Panamax vessels are being commissioned for world trade.
Mr Ndua, who is also the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) acting managing director was speaking at the Pianc 32nd international congress and 125th anniversary celebrations in Liverpool, UK, last Monday.
Pianc is an international organisation that addresses issues of floating crafts, sea routes and channels, and collaborates with IAPH.
Ndua was elected IAPH president about a year ago and holds the position for two years.
The commissioning of container vessel, MSC Paloma, with a capacity of 14,000 teus (twenty foot equivalent units) has made the need for development of deeper seaports more urgent.
Ndua says such vessels can create serious port congestion in smaller terminals. "The level of investment embodied in the craft places a huge challenge to most ports in that consolidation of such loads will be time consuming, and delivery out of the port challenging unless the port was a major transhipment hub," Ndua says.
Economic sense
The modern generation vessels are motivated by economies of scale and can hull a consignment of over 14,000 teus, making economic sense when calling into a few ports.
"To make a business case, it would only be feasible for the vessel to call into ports that can manage the minimum pay load that the vessel should lift and deliver, but more importantly the combined volume of exports and imports, the more balanced they are, the better," Ndua says.
Such sixth to seventh generation vessels are usually hit hardest by recession, when many ships are laid off due to lack of adequate cargo.
According to Ndua, the biggest challenge is the number of ports that may need to be avoided because of low equipment and limited load factors where they have to displace a horde of smaller vessels.
Ndua urged ports to invest in bigger equipment, including infrastructure, to accommodate such vessels. The developments have been witnessed in Liverpool, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Cape Town among other countries.
"These vessels are cellular. They therefore require specialised cargo handling equipment, which some ports may be struggling to get. At any rate because of their big size, port operators are forced to turn the vessel sideways to be able to complete the ship," he observes.
The coming of larger vessels, he noted, called for sustainable renovation as most ports shift from old to new sites downstream to deeper waters. Ndua, however, told ports to take advantage of the slack in container trade caused by effects of recession to refine, redevelop and implement their long-term plans.
"This is because on the eve of recession, ports were globally overwhelmed by container volumes leading to heavy congestion in most ports," he argues.
On global warning, the IAPH chief noted that ports be equipped with hybrid equipment, procure equipment that can accommodate low levels of sulphur, provide for on-shore power supply instead of modifications later, enhance use of natural lighting and streamline traffic flow to reduce unnecessary idling.
"We need more ports to embrace the in-progress programme that is aimed at various components of the World Ports Climate Initiative championed by the IAPH Group on Port Security, Safety and Environment," he says.
Ndua noted that the 55-member ports are signed the World Port Climate Change Initiative, which was done in July 2008 in Rotterdam.
Source: The Standard | Online Edition
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