Who can stand out from the three giant container transshipment ports?
Although the global consolidation boom has ebbed, the shipping companies have not relaxed their bets on some regional markets. For example, after the announcement of the breakup of the 2M alliance, the adjustment of MSC's route layout has been significantly tilted. First, the service scope of SENTOSA route has been expanded, and then the DRAGON route connecting Asia to the Mediterranean Sea has been restarted. Among them, the SENTOSA route, which originally connected the West and the United States to some hub ports in China and Southeast Asia, now covers South Asia.
The route is easy to arrive, but the port infrastructure is not a day's work. For example, India is suffering from the lack of port hardware. 75% of transshipment goods are handled by foreign ports, and the trade efficiency is low. Therefore, emerging economies in South-East Asia and South Asia want to take the lead. In addition to supporting their own exports, new transit ports will also attract regional sources of goods. In recent years, three new large-scale transit port plans have emerged.
SENTOSA航线图示，三个红圈表示新的转运港选址
The first is the Can Gio international container transshipment port in Vietnam. The Can Gio port is located 10 kilometers southwest of Cai Mep in Vung Tau, Pakistan. It is in the same channel with the Gai Mep port. The water depth condition is superior. It shares a river with the main international routes (for example, the TP6 of 2M Alliance and the SENTOSA route of MSC are currently linked to the Gai Mep port).
Vietnam National Shipping Corporation (VIMC) proposed that Saigon Port Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of VIMC, cooperate with MSC to implement the investment and operation project of the international container transit port in Chin Yee County, Ho Chi Minh City. This port will focus on international transit goods, with only 20% of the goods concentrated in the domestic market of Vietnam. The total investment of the project may be as high as US $6 billion. It is estimated that the terminal covers an area of about 570 hectares, with a coastline of 7.2 kilometers, and can receive the largest tonnage container ships in the world, involving a throughput of about 10-15 million TEUs. The project is expected to start in 2024, the first phase will be put into operation in 2027, and the final phase will be completed and put into operation in 2040.
Second, the central government of India recently issued a letter of intent on developing a huge international container transshipment port in Great Nicobar Island to attract transshipment goods from neighboring ports and Indian ports. As shown in Figure 1, the island is 40 nautical miles away from the main international trade routes, and not far from Singapore Port, Port of Palang, Port of Tanjung Palapas and Colombo, and has a natural water depth of more than 20 meters.
The international container transshipment port of Greater Nicoba is expected to invest US $5 billion, including government investment and private enterprise investment through PPP concession agreement. The proposed port infrastructure matches the world's top container transshipment port, with a final throughput capacity of more than 16 million TEUs, and more than 4 million TEUs after the completion of the first phase of the project. The first phase of the project includes a 400m-wide channel, a 2.3-kilometer-long wharf shoreline (7 berths in total), and a container yard covering an area of 125 hectares, which is planned to be put into operation in 2028.
Third, Vizhinjam Port, located at the southern end of the Indian Peninsula, aims to become the first giant international container transshipment port in India. Following the landlord port model, the government of Kerala, India, set up Vizhinjam International Seaport Co., Ltd. to develop the port. Later, in the PPP concession bidding, the local Indian port giant Adani Port Group finally became the only winner.
Vizhinjam Port is less than 10 nautical miles from the main international routes, and the water depth is 20-24 meters less than one kilometer from the seaside. In the initial design, the project is planned to develop a container terminal shoreline of 2000 meters in three phases, and the first phase is 800 meters long. At the beginning of the design, it was required to match the largest container ship (18000TEU) in the world at that time (in 2012). After the third phase of the project was put into operation, there were about 30 berths, the port throughput capacity reached 4.1 million TEUs, and the transshipment cargo volume reached 2 million TEUs per year. However, after the times have changed, Adani Port Group has readjusted part of its planning. It is expected that the large-scale use of automation technology will be able to handle huge container ships. The throughput capacity of Phase I will be 1 million TEUs, and 6.2 million TEUs will be added in the future. After several disputes with local residents delayed the construction period, the first phase of Vizhinjam Port is expected to be completed in 2023
These three ports are still in the blueprint or in the embryonic form, with superior geographical advantages and natural conditions, but the targeted markets are somewhat overlapping, and there are already many hub ports or transshipment ports in the region to carve up the market. Who can stand out?
At present, the top five transshipment ports in the world are all located in Asia. The ports of Singapore, Tanjung Parapas and Klang in Southeast Asia are ranked first, third and fourth respectively, and these three ports are located near the Strait of Malacca, which is the only way for the main international east-west trunk lines. It is difficult for other ports in Southeast Asia and South Asia to grab food from these three giants.
The advantage of Can Gio Port is that it has MSC routes and the economic rise of Vietnam and other economies in the region. Compared with 2019, Vietnam's exports to the United States have increased by 56%. Other countries on the Indo-China Peninsula, such as Thailand and Cambodia, have also grown rapidly. The demand for transshipment ports has naturally risen. However, the biggest rival of Can Gio Port is the Gaimei Port, which is separated by a river. Maersk, Dafei, Wanhai Shipping, Mitsui and other shipping companies all have joint ventures in the port. According to Vietnam's overall plan for the development of the port system from 2021-2030 and Vision to 2050, the Gaimei - Schway International Port Group in Batitungton Province will become one of the key ports in the country, as well as a regional and international transit port. Although the proportion of transshipment goods at Gaimei Port is low at present, it has taken the lead compared with Can Gio Port, which has not yet laid the foundation.
The international container transshipment port of Greater Nicoba wants to obtain goods from the Indian peninsula and other nearby ports. Compared with 2019, India's exports to the United States have increased by 42%, and Bangladesh has also increased by 52%. At present, nearly 75% of India's transshipment goods are handled by foreign ports, of which 85% are handled by Colombo Port, Singapore Port and Klang Port, and 45% are handled by Colombo Port. Compared with Singapore and Malaysia, the island of Greater Nicoba is closer to the mainland of India, but it is too far from Colombo Port. Its geographical location is somewhat awkward. It is more suitable to undertake and develop ship-related industries, warehousing, refueling and other ship-related businesses than to compete for container transit business.
Vizhinjam Port is the most competitive with Colombo Port. The port is located in India and can connect local Indian enterprises through railway, highway and even air transportation. It can also serve ports on the east and west coasts of India through feeder ships. Adani Port Group, which operates the port, has port layout on the east and west coasts of India, and also has investment in Colombo Port to facilitate linkage, Compared with the international container transshipment port of Greater Nicoba or Colombo, it can better serve the entire Indian peninsula directly.
The author believes that these three giant transshipment ports have unique advantages. When they join the existing competition for transshipment goods in Southeast Asia and South Asia, they need not worry about the source of goods. Just as the Pearl River Delta has provided several super ports, the booming Southeast Asia has the ability to become a major container cargo town in the future. In the standardized international container transport industry, the reason why Singapore Port, as well as the ports of Klang and Tanjung Parapas, which have been catching up, can establish their own identity and brand advantages is really inseparable from services and special economic policies. The more open, the more goods there will be.
