By Mike Wackett

(The Loadstar) – According to the most recent information collated by Dynaliners, there are 37 ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) of over 18,000 teu in operation, with a staggering 72 extra of those mega-ULCVs on order for supply by 2020.

Including vessels nonetheless to be obtained, Dynaliners notes that Maersk Line will proceed to move the ULCV league desk with 31 vessels of 18,000 teu or over, adopted by the newly-merged China Lines at 22 and MSC in third spot with 20.

With the exception of Asia to the US west coast, the place CMA CGM is the one provider to date to deploy 18,000 teu ships, the 100-plus mega-vessels shall be restricted to working between ports in Asia and Europe.

Already challenged by the present fleet of ULCVs, container ports might want to up their recreation once more to deal with the ships that shall be launched into Asia-Europe loops over the following few years.

Speaking on the Global Liner Shipping Conference in London final week, APM Terminals chief govt Kim Fejfer outlined the challenges dealing with port operators from the brand new breed of mega-containership. He stated the necessity for change within the port sector “has been more pronounced in the past two years than in the past twenty”.

“A decade ago, a large terminal with 900 metres of quay could handle three or more vessels simultaneously,” stated Mr Fejfer, “but now, with vessels of 400 metres in length, the same terminal, even with reinforced quayside, larger STS [ship-to-shore] cranes and deeper depth, can only accommodate two ultra-large vessels at once to handle the same number of container moves.”

He argued that the potential 50% leap in container exchanges from dealing with 13,000 teu ULCVs to the most important 20,000 teu behemoths meant “considerably less flexibility for container terminals”.

“Now there is a need for more yard space, larger gates and more manning to handle the volume peaks in the terminal infrastructure. These result in additional costs to the terminal operator which the shipping lines are not ready to pay,” he stated.

Elsewhere, the controversy on mega-ships continues. In his newest weblog, Economies of scale; a defunct delivery mannequin?, OECD ports and delivery analyst Olaf Merk questions whether or not anyone – carriers, shippers or ports – is definitely benefiting from the introduction of the ULCVs.

He notes that just about each ocean provider has ordered the mega-ships to faucet into the ‘economies of scale’ paradigm, however believes this has fuelled fleet overcapacity and depressed freight charges.

“There is not enough cargo, so container ships sail half-empty and lose money,” stated Mr Merk. “So much for their projected cost savings.”

Accepting that shippers are ‘happy’ with low charges, Mr Merk notes that they’ve “traditionally spread risk by using different ships, different lines and different ports”.

“They could now find their cargo on one mega-ship, operated by one mega-alliance, calling at just a few mega-ports,” he cautions including that this is able to be a “very risky cocktail” for shippers, with a delay or at worst an accident inflicting “mega-consequences”.

Noting additionally that mega-ships “can only be profitable if they are handled very quickly at ports”, Mr Merk is in settlement with the APMT govt in that container ports face “huge challenges” from the mega-ships bringing cargo peaks “that lower the return on investment”.

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