Transshipment Operations at the Port of Colombo Exceed 82% of Its Total Traffic

Transshipment operations exceeded 82% of total traffic at Sri Lanka's Port of Colombo, with transshipment volume rising 7.8% year-on-year in August, according to the "TZB News" platform.

Turnaround times exceeded six days at several terminals in the port, as a portion of shipping traffic was diverted away from Middle Eastern hubs due to the US-Iranian war. Hapag-Lloyd indicated waiting times extending from two to three days and yard density exceeding 130% across all terminals.

Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka and Vizhinjam Port in India are absorbing part of the diverted volume. C.H. Robinson pointed out that feeder vessel timing, equipment availability, and whether mainline vessels actually berth in Colombo determine the actual available capacity.

Diverting traffic to regional ports leads to additional pressure on their infrastructure and turnaround times, which translates into higher freight costs on the India-US route. The growth in transshipment traffic indicates that the port is gradually turning into a major hub for lines rerouting away from tension points. Operators are following these ports as they have become an intermediate link in trade lanes connecting Asia, Europe, and the Gulf.

What do these terms mean?

Transshipment: Unloading a container at an intermediate port and subsequently transporting it on another vessel to its final destination. Port capacity: The volume a port can handle and the number of ships it can receive. Feeder vessels: Smaller ships that transport containers between nearby ports and a main port. Yard density: The occupancy rate of storage space inside the port. Turnaround time: The duration a vessel takes from its arrival until the completion of its unloading and loading.