The transshipment volumes started to decline in May this year and in June the port noted a decline of 5.1% year-on-year (YoY) to 516,742 TEUs. There was also a noticeable 20.1 percent YoY decline in the number of container ships calling at the Port of Colombo in June. Inter-terminal delays are being caused as the port yard has been operating beyond its full capacity. Earlier, the transshipment cargo, which was cleared out in a week, now faces delays up to 21 days.
The overall transshipment volumes grew by 9.6 percent YoY to 3.19 million TEUs in the first half of this year, driven by a double-digit growth recorded during the first four months of the year. In June, the overall container throughput at the Port of Colombo declined by 0.9 percent YoY to 634,854 TEUs. The import container (laden) volumes were up by 28.9 percent YoY to 44,609 TEUs, while the export container (laden) volumes were up by 4.5 percent YoY to 22,089 TEUs. The restowing volumes at the port jumped by 58.5 percent YoY to 21,908 TEUs in the month.
