Kwangyang Needs to Cope with Mega Container Vessel Era

World-renowned port authorities seem to take pains in inviting ultra l
arge container ships to their ports.
Meanwhile, Kwangyang, a port in southwestern Korea, insisted that the
ir port plans to build berths for 50,000 ton vessels have to be revamp
ed for 100,000 ton vessels.
Lloyd's Register and Ocean Shipping Consultants reported that the tim
e is coming for mega-container vessels. Six thousand TEU vessels are n
ow operating and 8,000 TEU vessels, post-panamax are ordered. Malacama
x vessels, 18,000 TEU with 21 meter long single hulls are under consid
eration as to whether it is economical to handle such huge vessels.
Even though 12,500 TEU vessels have long detention times in harbor an
d are quite expensive with building costs of about $130 million, it is
true that these ultra large container ships (ULCS) save money. As the
se ships are deployed in Asia/Europe trade, operating costs are $100 m
illion a year lower. As many as 20 to 24 ULCSs are expected to appear
by 2008, and as many as 54 by 2012 with container trade on the rise.
There are few ports for ULCSs to call at right now; Yokohama in Japan
, Vancouver and Halifax in Canada are some examples of ports that con
handle ULCSs.