MEGA SHIPS may be good for container lines, but they are not so good for shippers, ports or truckers, said Freight Transport Association (FTA) policy director Chris Welsh.
Sharing gains of mega ships with shippers, truckers, liners, port operators MEGA SHIPS may be good for container lines, but they are not so good for shippers, ports or truckers, said Freight Transport Association (FTA) policy director Chris Welsh. Speaking at the FTA session at Multimodal 2016, Mr Welsh said: "The mega vessels reduce unit costs for shipping lines, but overall supply chain costs are increasing." One trucker said mega vessels created massive peaks in demand and then quiet periods, putting pressure on resources and adding costs, reported Lloyd's Loading List. But Maersk Line's European liner chief Amdi Krogh countered that the mega ships had helped increase efficiency and drive down costs for shippers. At the same time, he agreed that "we need to have dialogue with the entire supply chain". DP World London Gateway CEO Cameron Thorpe said the benefit of mega ships is not realised unless the loading and unloading of containers is also more efficient. Mr Thorpe also said some terminal operators had not invested enough to handle mega ships. "Many ports have cranes that are wide enough, but not high enough to handle the largest ships," he said. But Peel Ports commercial director Patrick Walters asked "if carriers had lost sight of the end user". Mr Walters explained that most shippers are part of a very fragmented cargo base so have to rely on forwarders and that "this morass of forwarding companies means visibility is totally obscured. He also said that many port operators had invested millions in the infrastructure needed to handle the largest ships, but had little return on investment. He questioned whether this was sustainable. The FTA's Mr Welsh said the issue of transshipment was also a concern for many shippers as it increased the possibility of damaged or lost containers, as well as adding three to seven days to the delivery time. Maersk's Mr Krogh said that his company had 600 vessels and only 20 were considered mega ships, with the line understanding very well that different trades needed different vessels. "But we operate in a very low margin business whether we like it or not, so lower costs through mega vessels helps facilitate world trade," he said.
