AUSTRALIA's second biggest box port, Sydney's Port Botany, handled more boxes in the last calendar year than in 2017 - but those boxes arrived and departed on fewer, although larger, container ships.
Container throughput at the port increased by 4.7 per cent in 2018 compared to 2017, analysis of newly released data revealed. This growth figure includes empty, full, import and export boxes. The port handled over 2.65 million TEU last year compared to just over 2.5 million TEU in 2017.
There was a boost in throughput for both export and import boxes. Port Botany handled just over 1.31 million export TEU in 2018, which is a 4.4 per cent increase and represents an extra 50,000 TEU, compared to the 2017 figure of 1.27 million export TEU.
On the import side, Botany handled 63,000 TEU or so more last year than the year before. There were 1.34 million TEU of imported boxes, which was a 5.0 per cent increase on the 1.27 million TEU recorded in 2017.
In total, the port handled just over 822,836 TEU of empties (import and export boxes combined) last year.
On ship calls, Port Botany experienced a marked decline in port calls from smaller container vessels and a massive increase in calls by larger vessels. Overall, there were 1,119 box ships that called at Botany in 2018, about 23 fewer or 2.0 per cent less, than the year before.
Ships with a container-carrying capacity up to 3,999 TEU made 388 calls at Port Botany last year, down 16 per cent on the 2017 figure of 463 ship calls. Other decliners included ships in the 5,000-5,999 TEU carrying capacity range (340 port calls last year which is 19 fewer, or a 5.3 per cent decrease from 2017).
Vessels in the 7,000-7,999 TEU container-carrying range were down by 17 per cent, but this was only two ships fewer last year compared to the year before. There were 10 ships of this container carrying capacity that called at Port Botany in 2018.
There was a small four per cent increase in port calls by vessels in the 4,000-4,999 TEU range, up from 248 calls in 2017 to 258 in 2018. However, it was the volume of larger ships that increased dramatically. Vessels in the 6,000-6,999 range generated a 76.3 per cent increase in the volume of calls. There were 59 calls by vessels in this container-carrying size in 2017 and 104 in 2018. That's an extra 45 ships.
Meanwhile, in 2017, only one ship in the 8,000-plus TEU size range called at Botany but, in the last calendar year, 19 did so, according to New York's FreightWaves.
WORLD SHIPPING
Container throughput at the port increased by 4.7 per cent in 2018 compared to 2017, analysis of newly released data revealed. This growth figure includes empty, full, import and export boxes. The port handled over 2.65 million TEU last year compared to just over 2.5 million TEU in 2017.
There was a boost in throughput for both export and import boxes. Port Botany handled just over 1.31 million export TEU in 2018, which is a 4.4 per cent increase and represents an extra 50,000 TEU, compared to the 2017 figure of 1.27 million export TEU.
On the import side, Botany handled 63,000 TEU or so more last year than the year before. There were 1.34 million TEU of imported boxes, which was a 5.0 per cent increase on the 1.27 million TEU recorded in 2017.
In total, the port handled just over 822,836 TEU of empties (import and export boxes combined) last year.
On ship calls, Port Botany experienced a marked decline in port calls from smaller container vessels and a massive increase in calls by larger vessels. Overall, there were 1,119 box ships that called at Botany in 2018, about 23 fewer or 2.0 per cent less, than the year before.
Ships with a container-carrying capacity up to 3,999 TEU made 388 calls at Port Botany last year, down 16 per cent on the 2017 figure of 463 ship calls. Other decliners included ships in the 5,000-5,999 TEU carrying capacity range (340 port calls last year which is 19 fewer, or a 5.3 per cent decrease from 2017).
Vessels in the 7,000-7,999 TEU container-carrying range were down by 17 per cent, but this was only two ships fewer last year compared to the year before. There were 10 ships of this container carrying capacity that called at Port Botany in 2018.
There was a small four per cent increase in port calls by vessels in the 4,000-4,999 TEU range, up from 248 calls in 2017 to 258 in 2018. However, it was the volume of larger ships that increased dramatically. Vessels in the 6,000-6,999 range generated a 76.3 per cent increase in the volume of calls. There were 59 calls by vessels in this container-carrying size in 2017 and 104 in 2018. That's an extra 45 ships.
Meanwhile, in 2017, only one ship in the 8,000-plus TEU size range called at Botany but, in the last calendar year, 19 did so, according to New York's FreightWaves.
WORLD SHIPPING