SRI LANKA: COLOMBO PORT STRUGGLING TO KEEP ITS DOMINANCE IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001134 SIPDIS SENSITIVE, SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/INS AND EEB/TRA/OTP STATE PASS USTR FOR ADINA ADLER COMMERCE FOR JONATHAN STONE MCC FOR S. GROFF, D. TETER, D. NASSIRY AND E. BURKE TREASURY FOR LESLIE HULL E.O 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV ETRD EWWT CE REF: 06 COLOMBO 2114 SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: COLOMBO PORT STRUGGLING TO KEEP ITS DOMINANCE IN SOUTH ASIA ¶1. SUMMARY: Due to congestion, low productivity, increasing freight rates, and security concerns caused by the conflict, global shipping lines have begun bypassing Sri Lanka in favor of India's emerging ports. In the last six months, shipping costs from Colombo have nearly doubled to $600 per TEU and four major global shipping lines -- Maersk, Hanjin, Norasia, and United Arab Shipping Company -- have diverted services to India. Exporters, whose price- and time-competitiveness depend on the Colombo port's transshipment hub status, are getting worried. Shipping lines that have long valued Sri Lanka's location and formerly low-cost operations are also concerned. As 95% of Sri Lanka's external trade is seaborne, the Colombo port's declining competitiveness will also adversely affect the island's attractiveness for manufacturing investment. Port officials are aware of the challenges and believe they can meet them with a planned port expansion. However Sri Lanka cannot afford further delays in this major project, inefficiency caused by security concerns, or loss of container traffic to competition from Indian ports. End summary. ¶2. (U) The port of Colombo serves as the region's primary maritime transshipment hub due to its geographical position in the Indian Ocean's East-West navigation lanes. Today it is rated as one of the top 35 ports in the world. It currently handles 3.1 million containers per year, the largest volume in the subcontinent, and is near capacity. Of this, 75 percent are transshipments bound primarily from India and Southeast Asia to Europe and the Mediterranean. In the first quarter of this year, the port's local export volume increased 5 percent and transshipment growth by 10-15 percent. PORT EXPANSION PLANNED, BUT DELAYS LOOM -------------- ¶3. (U) The port of Colombo is comprised of two terminals. The Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) is government-owned and operated, while the South Asian Gateway Terminal (SAGT) is privately owned by a consortium of local and global shipping, commerce and finance firms. To maintain its status as a leading transshipment hub, the port is undergoing a $700 million expansion that will triple capacity to accommodate around 12 million TEUs (standard 20-foot equivalent unit/container) each year, enabling it to become the logistical gateway to the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. The Asian Development Bank is financing the project's $300 million dollar breakwater. The Colombo Port Expansion Project began in late 2006 and is targeted for a 2010 completion (reftel). ¶4. (SBU) Shipping lines, however, are skeptical that the new "South Port" will be completed on time due to delays in construction. The existing port infrastructure has not been sufficiently upgraded to keep up with the increase in volume and has resulted in lower container-handling efficiency and increase in operational costs. These are prompting shipping lines to change their routes to directly call in India instead. With more productive and less costly ports such as Mumbai and Chennai developing in India, Sri Lankan exporters are worried that Colombo is losing its status as a major shipping entrepot and its niche in the global market. ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES SLOW PRODUCTIVITY -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In the last six months, four major global shipping lines -- Maersk, Hanjin, Norasia, and United Arab Shipping Company -- have diverted services to India. American President Line and OOCL will join the exodus in the coming weeks, according to the country manager of a major shipping line. The port's congestion is a result of low efficiency, inadequate infrastructure, and the closure of one of its two entrances. In October 2006, the Sri Lankan Navy closed the northern entrance to protect the inner harbor from attacks by the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Chairman of the Ports Authority, Saliya Wickramasuriya, told Econoff that this move decreased total port productivity by 33 percent. Overall, Colombo's COLOMBO 00001134 002 OF 003 current berth productivity -- its ability to move a certain number of containers per hour -- is around 50. The privately-owned SAGT moves 27-30 containers per hour, while the JCT moves 15-18 per hour. As the $155 port tariff per TEU is the same for both terminals, shipping lines prefer to establish contracts with SAGT, depending on time compatibility with their vessels' routes. Both terminals are subject to increased police checks of vehicles and container inspections which significantly slow the container turn-around time. By comparison, Chennai's berth productivity is 130, and Singapore's is 100. INCREASED COSTS CAUSE RIFT BETWEEN LOCAL EXPORTERS AND SHIPPING LINES -------------- ¶6. (U) In the past six months, shipping costs from Colombo have nearly doubled to $600 per TEU. Local exporters believe that shipping lines are unnecessarily upping the freight rates. The logistical manager for Sri Lanka's Joint Apparel Association Forum told Econoff that the local manufacturing industry cannot compete with China and Vietnam if the shipping lines "arbitrarily" tack on "unwarranted" charges in an "untransparent" manner. ¶7. (U) Shipping lines counter that overall costs have increased throughout the region and that Sri Lanka's freight rates are still comparatively low -- almost 50 percent cheaper than in China. Shipping lines also contend that increased port operational costs in Colombo are cutting into their profit margins and must be recovered by raising the previously-low freight rates. For example, since the March and April 2007 Tamil Tiger aerial attacks, many shipping lines have to pay "war risk" surcharges on commodity shipments. Rising local salaries and the worldwide rise in fuel prices have also contributed to the higher freight charges. Delays getting into the Colombo port are also costly, according to the country rep of a major shipping line; small vessels often must wait one or two days outside the port, with a cost of $20,000 to $30,000 a day. Thus shipping companies are finding it more profitable to fill up their vessels with Chinese cargo, rather than incur high port costs in Sri Lanka while carrying cargo at cheaper rates. LESS AND LESS CONTAINER SPACE FOR SRI LANKAN EXPORTS -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Maersk country director told Econoff that many shipping lines predict that container volume at the Colombo port will level off in two years, if not decline. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of import containers increased by only 1 percent and exports by 5 percent. With the European market demanding more goods from China, and China's exporters willing to pay higher freight rates, cargo vessels from East Asia heading west are almost full before they stop in Colombo, leaving little space for Sri Lanka's exports. Today, there is a shortage of 650 TEUs a week for the Colombo-Europe sector. Further, more shipping lines are now focusing on UK-India trade, in which India's container volume is ten times higher than Sri Lanka's. Direct services from India obviate the need for Indian cargo to be transshipped through the Colombo port, which can save around $100 a TEU for the shippers. As a result of these developments, a rep from Sri Lanka's Joint Apparel Association Forum told Econoff, Sri Lankan exporters have access to 15 to 20 percent less space in incoming container vessels than they did a year ago -- further pushing up freight prices. COMPETING AGAINST INDIA -------------- ¶9. (U) With productivity three times faster and operational costs ten to fifteen percent cheaper than Colombo's, Mumbai and Chennai are quickly gaining Colombo's customers. India's private sector is pushing to modernize its ports to provide higher quality shipping services than Colombo's. Trade volume between China and India is surging, and within the next four years India expects 18 percent growth in cargo volumes to Europe. Though Colombo currently handles 23 percent of Indian transshipment volume, more shipping lines are making direct calls to Indian ports. Sri Lankan exporters are COLOMBO 00001134 003 OF 003 worried that they will miss the opportunity to capitalize on India's rapid economic growth, especially if the Colombo South Port expansion drags on past 2010. ¶10. (SBU) In response, Sri Lanka's Secretary of Ports and Aviation, Tilak Collure, confidently told Econoff that these criticisms are "exaggerated" as shipping lines are always looking at other ports and that India provides "healthy competition" for Colombo. He asserted Colombo's geographical location gave it an inherent advantage over India's ports. Also, he contended, many exporters would prefer to use Colombo because of its participation in U.S. port security programs such Megaports and the Container Security Initiative. Further, the port is also attempting to speed the expansion process through various strategies such as adding more berths for feeder vessels to reduce congestion. Sounding less optimistic, the Chairman of the Ports Authority told Econoff that though Indian ports are not currently large enough to replace Colombo as transshipment hubs, they will be a major threat in five years if Colombo's own expansion plans are not fulfilled. ¶11. (SBU) COMMENT: India's rapid economic growth will be a huge boon to the Colombo port if the port can retain its transshipment hub status. However, if Colombo port fails to keep up with its Indian competitors, either due to lagging efficiency or delays in the South Port expansion, then its transshipment status could be jeopardized. The other major challenge for Sri Lanka is not letting the security situation impede port operations excessively. This is difficult, because preventive measures, like the closure of one entrance, harm efficiency, but a successful attack at the port would be even more damaging. At stake in all this are not only the significant revenue, jobs, and related business that derive from the transshipment business, but also the competitiveness of Sri Lankan exports, especially those of the critical garment sector. BLAKE