Asia told to up security, investment as shipping trade grows

Asia told to up security, investment as shipping trade grows

Eileen Ng
Agence France-Presse/Kuala Lumpur

Asia's shipping trade is expected to grow sharply led by China
and India, but the region must enhance security and invest some
US$27 billion to build over 430 new container berths by 2011 to
meet rising demand, shippers and analysts said Monday.

China's booming economy and its emergence as the world's
second top container market will boost intra-regional trade,
rather than threaten the growth of other Asian ports, they said
at a two-day maritime conference here.

The Malaysian Maritime Institute president Jaffar Lamri said
Asia remained the dominant player in the global shipping
industry, with its container trade projected to grow at an annual
average rate of seven percent between 2000 and 2007.

Eleven Asian ports are already among the world's top 20 ports,
and contributed 46 percent of the world's total container boxes
of 20-foot-equivalent-units (TEUs) throughput, he said.

By 2011, he said Asia was expected to handle 206.7 million
TEUs, including 64 million in transshipment and this required
large port investments to cope with the growth.

"Over 430 new container berths are required in Asia-Pacific
region to handle container traffic in 2011, at an estimated cost
of $27 billion," Jaffar told the forum.

He said China was emerging as the world's second largest
container market in line with its economic boom and growing trade
with the United States, while India was a "sleeping Bengal tiger"
that would be a major player if it awakens.

"China and India are leading the industry but I think smaller
countries are developing their own niche markets. I don't think
China's growth will be a threat to the region. Volume is growing
and the industry is big enough for everybody," he said, adding
that Indonesia and Thailand have strong growth potential.

Worldwide, he said container traffic was projected to grow
from 87.1 million TEUs last year to 94.4 million this year and to
104 million in 2005. By 2010, it is expected to hit 400-460
million TEUs and 510-610 million in 2015.

Ashwin Pavan, regional commercial general manager for shipping
giant Maersk Sealand International, said China was an important
market for shippers and Maersk has positioned a large fleet in
the country to tap the boom.

"I don't see China as a threat to Southeast Asia but its
growth will help to boost intra-regional trade," he told AFP on
the sidelines of the conference.

Maersk views Thailand and Vietnam as high growth markets but
Indonesia's potential is dampened by its weak security
enforcement, he said.

"Security is a big concern and has been underplayed by
shippers. There is a slowly growing awareness among regional
governments on the need to improve security but it is still not
where it is supposed to be," he said.

Earlier, Malaysia's Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy, in his
keynote address, said the government was committed to anti-
terrorist measures for ports and vessels imposed by the
International Maritime Organization.

He said 84 out of 86 Malaysian ports and 358 Malaysian ships
engaged in international trade have complied with the
International Ship and Port Facility Security code, and plans
were underway to establish a single port authority and tighten
shipping regulations next year.