Suez box terminal grows 11% in 2009

Suez box terminal grows 11% in 2009    The Suez Canal Container Terminal saw volume rise 11 percent in 2009, even as the number of ships transiting the canal dropped 20 percent.
   SCCT, operated APM Terminals, has grown its share of eastern Mediterranean transshipment while also taking gaining share in the domestic Egyptian market. It handled 2.7 million TEUs in 2009, after growing 34 percent from 2007 to 2008.
   The terminal handles services from CKYH carriers COSCO Container Lines, 'K' Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin Shipping, as well as CMA CGM and Maersk Line, which like APM is a division of the A.P. Moller – Maersk group.
   A planned rail link to the greater Cairo area is expected to boost local cargo traffic through the terminal, which sits at the mouth of the canal on the Mediterranean side in Port Said. Also expected to help volume is the fact that the Suez Canal Authority said it will freeze toll levels for the second consecutive year.
   The terminal is also being expanded to an eventual capacity of 5.4 million TEUs. Draft along the berths was deepened from 13.9 meters to 14.5 meters last year, and APM will receive 24 super-post-Panamax cranes by the end of the expansion, which is scheduled for completion in 2012.