Down market may delays APM plans in Bristol
Global terminal operator APM Terminals is said to be eyeing a stake in the British port of Bristol, a move that would be the company's first entry into the United Kingdom.
Officials with the Bristol Port Co., a private entity that manages the port, told the Financial Times that talks between BPC and APM — the terminal operating arm of A.P. Moller – Maersk — have been ongoing for a year.
The aim would be to develop a 1.5 million-TEU capacity terminal, one that would be able to handle about 20 percent of the United Kingdom's current throughput.
However, a kink in the plans could be provided by the contracting container market, as well as two other box terminal projects under construction — in Felixstowe and on the Thames River near London.
'Klaus Sejling, APM Terminals’ vice president for global business development, confirmed discussions had taken place, but said the main issue was timing,' the report said.
'Now is not the best time to talk about a major infrastructure investment in the U.K.,” he told the newspaper.
“It’s in very early stages of study as we evaluate the overall U.K. market,” said Tom Boyd, director of global communications for APM, told AmericanShipper.com.