Kaohsiung Port in Taiwan May Drop to 12th in 2008 World Rankings

Taipei, Nov. 10, 2008 (CENS)--Due to the global economic slowdown and rivalry from mainland Chinese counterparts, the Kaohsiung Port in southern Taiwan may slide from its current eighth to 12th in world rankings this year, according to statistics from the Department of Aviation and Navigation under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

Kaohsiung Port was the world's third-largest container port in 2000, but has fallen to the sixth-largest globally in 2006, and slipping to No. 8 in 2007.

To retain its top ranking, the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau will in the short term set aside NT$600 million (US$18.18 million at US$1:NT$33) to buy 38.8 hectares owned by Tang En Iron Works Co. as a container storage site in response to requests from OOCL and Wan Hai Lines, and in the long term ask Yang Ming Marine to advance construction of the sixth container center to boost the port's container handling capacity.

M.H. Hsieh, director of the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau, predicts that six mainland Chinese ports, including Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Ningbo and Qingdao, will become world top-10 ports by the end of this year.

The Department of Aviation and Navigation said that the Kaohsiung Port saw container handling volume decline 0.04% year-on-year in the first eight months of this year, surpassed by mainland China's Guangzhou and Ningbo ports.

Many shipping firms have complained of the limited container-storage sites at the port, asking the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau to offer more.