Maersk Line, CSAV to join TOC Americas panel debate on Latin American port productivity
Leading ocean carriers Maersk Line and CSAV will take part in the 14th TOC Americas Conference and Exhibition that will be held in Cartagena, Colombia, 14-16 October 2014. The conference participants will address the key issue: how to enhance container terminal productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the event organizer TOC Events Worldwide's press release said.
Among the panelists in the debate are Karlien Brolsma, General Manager Procurement, Maersk Line Central America and Boris Leyton, VP Operations & Logistics WCSA, of deepsea carrier Compañía Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV).
Terminal productivity is under the spotlight as larger container vessels are deployed on all markets and trades. Shippers and carriers are looking to terminals for faster, more reliable turnaround times in order to ensure supply chain integrity. On Day two of TOC Americas 2014, a panel of experts from lines, engineers and terminals will discuss how the growing stresses of ship size vs. port capabilities can be reconciled in the debate Latin American Terminal Productivity & the Supply Chain Impact. It seems that Latin America will outpace the world average in terms of economic growth over the next five years. In container shipping the impact of this is already evident, with vessel tonnage cascading faster than expected.
Earlier this year at TOC Europe in London, Ocean Shipping Consultants noted that Latin America has seen the fastest increase in vessel cascading of all secondary deep sea markets, with average vessel size climbing from 3,000TEU to 8,000TEU in just four years to 2014. That is a heavy lift for the region's terminals to accommodate. Moreover, on certain east and west coast South America trades 9,000-plus TEU vessels are already being deployed.
Ms. Brolsma noted that terminals in the LAC region have advanced significantly in recent years. “Several large terminals are catching up with the productivity levels seen in Asia and Europe. However, there are still a number that are in need of significant improvement in terms of customer service, responsiveness to market demand, and asset and productivity improvement”.
Boris Leyton added that despite these varying levels of performance efforts aimed at raising productivity could still be concentrated in three particular areas: “Firstly, port infrastructure. Resources should be devoted to deeper drafts, and improving cranes, container storage and handling areas. Secondly, logistics areas close to ports need upgrading. Finally, more electronic data interchange systems are called for to make the whole shipping process paperless.”
Both executives stress that it is not just about investment in hardware and systems. At the end of the day collaboration between terminals and carriers could also do much to speed up handling and reduce turnaround times.
Karlien Brolsma believes the session will be a good opportunity to discuss the views of Maersk Line and contribute to a vitally important debate. Another key issue that Ms. Brolsma wants to discuss at greater length is ‘pay for performance’.
Taking place at the Cartagena de Indias Convention Center (CCCI), TOC Americas includes the TOC Container Supply Chain conference, Cold Chain conference track on perishable and refrigerated trade and TECH TOC container terminal operations forum. The TOC Americas exhibition running alongside showcases the latest in port services, equipment and technology solutions.
About Maersk Line
Maersk Line, a shipping division of A.P. Moller - Maersk Group, is a global leading liner shipping company. The Maersk Line fleet comprises more than 500 vessels and a number of containers corresponding to over 1,900,000 TEUs.
About CSAV
Chile based Compañía Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV) founded in 1872 is one of the oldest shipping companies in the world and, currently, one of the largest in Latin America. CSAV specializes primarily in container shipping, but also provides transportation services for liquid and solid bulk cargoes, refrigerated cargo and cars. CSAV operates more than 30 liner and feeder services around the world. The Corporation has commercial presence in over 80 countries, generating more than 90% of its total income through its own agencies.
TOC Events Worldwide
Terminal Operations Conference and Exhibition (TOC) Worldwide provides the market-leading conference and exhibition forums for the global port and terminal industries and their customers. With the new name TOC Container Supply Chain the event takes place each year in the world’s four key shipping hubs – Europe, Middle East, Americas and Asia, bringing together cargo owners, logistics providers, carriers, ports, terminals and other key members of the container supply chain to learn, debate, network and foster new business solutions.
Next Level Information
London, UK headquartered Next Level Information Ltd. is a communications agency focused on the global freight transport and logistics industries. NLI specializes in Marketing communications strategy and execution, Public and media relations, Conference production and event management.
