TAIWAN: Intra-Asia operator Wan Hai Lines is set to take over the lease and operations of the No. 5 terminal in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port, swapping places with fellow Taiwanese operator Evergreen Marine Corporation, which is moving to the No. 7 terminal from 2022.

Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC), the government-owned company that runs Taiwan’s ports, announced that Wan Hai will take over from Evergreen in operating Kaohsiung’s terminal 5, which has three berths. Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s busiest container port.

Wan Hai said that with the company having more berths and container yards at its disposal, the company expects to transport more containers through Kaohsiung. Currently, Wan Hai ships around 1 million TEU through Kaohsiung, and this could go up to 1.8 million TEU when it takes over the terminal 5.

TIPC’s deputy general manager, Chen Shao-liang, said that the first phase (two and half berths) of the five-berth No. 7 terminal is on track for completion in 2022, with the other berths to be completed in 2023. Thereafter, Evergreen will move its Kaohsiung container handling from the terminal 5 to the new facility.

Evergreen Marine is taking more large container ships into its fleet, with deliveries of two 24,000TEU vessels and twentyeight 12,000TEU ships from 2020 to 2021. Moving its container handling activities to Kaohsiung’s terminal 7 is in line with the company’s strategy to operate more large vessels.

Chen said that Wan Hai, which has operated a dedicated terminal in Kaohsiung since 1987, currently operates Kaohsiung’s No. 2 terminal, which has two berths and a yard area of 21 hectares. In comparison, the three-berth No. 5 terminal has a 41-hectare yard area.

Chen added that TIPC is examining how Kaohsiung port can be reconfigured to improve its operations.