Hongkong International Terminals News

Hongkong International Terminals Limited, Modern Terminals Limited, COSCO-HIT Terminals (Hong Kong) Limited, and Asia Container Terminals Limited jointly announced the formation of the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance (The Seaport Alliance).The joint operating agreement designed to deliver more efficient service offerings to carriers that call Hong Kong, while enhancing the overall competitiveness of the Port of Hong Kong across the region.The Seaport Alliance will offer a total of 23 berths and the planning for which is conducted by an Operations Coordination Team using a common terminal operating system.“The formation of the Seaport Alliance will further enhance efficiencies…

Hongkong International Terminals Limited (HIT), COSCO-HIT Terminals (Hong Kong) Limited (CHT), and Asia Container Terminals Limited (ACT) have entered into a formal collaboration for the co-management and operation of 16 berths across Terminals 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 at Kwai Tsing, New Territories, Hong Kong. The revenue and expenses from the management and operation of the facilities of the Combined Terminals will be allocated among the parties by reference to the respective designed capacity of the facilities owned by each party. In a confident response to the changing dynamics of the global shipping industry, which are reflected by the emergence of new strategic alliances between shipping lines…

A Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd vessel is finishing unloading in California and scheduled to leave port on Monday, shipping industry officials said, as shareholders and executives associated with the South Korean firm pledged funds to help resolve the turmoil created by its collapse. The Hanjin Greece docked in Long Beach on Saturday after a U.S. bankruptcy court granted it protection and terminal operators agreed to take it. Truck drivers probably will begin moving containers from the Greece on Monday while the vessel prepares to leave late in the day for the Port of Oakland, said Teamsters spokeswoman Barbara Maynard and shipping traffic controllers.

The Hong Kong Dockers Union has threatened industrial action - that may involve a strike - if operators continue to ignore their demand for a 8.5-percent wage increase this year. The union is an affiliate of the Confederation of Trade Unions and made their demands known at the start of the month. The union seeks dialogue with contractors if they want to avoid a repeat of the strike that rocked the Kwai Tsing container terminals for 40 days in 2013. But there's been no response from operators. An organising secretary with the Union, Wong Yu-loy, said they're seeking talks with management first but will step up their action if there's no response. The 2013 strike ended when dockworkers working at Hongkong International Terminals agreed on a 9.8% pay increase.

Estimates by the Port Development Council show container volumes through the 9 Kwai Tsing container ports fell 5.9 per cent in March. While the month-long dockers strike is costing Hongkong International Terminals a reported HK$5 million a day, the actual cost of the dispute is costing the maritime and logistics industry much more as ships and cargo are diverted to other ports, reports the South China Morning Post. Citing the Hong Kong Liner Shipping Association, the South China Morning Post adds that shipping lines and logistics firms have also been hit with extra costs as ships burn extra fuel while waiting to berth and vessels and cargo are diverted to other ports…

Dock-worker unions at strike-bound Kwai Chung container port to meet with two contractors under Labour Deptartment's mediation. The breakthrough comes as a strike by workers at the port threatens to enter a third week; however, port operator Hongkong International Terminals, says it will only sit in on the meetings, according to a report on the RTHK News web site. First the unions organising the strike, led by the pro-democracy Confederation of Trade Unions, will meet two contractors in the morning, with HIT sitting in attendance. Then, in the afternoon, unions which are not in dispute with the employers, led by the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Labour Unions, will meet the employers' side. Source: Radio Television Hong Kong