Transshipment volumes at the Port of Colombo experienced a decline in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
For the first three months ending March 2025 (1Q25), transshipment volumes fell by 6.3 percent year-on-year (YoY), totalling 1.53 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), down from 1.64 million TEUs in 1Q 2024. This marks a stark contrast to the robust growth the port experienced during the first and latter parts of 2024, when it benefited from the diversions caused by the disruptions in the Red Sea.
The mainline shipping lines earlier this year pulled some of their services out of Colombo amidst heavy congestion, and those services were yet to return to the Port of Colombo. On a positive note, in March, transshipment volumes saw a smaller YoY drop of 3.3 percent compared to February’s steeper decline. However, transshipment volumes declined during all three months of this year.
The contribution of transshipment to the port’s overall container throughput also decreased, accounting for 79 percent in 1Q25, compared to 82 percent during the same period in 2024. Overall, the Port of Colombo handled a total container throughput of 1.94 million TEUs in 1Q25, representing 3.6 percent YoY decrease from the over 2 million TEUs handled in 1Q24.
Analysing terminal performance for the quarter, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA)-run Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), Unity Container Terminal (UCT), and East Container Terminal (ECT) collectively handled 620,229 TEUs, a five percent YoY decline. The Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) processed 807,557 TEUs, marking a 9.6 percent YoY decrease. In contrast, the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) saw a 9.2 percent YoY increase, handling 504,790 TEUs in 1Q25.
Meanwhile, the newly operationalised Adani-JKH managed West Container Terminal (WCT) handled 3,552 TEUs in the quarter. The fully automated terminal commenced its operations in late March 2025.
Total ship arrivals at the port saw a slight decrease in 1Q25, down 2.9 percent YoY to 998 vessels. Container ship arrivals dropped by 3.9 percent YoY during the quarter.
Meanwhile, analysts noted there are a lot of uncertainties and disruptions starting to arise in the shipping sector with the tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and constant changes. Some analysts view that volumes at CICT in particular are probably impacted by the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.
