DP World has announced that it expects to add approximately three million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of new container handling capacity to its global network by the end of 2023 – which will take its total gross capacity to 93.6 million TEUs.
In a statement issued today (15 August), DP World said that key expansions set to be completed this year include projects at Caucedo in the Dominican Republic; Yarimca in Türkiye; Sokhna in Egypt and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
DP World is also set to commence operations at Indonesia’s 600,000 TEU Belawan New Container Terminal (BNCT) in North Sumatra by the end of the year and it is looking to increase BNCT’s capacity to 1.4 million TEUs. In February, the group won a concession to develop, operate and maintain the Tuna-Tekra mega-container terminal at Deendayal port on the western coast of India. Once completed, the terminal will be able to handle 2.19 million TEUs a year.
DP World said that the capacity expansion plans ‘come at a vital time with inflation, increased cost of living and geopolitical uncertainties causing concern about global trade and fuelling demand for faster, more resilient supply chain solutions’.
Despite the concerns, the company also noted that Drewry has forecasted that global container throughput will grow to 932 million TEU by 2025, up from 858 million TEU in 2021.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, commented: ‘We are committed to investing in our infrastructure to meet the growing demand for trade. These capacity additions will further strengthen our position as a leading global supply chain solutions provider connecting economies, businesses and consumers around the world.’
Tiemen Meester, COO Ports & Terminals, DP World, added: ‘We have to take a longer-term view of global economics, looking at how demand will change and how we can meet it in the most efficient way. Our medium-term target is to reach 100 million TEU a year, subject to demand.’
In other boxship-related news, BIMCO reported on Thursday (10 August) that ‘a new record high ship deliveries of 1.2 million TEU in 2023 ’ was boosting the global container fleet. As recycling of ships remains low, BIMCO added, the fleet capacity has grown 4.3% since January.
BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst Niels Rasmussen commented: ‘The order book is in fact so large that ship deliveries are expected to exceed the previous full-year record of 1.7 million TEU three years in a row. Based on current estimated delivery dates, a total of 2.4, 2.9, and 1.9 million TEU are expected to be delivered in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively.
‘Recycling of ships is also expected to increase in the coming years. More energy efficient ships will replace less efficient ones as owners aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
‘Despite recycling of older ships,’ Rasmussen continued, ‘the fleet is still expected to grow by approximately 4.5 million TEU between early 2023 and early 2025, increasing the fleet capacity by nearly 18%.’
Rasmussen added a cautionary note that doesn’t quite chime with DP World’s expansionist, longer-term view: ‘The increase in fleet capacity comes at a time when current trade growth in many key regions is declining and global economy growth prospects for the coming years are weakening.’
