GAC to Look After Maersk Boxships in Hong Kong

zoom The world’s largest container shipping company, Maersk Line, has appointed GAC to provide husbandry services for its vessels calling at Hong Kong. Under the two-year contract, which commenced on July 1, GAC will handle more than 1,000 calls by Maersk Line and MCC vessels per year at all ports and terminals in Hong Kong. We chose GAC to handle our husbandry requirements in Hong Kong based on its established track record in ship agency, marine and crew transportation in South China, as well as our shared corporate ethos of delivering on promises of performance, said Danny Chen, Director Procurement, Far East Asia Liner Operations Cluster of Maersk Line (China). Hong Kong ranked as the world’s fourth largest container port with a throughput of 22.3 million TEUs in 2014. In 2015, however, container throughput year-on-year declined, dropping by double digits in March 2015. The port’s handling capacity has been impacted by a number of factors, including greater deployment of mega container vessels, a substantial rise in river barge traffic, as these are favoured over inland transportation for the movement of cargo containers, and the port’s increasing reliance on international transshipments. Nonetheless, GAC Hong Kong’s Managing Director Thomas Okbo is optimistic that container throughput will rebound and that Hong Kong will see a moderate growth in the near future. Hong Kong will continue to be one of the world’s thriving container ports, Okbo said. With enhanced port handling capacity, I expect the throughput to turn around, which will in turn boost the demand for our shipping services.