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12/12/12

Asian ports falling behind Europe

A senior shipping executive says that Hong Kong - as well as other Asian ports - are falling behind their European counterparts in productivity terms.

Nicolas Sartini, group senior vice-president of Asia-Europe lines at French container line CMA CGM, said some European ports were 50 per cent more efficient at loading and unloading containers than those in Asia.

Sartini, who was in Hong Kong for the maiden call of the world's largest container ship, CMA CGM Marco Polo, said some Asian ports needed to "wake up and catch up with Europe".

Speaking on the bridge of the 16,020-teu (20-foot equivalent unit) ship, Sartini said Europe had traditionally been behind Asia in several areas, but he added: "Today, we get better productivity in Europe than Asia."

He explained that two European ports, Le Havre, where the line has its own terminal, and Hamburg, were capable of 150 container moves an hour whereas some Asian ports could only achieve 100 moves an hour.

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