Singapore shipping and logistics group Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) today (June 29) opened its new terminal at the Port of Qingdao in East China’s Shandong province with the arrival of its container vessel APL Dubai.
Originally expected to open in the second half of 2011, the joint venture container terminal opened for business well ahead of schedule, NOL said.
“We are happy that we can commence operations earlier than planned and we thank our partners for making this possible,” said Kenneth Glenn, APL president for North Asia, in a statement. “This dedicated facility will provide great value to our customers’ supply chains through improved schedule reliability, higher service levels and access to terminal capacity.”
NOL, together with SITC International Holdings Company, a China-based shipping logistics company, formed a partnership with Qingdao Qianwan United Container Terminal (QQCTU) in May 2011 to operate the terminal.
NOL said the terminal will primarily serve vessels operated by its container shipping arm APL and SITC.
The inaugural call at the terminal was made today by the APL Dubai, a 6,574-TEU vessel on APL’s West Asia Express service.
APL makes more than 200 port calls annually at Qingdao, linking the city and Shandong province, as well as its neighboring provinces, to international markets through APL’s global shipping network. The terminal has an annual capacity of 1.5m TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
“This container terminal shows that APL is here for the long run. We are committed to Qingdao’s long-term growth and the development of North China’s economy,” added Mr Glenn.
Qingdao, on the Yellow Sea coast, is China’s fifth-largest container port and the largest in the North.
The container terminal is equipped with efficient handling equipment including seven post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes as well as 16 rail-mounted yard gantry cranes.
Apart from the container terminal in Qingdao, APL also operates marine terminals at Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Kobe and Yokohama, Japan; and in the US – Los Angeles and Oakland, California; Seattle, Washington; and Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
NOL also has investments in terminals in Vietnam and Thailand, and in Rotterdam World Gateway, the first container terminal of the Maasvlakte 2 port development in Rotterdam, currently under construction.
