Container ships of the future will not only be larger than existing vessels, but they will take less navigation time on their routes, moving more goods and connecting the continents in less time, according to the maritime bulletin No. 49 of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The advent of large container ships of the future is near, it says. Their larger size and higher storage capacities will require not only port infrastructures to be larger, but also will require more organized and efficient logistics that these new ships will require.
The global and regional economic growth observed in recent decades has created the need for more ships and larger sizes, which are strategic considerations in planning services and port and allied activities, details the newsletter.
ECLAC estimates that the larger vessels, currently averaging 13,000 TEUs, could reach the South American coast between 2016 and 2020. “These results are interesting to warn of the need for an effective medium-term planning of the port and logistics industry, that will help to avoid potential bottlenecks, and maximize the benefits and impacts on the regional economy,” says the publication.
In reaching this conclusion, ECLAC considered various models used as explanatory variables of the global maximum ship size, maritime trade, global economic activity, the gap between the time that ships move internationally and reach the coasts of the region and the specific features of the east and west coasts.