‘Containers here to stay’
Shipping goods in containers is on the increase throughout the world, according to the manager of Lyttelton’s container terminal, Mr P. G. Morgan. • Mr Morgan recently returned from a fact-finding trip to overseas ports, as well as attending the fifth World Container Terminal Operators' conference at the
world’s largest port, Rotterdam.
“Containers are here to stay and on the increase, because the customer wants them,” he said.
His experience overseas emphasised two points which could be applied to. Lyttelton’s container terminal.
The first was to keep the terminal as flexible as possible to cater better for the shipping companies using its equipment. It was not good enough to expect companies to use the terminal’s equipment “just because they were there.” Terminal machinery had to relate directly to the companies’ needs, he said. Another point was to keep the equipment at Lyttelton as simple as possible. Mr Morgan said some very sophisticated equipment was now used at the world's larger ports. Some of this was “unnecessary sophistication” which brought its own problems, such as the need to employ highly qualified personnel to maintain it.
In some overseas' ports computer technology played a large role and this had to
be run by skilled personnel. Much of the conference discussion was about management techniques and container terminal finance. Mr Morgan said. Most terminals in Europe, which were run by private operators or port authorities, were about. 12 years old. This meant terminal operators would soon have to reinvest heavily in equipment. An interesting aspect of
the conference for Mr Morgan was a lecture on how shipping companies planned the future design of their vessels. ?. ’ Ship design affected every port because the authorities had to provide berths and machinery to work the vessels. Lack of liaison between the designers and authorities could result in ships that could not be worked at some ports because of shape or size.
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Press, 4 June 1982, Page 4
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318‘Containers here to stay’ Press, 4 June 1982, Page 4
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