Sri Lanka's New Deep Water Port and Tug-Barge Sailing

Photo: Larger vessels at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Investment from China made possible the new deepwater seaport at Colombo, Sri Lanka, that logistically lies on shipping routes that pass through the Suez Canal and also by Cape Town, South Africa. It is easily accessible from several Asian nations located around the Bay of Bengal and extending to Western Australia, for ships sailing to and from Europe via the Suez Canal. The port’s choice of location reflects that extensive research had been undertaken into transportation logistics and economics, enhancing future prospects for increased trade between several Asian nations and Brazil.

While big super-size container ships may call at the new deepwater port of Colombo, many smaller vessels that sail shorter voyages may carry containers to and from the new port and interline with the super carriers. The relatively shorter voyages sailed by the smaller interlining vessels has potential to influence the future choice of vessel technology that area carriers may choose to operate. Operators on the North American Great Lakes chose to remove engines and fuel supply from their vessels to increase payload capacity, some even having been converted from steam-powered ships to schooners to increase earnings.

During later years, some operators converted self-powered ships to tug-barges that tugs could push and navigate from the stern. The conversions involved modifying the stern to include a V-notch profile that matched the tugs’ bow profile and included various coupling bumpers designs for the tug and barge to steer as a rigid unit. One company from Massachusetts (USA) has successfully converted several ships to tug-barges capable of sailing in waves of 6-metres or between 12 and 20-feet. There is future potential for such technology to operate interline service between Colombo and several area ports.

Research Precedent:

The closest ports extend from around India and northeast to Bangladesh. The option to send containers via super carriers at Colombo offers more cost-competitive transportation service to Indian exporters and importers. Colombo’s port duplicates some logistics of the Port of New Orleans where oceanic carriers interline with barges that sail on the American inland waterway system. Research undertaken by Applied Economic professor, Dr Jerry Fruin at the University of Minnesota and also the Smart Barge group showed that a barge carrying 72-containers to be cost competitive against railway and trucks on the link between Baton Rouge and Pittsburgh.

The voyage between Baton Rouge and Pittsburgh also involved the barge having to transit through 21-navigation locks and pay a fee. Tug-barges built with ‘unrestricted’ ocean-capable hulls carry containers between the Port of New Orleans and Caribbean ports that include Kingston, Jamaica and extending as far as Port of Spain, Trinidad, the maximum viable/competitive sailing distance for tug-barges. Many of the ocean-capable barges are built to lengths of 400 to 450-feet, and widths (beams) of 50 to as much as 90-feet and can carry anywhere from 54 to 110 x 40-ft containers, or 108 to 220-TEU’s on a single level.

Gulfs of Mexico and of Bengal:

Transferring Gulf of Mexico tug-barge precedent on to the Bay of Bengal suggests that potentially cost-competitive tug-barge operation between Colombo and ports located in Southwestern Thailand, Western Malaysia extending as far as Singapore and Western Indonesia. These growing Asian economies may be able to send perhaps 100-or more containers per tug-barge to Colombo. A fleet of such tug-barges could regularly converge on the deepwater port at Colombo to interline with oceanic super carriers destined for ports around Europe and the Americas. Asian exporters and importers will gain access to cost-competitive international transportation services that will enhance local economies.

India’s growing economy is located on the Bay of Bengal and that economy has potential for future growth. The tug-barge precedent from the Gulf of Mexico and the Port of New Orleans suggests possible cost-competitive transportation rates for containers moving between the port of Colombo and a multitude of small ports around India, involving tug-barges. Easy access to such service offers potential benefit to a multitude of small and growing businesses located near such ports and that seek to engage in trade with overseas markets. However, India’s long established freight transportation industry may object and seek to protect their market.

Railways and Trucks:

They may propose to use ferries to move trains and trucks from southern India to the port of Colombo, courtesy of southern India and Sri Lanka sharing the same metre railway gauge. Most of Indian Railways uses a wider gauge and the transfer of containers between carriages that ride on different railway gauges would be quite uneconomic. While American railway carriages carry containers on 2-levels (double stacked), Indian Railways’ carriages carry 1-level of containers. While American authorities allow trucks to pull 2-trailers carrying containers, Indian trucks carry fewer containers each while traveling mainly along congested roads.

The opening of the deepwater port at Colombo offers a potentially new market niche to India’s railways and truck transportation industry, a market niche based on interlining with tug-barges that carry containers between multiple Indian ports and super carriers that stop at the port of Colombo. India’s government owned railway and port systems are both major employers and officials appear motivated to maintain those high employment levels. Elected, non-elected and labour union officials across India will need to be convinced that coastal tug-barges interlining with super ships at Colombo could benefit India’s future economy.

Tug-Barge Efficiency:

Most of India’s ports are shallow and compare with ports located along the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio Rivers. While the structural challenge of extending the length of ships requires an increase in ship vertical structure, the alternative option involves developing a barge train. Research is underway at the University of Michigan to develop a full-size coupled barge. Previous tests have been undertaken on barges built with a V-notch stern that matches the bow profile of a trailing barge. A third option would involve a tug-barge towing a second barge, with local tugs coming to add or uncouple the trailing barge.

Perhaps researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology may seek to develop an ocean-capable coupling system between a train of 2-barges that a tug may push and navigate from the stern. The ability of one tug navigating multiple barges offers cost-competitive container transportation services to Indian importers and exporters located near a multitude of small, shallow-depth ports. Trucks would move containers from multiple ports to inland locations, while Indian Railway will move large consignments or barge-loads of containers to inland locations. Tug-barges could become a future part of India’s transportation sector, provided that government officials allow such services to develop.

Harry Valentine frequently contributes to the MarEx newsletter. He can be reached at [email protected] for comments/questions.