APM Terminals (APMT) has said the Moin Container Terminal (MCT), Costa Rica, has opened up a new direct service to Shanghai, China, after meeting all its initial productivity targets.
In a statement, APMT said berthing times at Moin have been reduced to an average of just 10 hours per vessel, and this has created an additional berthing window which it already is utilizing by opening up a route to the biggest port in the world.
APMT Moin was inaugurated in March 2019, a story Port Technology reported on at the time. It was built as a specialist refrigerated container (reefer) port.
The first ship on the route arrived from Houston, US, on September 22, 2019, and left the following day with Costa Rican pineapples, bananas, meat and orange juice.
The service will operate every three weeks and local producers are already lobbying to make it weekly.
It will be operated by Chinese state-run carrier COSCO, the third largest container shipping line in the world, and APMT says there will be greater opportunities for Costa Rican exporters as transit times will be cut from 40 days to approximately 22.
Furthermore, APMT believes it will improve an already existing free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Costa Rica, which was signed in August 2011.
Alberto Brenes, Operations Assistant, APMT Moin, praised the performance of the terminal: “Since we started operations, we have improved our productivity week after week. This will create more growth opportunities for Costa Rica and the country.”
