John Willey, CEO of Hutchison Ports Australia writes:
COVID-19, industrial action, EA negotiations, approval to operate taller quay cranes, recruitment of new employees, stellar trade growth in the industry and winning a new shipping service contract, all happened in 2020! It was a big year for Hutchison Ports in Australia, filled with unusual events never seen before in its eight years of operations.
Key aspects of 2020 included:
COVID-19 affected everyone and safety must come first!
Hutchison Ports immediately developed and implemented strict measures to safeguard all its employees and visitors from contracting the contagious virus. The biggest challenge faced by the company was keeping up with the advice on COVID from various government departments and authorities, and then applying the relevant safety information to the workplace.
New jobs for new people
Hutchison Ports opened its doors and welcomed a number of new recruits into the stevedoring industry.
Taller quay cranes for taller vessels
The next generation of quay cranes in Sydney will have a structural height of up to 78 metres AHD and an outreach to service ships with a beam of over 20 containers wide.
Stellar growth in the container trade
The second half of 2020 saw a boost in container volumes on the east coast of Australia. Most shipping lines reacted to the increase in demand for goods from China by adding more ships to the trade,
What comes in must go out: evacuation of empty containers
Hutchison Ports provided help to its direct shipping line customers, as well as helping other ad-hoc lines that were not regular customers. Both Hutchison Ports and shipping lines worked together to maximise the empty load out using every possible vessel slot, whilst minimising the delay to service schedule.
