Modern Terminals Limited, which last year handled more than three million teu (20 ft equivalent units) at its facility in Kwai Chung, has set new industry standards for vessel productivity. Hapag-Lloyd's 4,600-teu Shanghai Express arrived at Modern Terminals on February 1 to load and unload 1,884 containers. The vessel came from Australia to join the Grand Alliance's Asia-East Coast US Express service. Employing an average of 6.5 quayside cranes, Modern Terminals completed the operation in five hours and 36 minutes, an average working rate of 336 moves per hour.

This vessel-handling productivity greatly surpassed Modern Terminals' previous record and exceeded by a wide margin the fastest rate reported at any other terminal in the world - 255.6 moves per hour at Salalah Port Services in Oman, described by Lloyd's List in December as a world record.

Modern Terminals also scored a significant breakthrough in quay-crane productivity, achieving a record 68 moves per hour for one of the quay cranes and an average of 50.4 moves per hour for the vessel. This record was achieved in pilot operations by Modern Terminals to test the limits of overall berth productivity in response to the trend towards larger vessels and the need for faster port turnaround times.