Taipei - Kaohsiung Harbour's 2008 container volume will drop due to the global economic slump, an official said Wednesday.

In the first 11 months in 2008, the Kaohsiung Harbour's container volume totalled 8.97 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit), down 3.9 per cent from 2007's same period, Huang Kuo-ying, deputy director of the Kaohsiung Harbour said.

Total 2008 container volume is expected to reach 9.9 million TEUs, down 2.9 per cent.

The Kaohsiung Harbour's 2007 container volume rose 4.7 per cent from 2006, but business fell in 2008 due to the global financial crisis.

Huang expects the Kaohsiung Harbour's business to pick up as Taiwan launched direct shipping links with China on Monday, allowing freighters to sail directly across the Taiwan Strait instead of having to dock at a third place, usually Hong Kong or Japan's Ishikaki island.

"However, the benefits will not show until two or three years later as there are many restrictions on direct sea link now," he said.

The restrictions include only allowing on Chinese and Taiwanese ships to join direct shipping, even though most Taiwan ships are registered in foreign countries and cannot join direct shipping.

When the restrictions are lifted, he said, direct shipping is expected to boost the Kaohsiung Harbour's container volume by one million TEUs.

The Kaohsiung Harbour, in south Taiwan, was the world's No 3 container port during the 1980s, but its ranking has been slipping rapidly in recent years as neighbouring countries, especially China, have expanded their ports or built new ports.

Most foreign shipping lines have dropped Taiwan from their global routes as their ships are sailing directly to China, dealing a heavy blow to Taiwan's dream to develop the Kaohsiung Harbour into a regional transshipment hub. (dpa)