CICT holds Quay Crane Operator competition for first time ever in South Asia

China Merchants Group (CMG), the parent company of Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd. (CICT), is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. 

To mark this milestone, the company is conducting 150 global competitions among its group. In an effort to recognise and reward the best operators within the company, Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd., located in the south harbour of Port of Colombo, hosted the first ever Quay Crane (QC) operator competition in South Asia. The goal is to promote exceptional safety standards and continued skills development within all ranks of the QC operators.

The competition held within CICT contains 2 rounds. The participation of all QC operators is mandatory in the 1st round, where overall skills and abilities will be assessed based on strict standardised criteria applicable to all participants taking part.

The top 30 performers from the 1st round will advance to the 2nd round, which will focus on exceptional skills. The participants have an opportunity to demonstrate, to the best of their ability, skills and expertise in handling containers and operating their stations.

After the 2nd round, six of the top-scoring QC operators from CICT will receive awards and cash prices across three categories: Gold Winner will receive Rs. 600,000, two Silver Winners will receive Rs. 400,000 each, and three Bronze Winners will receive Rs. 200,000 each.

CICT, which manages the South Terminal at the Port of Colombo, is the first deep water terminal in South Asia and the only one of its kind in operation within the region. Since its inception in 2014, the terminal has incrementally grown its volumes handled from 686,639 TEUs (in 2014) to just over 3.2 million TEUs in 2021; the highest done by a terminal in South Asia.

CICT has been consistently recognised for exceptional levels of efficiency, driven on the ground by its QC operators, and has won the AFLAS award for Asia’s best container terminal under 4 million TEUs for five consecutive years (2017-2021). Further, CICT has also won the award for ‘Most Efficient Terminal 2021’ at the Global Ports Forum Awards. Thus, CICT is very keen on promoting and creating healthy competition amongst its QC operators whilst providing incentives to encourage exceptional excellence. CICT’s efficiency drive has positively impacted the stakeholders by reducing the port stay of the vessels which are impacted by the global challenges faced by the shipping industry. This has ultimately led to remarkable efficiency, further strengthening the globally renowned position of the Port of Colombo.