(Yicai Global) May 19 -- Shanghai’s Yangshan Port was the world’s most efficient container terminal last year, with the fastest turnaround of vessels in terms of time spent docking, offloading and loading cargo and departing its berth, according to the latest data.

Yangshan Port was leader of the pack, ahead of Oman’s Salalah Port in second place, Khalifa Port in the United Arab Emirates in third and the Tanger-Mediterranean Port in Morocco in fourth place, according to the Container Port Performance Index compiled by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence that was released on May 18.

Two other Chinese ports, namely Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan and Port of Guangzhou, made their way into the top 10 to nab seventh and tenth places respectively, according to the study which looked at 348 container terminals worldwide.

Port operating conditions have improved considerably after the unprecedented upheaval that Covid-19 unleased on the international sea freight industry, the Washington D.C.-based World Bank said. But there is still room for efficiency to improve.

Cartagena Port in Columbia and Posorja Port in Ecuador were the highest-ranking sea terminals in South America, ranking fifth and 19th respectively. While in Southeast Asia, Tanjung Pelepas Port in Malaysia came in sixth place, followed by Vietnam’s Cai Mep Port in 12th and Singapore in 18th.

Algeciras Port in Spain was the highest-ranking European port in 16th place. While the US ports of Wilmington Port and Port of Virginia were North America’s top ports ranking 44th and 52nd, respectively.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor