COLOMBO, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Port of Colombo set a new record by handling 7 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in 2018, recording a growth of 13.2 percent from a year ago, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority said Tuesday.

As of Dec. 30 last year, Colombo Port had handled 7,027,300 containers, up from 6,209,000 in 2017, the highest number ever recorded in the port's history.

Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority Parakrama Dissanayake, quoted in a statement said by the end of 2018, the transshipment volumes of the Port of Colombo had also increased by 19.3 percent.

The Port of Colombo was ranked the world's No. 1 container growth port among the top 30 container ports during the first half of 2018, while it also recorded a 15.6-percent growth during the same period.

The three terminal operators at the Port of Colombo are the state-owned Jaya Container Terminal, the South Asia Gateway Terminal and the Colombo International Container Terminal.

Early last year, the three terminals reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collectively operate to promote the Port of Colombo.

The new collective agreement was expected to minimize the waiting time of all container vessels outside the port waters by allowing operations of vessels at the immediately available terminal.

Through the deal, terminals are also able to promote the Port of Colombo collectively and collaboratively in the arena of international maritime business.