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Port Of Colombo News

28 Sep 2021

Elcome Expands Distribution for Koden Electronics

Jimmy Grewal, executive director of Elcome International (Photo: Elcome International)

Elcome International on Tuesday announced that its Sri Lanka office, International Marine Services, has become an authorized sales and service provider of Koden Electronics products.Dubai-based Elcome, which has been a Koden distributor in UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and India for more than 30 years, is now also providing field service and onboard support for Koden products from its Sri Lanka office inside the Port of Colombo.Headquartered in Japan, Koden offers a broad-based marine electronics product line including IMO-compliant and non-IMO radars…

07 Aug 2020

The Beirut Explosion Was Exceptional but Events Leading up to It Were Not

(UN Photo/Pasqual Gorriz)

At the time of writing at least 100 people have lost their lives and a further 4,000 have been wounded following an explosion in the Port of Beirut. While the actual cause remains uncertain, the tragedy calls to attention the tremendous consequences of a lack of port security.The explosion, on August 4, at around 6 p.m. local time, appears to have been fueled by 2,750 tons of the highly reactive chemical ammonium nitrate. The chemical had been the cargo on a ship, the the MV Rhosus, which entered the port at Beirut in 2013 due to a lack of seaworthiness and was prohibited from sailing.

06 Sep 2019

Sri Lanks Invest $190mln on ECT Terminal

Sri Lanks will invest a sum of US$ 190 million to installs gantry cairns and also add other infrastructure to the East Container Terminal, said Sagala Ratnayaka, the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development.He said Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) would initially invest this amount and then get it reimbursed from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)  under a loan agreement.Ratnayaka said that the passenger terminal in the Colombo Harbour too would be developed. “We want this passenger terminal to be in par with the Singapore Cruse terminal to attract vessels that would pick up and drop passengers in Colombo.”He said…

23 Jan 2019

Kavan Ratnayaka Appointed as Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority

Kavan Ratnayaka has been appointed the new Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). Ratnayaka assumed duties as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) last week.Before his appointment as the Chairman of SLPA, Kavan Ratnayaka served the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). He is also a former Chairman of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon (Lake House).An old boy of Royal College, Kavan Ratnayaka holds a Bachelor of Science degree in (Physics) of the University of California. He has also served as the Country General Manager of IBM Sri Lanka, Chief Executive Officer of Dialog Broadband and the Chief Corporate Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC.Minister of Port…

28 Nov 2018

Mein Schiff 3 Made Maiden Call at Sri Lankan Port

The super luxury passenger vessel MV Mein Schif 3 of TUI Cruises with 2,430 passengers and 995 crew on board made her maiden call at the Port of Colombo on 26th November 2018. The vessel was welcomed at the East Container Terminal (ECT) of Sri Lank Ports Authority (SLPA).Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) – Dr.Parakrama Dissanayake said that the Port of Colombo was honored by the presence of Mein Shiff 3 in Colombo. “The Port of Colombo has become an extremely busy port and this year the port also became the fastest growing port in the world in terms of handling containers. The next area we are focusing is the passenger vessels and we have plans to construct a state of the art passenger terminal at the Port of Colombo…

24 Jun 2018

China Merchant Port Holdings Pays USD 584 mln to Hambantota Port

China Merchants Port Holdings (CM Port) has invested the final tranche of USD 584.2 million in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port after acquiring an 85 percent stake in the port last year. The cheque to the effect was handed over to the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) – Dr.Parakrama Dissanayake by the Chief Representative of China Merchant Group in Sri Lanka - Mr.Ray Ren in the presence of senior port officials and representatives of CM Port. This makes the single highest ever Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) received by Sri Lanka to date. This third final tranche in the amount of US $ 584,194,800 follows the 1st, a 2nd tranches released in December last year and January 2018, in amounts US $ 292 million and US $ 97 million.

03 May 2018

South Asia Gateway Terminal Welcomes ONE Service

Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) has introduced its new EC5 route calling at the Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Headquartered in Singapore, Ocean Network Express was established on July 7, 2017 through the integration of 'K' Line, MOL and NYK. It’s new EC5 service was launched on April 23rd at the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) at the Port of Colombo. South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT), is owned by a consortium of local and global companies, including APM Terminals, which holds a 33% share. Opened in 1999,  it was Sri Lanka’s first private terminal. It has seen almost continuous eyar-on-year volume growth and achieved a container throughput of 1.8 million TEUs in 2017.

11 Jan 2018

Japanese FM Visits Colombo Port

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has visited the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. Kono was briefed by Sri Lankan government officials about a project under consideration to expand the port. The Japanese Foreign Minister  also visited the newly built control tower and the Colombo Port Expansion Project currently known as the Colombo south Port. Colombo is the largest port in Sri Lanka, which is a strategically important point in Indian Ocean sea lanes. Taro Kono was briefed by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake about the project, the consideration to expand the facility and the ‘Three Year Plan’ that has currently been initiated to develop the Port of Colombo. The Japanese government has been involved in building port facilities there for many years.

20 Dec 2017

Ocean Alliance Launches Day Two Product

The Ocean Alliance has launched its new Day Two Product with an estimated 3.6 million TEU carrying capacity provided by approximately 340 containerships deployed on 41 services. The new offering will commence in April 2018. Alliance partners CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen and OOCL will offer 20 Transpacific services, six Asia-Europe services, four Asia-Mediterranean services, four Transatlantic services, five Asia-Middle East services and two Asia-Red Sea services. “Ocean Alliance has been a fantastic success from a customer perspective since its launch last spring and we are very enthusiastic to announce our Day Two Product,” said Olivier Nivoix, Senior Vice President Ocean Alliance Lines.

17 Oct 2017

ZIM Seven Stars Express Service to Add a Kaohsiung Call

ZIM is pleased to announce that starting November 2017, ZIM’s popular Seven Stars Express Service (Z7S) will add a call in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, offering unique advantages to customers, said a company press release. The service includes: Direct access to New York Maher terminal, Unique product linking Kaohsiung and Wilmington, NC, Fast transit time from Wilmington and Savannah; A premium product for USA exports to Taiwan, Calling Terminal 5, Pier 77/78 in Kaohsiung, for easy access from main manufacturing areas and End of the week departure from Kaohsiung. The first vessel to call Kaohsiung on the new rotation is Zim Ontario on Nov 3, 2017. ZIM Seven Stars Express Service deploys 11X5000TEU vessels operated solely by ZIM, ensuring high schedule reliability and punctuality.

14 Apr 2017

Fire Hit MSC Daniela Docked at Colombo

MSC Daniela is docked at Colombo port, Colombo International Container Terminal, ten days after a blaze broke out in the aft section of the 13,800 teu, local media reported. No further information was provided. Earlier, Ceylon Today reported that  the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) Colombo, had received a fire distress call from the local agent of 'MSC Daniela' as the vessel was 120 nautical miles off the Port of Colombo, on Tuesday (April 04). The Panama flagged container ship was sailing from Singapore to Egypt and the fire broke out in the vessel while outside the Colombo Port. Colombo was not meant to be a port of call for the ill-fated vessel, but Colombo, soon was to be a matter of necessity and not a matter of choice.

02 Jan 2017

Colombo Port Volumes Surpasses 2mln TEUs

Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) has reported a throughput of two million TEUs  for the 12 months ending 31 December 2016, a year-on-year growth of 28 percent in volume, enabling the Port of Colombo to register overall incremental growth during three consecutive years. Announcing the milestone achievement, CICT said ULCCs (Ultra Large Container Carriers) and VLCCs (Very large Container Carriers), many of a size that only the Colombo South Terminal is capable of handling, had contributed 70 percent to the volumes it achieved in 2016. CICT, run by China Merchants Port Holdings,  is the first and currently the only deep water terminal in South Asia equipped with facilities to handle the largest vessels afloat.

03 Nov 2016

OCEAN ALLIANCE Sets Out Network

Members of the OCEAN ALLIANCE, COSCO Container Lines, CMA CGM, Evergreen Line and Orient Overseas Container Line,  signed a document entitled the Day One Product, which sets out the proposed OCEAN ALLIANCE’s network, including port rotation for each service loop. The Day One network intends to deploy around 350 container vessels with an estimated total carrying capacity of 3.5 million TEUs to provide one of the most comprehensive service coverage in the market on the following trade lanes. The vessel deployment details for each service loop, will be released around end of this November. 20 Transpacific services (estimated 160 port pairs, with 13 Asia - West Coast North America services, 7 Asia - East Coast North America and U.S.

07 Jun 2016

Elcome Branches out in the Middle East and Asia

Elcome International, supplier of turnkey solutions for marine electronics, electrical and safety systems for the world maritime industry, has invested in a expansion of its maritime service network with the opening of new facilities in Egypt, Sri Lanka and Singapore. “We are aggressively growing our service and support footprint with Elcome factory-trained technicians and spare parts now available at more than 20 strategic ports from Suez to Singapore, as well as flyaway service on a global scale,” said Surjit Singh, Deputy General Manager – Customer Support of Elcome International. The three new offices are now fully operational, staffed and stocked with essential spares for ready access locally.

15 Mar 2016

CCCC to Resume Sri Lanka Port Project After Suspension

China's CCCC said on Tuesday it had approval to restart the construction of its $1.4 billion real estate project near Colombo's port that was suspended a year ago on the orders of the Sri Lankan government. Sri Lanka's cabinet last week granted approval for China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) to resume the biggest foreign direct investment project in the country after suspending it in March last year. The project includes apartments, shopping malls, a water sports area, a golf course, hotels and marinas next to Colombo's main port which India uses as a main transhipment port. "With the resumption of work now approved, the project company will commence with preparatory work as soon as feasible to ensure that the project can be completed in the expected time frame…

25 Jan 2016

Colombo Port Boosts Volumes

The Chinese-built Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT), which opened for business in 2014, has made significant gains in container handling last year surpassing 1.5 million TEUs, according to local media. The Terminal has set a record in 2015 with handling 1.561 million TEUs representing 1.57 percent increase over the year before and 67 percent of this volume is from ULCC (Ultra Large Container Carrier) and VLCC (Very large Container Carrier) segments. CICT is the first and currently the only deep water terminal in South Asia equipped with facilities to handle the largest vessels afloat. "The CICT-run “South Terminal” is making the right kind of waves, raking it in for Colombo port like never before and transforming Sri Lanka into a regional shipping hub," say local newspapers.

06 Jan 2016

Colombo Port to be Among Top 20 Soon - Minister

Port and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranathunga said he plans to bring the Colombo Port to be among the top 20 global container ports. He said every possible step has been taken to facilitate all employees and staff of the institution to perform their fullest duty towards Sri Lanka Ports Authority without disputes and as same as the previous year. Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Dammika Ranathunga said the institution is by now acquiring a rapid progress. He said compared to the decrease in TEU operations in 2015, marking Singapore at 8%, Salala 18%, Hamburg 11.7%, the growth of the Port of Colombo was marked at 5.9%. At the same time he said that the domestic operations have increased by 8.3% and transshipment TEU operations by 5.4%.

25 Dec 2015

Colombo Port Hits Record 5 mln Containers

For the first time in history the Port of Colombo reaches 05 million container operations. To mark the ocassion, a ceremony will be held tomorrow, Monday 21st December 2015 at the Jaya Container Terminal  of Sri Lanka Ports Authority , with the initiative of Hon.Minister of Port and Shipping Arjuna Ranathunga. With the latest initiatives implemented at  Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), its operational volumes show a rapid growth compared to similar periods during past. A number of procedures  are being implemented at the Port of Colombo under the guidance of Hon.Minister of Port and Shipping Arjuna Ranathunga and under instructions by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Mr.Dammika Ranathunga.

21 Jul 2015

Sri Lanka to Establish Terminal for Cruise Ships

A fully-fledged cruise terminal is to be set up at Colombo port given the increasing number of calls by cruise vessels, according to Lakdas Panagoda, chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). The SLPA plans to convert the Bandaranaike Quay (BQ) of Colombo port into a “fully-fledged international cruise terminal,” Panagoda said. This was one of the initiatives taken by the SLPA during the new administration in the past six months, he said. Cruise lines revived calls at Sri Lankan ports like Colombo after the end of the island’s 30-year ethnic war in 2009. The number of cruise vessels calling at the island’s ports is increasing but the lack of a dedicated cruise ship terminal is seen by the travel trade as a drawback.

14 Jul 2015

DP World, Emirates Shipping Launch GLX

DP World and Emirates Shipping Line (ESL) today announced the launch of a new shipping service GALEX (GLX), a consortium of four vessel operators – ESL, KMTC, RCL and Hanjin. GALEX consists of seven vessels with a capacity of 6,500 TEUs each and reinforces Cochin Port’s position as a transshipment hub with state-of-the-art facilities available to customers. The announcement coincides with the maiden call of a GALEX service at the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), Cochin today. GALEX will embark from Pusan, South Korea, calling at Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan, Singapore, Port Klang, Colombo, Cochin, Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Jebel Ali on the outward route of the new service. The return route will depart from Jebel Ali direct to Port Klang, Hong Kong and finally back to Pusan.

01 Mar 2015

Sri Lanka Says No to Docking of Chinese Submarines

Sri Lanka declared that it will not allow Chinese submarines to dock in its waters as part of a new policy barring hosting of foreign submarines. Sri Lanka's new Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said on Saturday in Beijing that the new government in Colombo will not allow a repeat of last year's visits by a Chinese submarine that had raised concerns in India. Colombo acknowledged that such a docking did take place coinciding with the Japanese Prime Minister's visit last year. A Chinese submarine had visited Colombo port twice last year which had raised concerns in India. India raised the issue repeatedly with Sri Lankan government. China’s growing naval presence in the Indian Ocean region has opened a new area of rivalry for the two Asian countries.

10 Feb 2015

VOC Port Begins Cargo Shipping to Dubai

The first regular container service to Dubai from V.O. Chidambaranar Port in India commenced on Tuesday. Chairman of the VOC Port Trust S. Anantha Chandra Bose inaugurated the service being operated by Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal Private Limited on the 8{+t} {+h} berth of the port. VOC Port will in a month run four container services, which would sail from berth 8 at the port run by Dakshin Barath Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd (DBGT), to Jebel Ali Port in Dubai. MV ‘SSL Gujarat’ with its maiden call hauling general cargo of 507 TEUs –Twenty Foot Equivalent units in 487 containers would reach Jebel Ali Port. The mainline container cargo shipping service…

05 Feb 2015

Sri Lanka Backs China Port City Deal After Threat to Cancel

Sri Lanka's cabinet said on Thursday it would allow a $1.5 billion "port city" deal with China to go ahead, apparently dropping its earlier threats to cancel the project, approved by the last government. Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said new President Maithripala Sirisena would however discuss with Beijing controversial arangements over the freehold of land to be used, when he visited China in March. Sri Lanka's neighbour India has raised concern over security threats posed by Chinese ownership of the freehold of 20 hectares of land next to the main commercial port in Colombo, as India is a major user of Colombo as a transshipment port.