Sri Lanka Port Authority News

Sri Lankan fishermen say they feel helpless after a cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals and plastics caught fire and later sank, resulting in a ban on fishing along an 80 km (50 mile) stretch of the island nation's west coast.The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid along with other chemicals and cosmetics, was anchored offshore when a fire erupted after an explosion on May 20.Flaming containers filled with billions…

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…

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…

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.

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, 5 APRIL, 2011: APL has agreed with Sri Lanka Port Authority’s Mahapola Training Institute to train 20 new seafarers from the Institute annually onboard its ships. The agreement was signed today by APL President Eng Aik Meng, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Directorate General for Merchant Shipping. “This initiative demonstrates APL’s commitment to the Sri Lankan maritime community,” said APL President, Eng Aik Meng. The agreement also extends to collaboration between APL and the Institute in areas of maritime education…

John Riding, director of Marico Marine, speaking at Ship Repair & Conversion in London, presents a rosy picture for the future of ship repair by pointing out that freight rates have not been so high for years and some owners, such as bulk carrier operators are enjoying a rare opportunity to seriously invest in maintenance. The busy state of building yards means that "keeping an older vessel in service longer has great commercial attraction," said Riding. He believes that some repair yards have the potential to make a return for the first time in a long time. However, there is a fly in the ointment in the form of the ISPS Code. The code as has implementation date of July 2004 and applies to all passenger ships…