Visakhapatnam becomes box hub with advent of Colombo-Yangon service

HERBILAN Shipping Pvt Ltd is commencing a feeder service connecting India's Visakhapatnam port to Yangon in Myanmar from September 4 that will set sail from Colombo on a 14-day trip and deploy a 1,158-TEU ship, a development hailed as a milestone for transshipment port chairman MT Krishna Babu.

The new service follows closely behind the introduction of a Chennai-Colombo-Gulf (CCG) feeder service by Simatech Shipping and Evergreen Line, linking Sohar in Oman and Jebel Ali near Dubai, that offers a carrying capacity of 2,000 TEU, reported the Hindu.

Visakha container terminal chief operations officer Sushil Mulchandani said this would facilitate steel and cement exports to Yangon and the import of timber.

VCTPL at Visakhapatnam port operates a container terminal that is set for a major expansion. The terminal operator is expected to invest INR8.2 billion (US$123.9 million) to boost its capacity by 540,000 TEU to a total of 1.2 million TEU.

The terminal was set up by a joint venture between DP World and United Liner Agencies (Pvt.) Ltd, following the signing of a 30-year concession agreement with port authorities in 2003.