A call has been made for Sri Lanka’s flagship carrier to move more wholeheartedly back into the container business.
The Sri Lanka Association of NVOCC Agents (SLANA) has urged the government to convert Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC) to a strong regional non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) operator.
Addressing the second annual general meeting of the SLANA earlier this week, chairman Captain A.V. Rajendra said, “Ceylon Shipping Corporation, which introduced containerisation to Sri Lanka in the early 1970s, due to various economic reasons, gradually ceased its container operations overtime. But CSC can easily be converted into a very strong regional NVOCC operator. It may be the only way to revive the national carrier.”
CSC currently owns two bulkers, a pair of tugs and a passengership, having sold its last boxship some 20 years ago.
Speaking to local newspaper Daily Mirror, NVOCC vice chairman Prasad Jinadasa said, “Being an island nation, we need to have our own shipping line. If we can’t go to that level of owning ships, the first step is to become an NVO, that’s to have your own containers and serve the regional ports, which include the Indian sub-continent, Middle East and Southeast Asia.”
