February 25th, 20200The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has announced that it has signed a deal with AECOM Infrastructure and Environment UK to conduct a feasibility study into the development of the Colombo North Port as it looks to expand the cargo handling capacity of the country. The study, which is expected to take 15 months, is related to the...
November 29th, 20191Another country is trying to push back from the embrace of China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI). Citing national interest, Sri Lanka’s new government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has made clear it is keen to cancel the previous regime’s move to lease the southern port of Hambantota to state-backed China Merchants. A...
November 27th, 20180There has been much reporting around the standoff between the US and China at the recent APEC summit in Papua New Guinea. Much of this reporting is based on either a poor misunderstanding of what China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI) is or on a preconceived bias as to the intentions of China in the region. In effect, this stirs the debate...
June 29th, 20180A 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...
November 10th, 20170The Sri Lankan government is looking to mirror Singapore in liberalising its freight transport sector in a bid to become a greater regional shipping hub. The government is planning to lift restrictions on foreign ownership of shipping agencies and freight forwarders. Finance minister Mangala Samaraweera, presenting a budget for 2018,...
September 1st, 20172An investigation in Sri Lanka has concluded the nation’s state-run shipping line was ripped off by the Chinese in procuring vessels from the People’s Republic. Ceylon Shipping Corporation claims a pair of ultamax bulkers – the Ceylon Princess and Ceylon Breeze - it ordered in China in 2014 were overpriced and the financing costs...
August 1st, 20170A Sri Lankan cement manufacturer has doubled the size of its fleet in a matter of weeks. Tokyo Cement, Sri Lanka’s first privately owned cement manufacturing company, has taken two handysizes in quick succession to go alongside its existing handy pair. As reported yesterday, the company – founded initially as a Japanese – Sri...
July 25th, 20170Sri Lanka's cabinet has cleared a revised agreement with China Merchants Port Holding for the development of Hambantota Port today. According to Reuters, under the new deal the Sri Lankan government has sought to limit China's role to running commercial operations at the port while it has oversight of broader security. Sri...
May 1st, 20170It is likely to be months before the fire-struck returns to service, locals on the ground in Sri Lanka tell Splash. The 13,800 teu boxship suffered a fire on April 4 in its aft section. The ship was en route to the Suez Canal from Singapore when a fire broke out in one container before spreading quickly to others, forcing the master...
April 25th, 20170The last boxes on the 13,800 teu which suffered a severe fire three weeks ago on April 5 are now slowly being offloaded. The ship was en route to the Suez Canal from Singapore when a fire broke out in one container on March before spreading quickly to others, forcing the master to reroute to Colombo where a combined force of...
