Category: Shipping and Transport

August 7, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s auto market is slowing with new vehicles registrations slumping 30 percent in the June quarter, a top vehicle distributor has said. Associate Motorways (AMW) a listed firm which has the agency to Nissan of Japan and Suzuki Maruti of India said consolidated after tax profits of the group […]

August 03, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is seeking an investor for Colombo’s new container terminal who can increase cargo volumes and improve cash flow, a senior official said. SLPA chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya said the technical bids for the infrastructure work and first box terminal in the new South Port are […]

July 25, 2007 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines has started to serve a popular ice cream brand of the island on its flights to India as part of a strategy to boost the variety foods on its flights, the national carrier said. The short-haul flights to India are a key spoke in the carrier’s international network […]

July 24, 2007 (LBO) – Tough security measures at Colombo harbour are causing delays both on the sea side as well as the land side, prompting port customers to take up the matter with the authorities. Shipping line executives and shippers say they do not mind the tough security measures put in place to thwart […]

July 20, (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters and importers have called for a regulator to monitor the pricing practices of shipping lines, as freight rates move up and exporters are hit with fees outside the quoted rates. Jayanath Perera, outgoing chairman of the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council, industry body representing firms engaged in international trade, […]

July 19, 2007 (AFP) – Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said Thursday that it was pulling out of Sri Lanka, citing a sharp drop in tourist traffic to the tropical island due to ongoing fighting between government and rebel forces. Sri Lanka’s 26-billion-dollar economy earned 130.8 million dollars from tourism between January and April, a 15 […]

July 17, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airline’s consolidated after tax profits dived 50 percent to 862.1 million in the year ended March 2007 the carrier said, as tourists shied off the war ravaged island and fuel costs climbed . . “The largest single factor that affected the airline’s bottom-line was the return to hostilities […]

July 11, 2007 (AFP) – An Etihad Airways plane en route from Indonesia to the United Arab Emirates made an emergency landing in Sri Lanka Wednesday following a bomb scare, an airport official said. Flight EY-471 from Jakarta to Abu Dhabi was diverted to Colombo and checked by police commandos and bomb disposal units, the […]

July 10, 2007 (LBO) – SriLankan airlines will fly only during daytime till mid-September, to ensure that connections are available to other airlines and insurance fees are negotiated, the airline said Tuesday. “This has ensured that travel to Sri Lanka was facilitated without any significant interruption or reduction in capacity,” he said. “SriLankan Airlines is […]

July 8, 2007 (AFP) – Dubai’s Emirates Airline said Sunday that night flights to Sri Lanka will resume after the end of a curfew in response to Tamil rebel air raids, but other carriers have not followed suit.The rebels, who are fighting for an independent homeland for the tropical island’s minority ethnic Tamils, have bombed […]

June 30, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan security authorities plan to install underwater surveillance systems in Colombo harbour to enhance the defences of the port which handles most of the island’s trade. London’s Metropolitan Police said Chrishanthakumar is accused of receiving literature and manuals allegedly included information about underwater warfare and naval weapons systems and […]

June 28 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo port risks losing its status as south Asia’s transshipment hub if it does not move fast to add more capacity and make trade more streamlined, a senior Asian Development Bank official said. Although Colombo has a good reputation for reliability the country has not done enough to exploit […]