Category: Shipping and Transport

August 05, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka can become a shipping hub with the opening of the 500 million US dollar port Monday which will help secure maritime supply routes, a senior official said. “Sri Lanka has a window of opportunity to get into and become a shipping hub with the opening of the new […]

Aug 05, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared open a new container terminal Tuesday, making Colombo the only port in South Asia that can handle the Triple E class large container ships. President Rajapaksa said building ports was part of his five hub strategy, after formally commissioning the loading of a CMA-CGM […]

COLOMBO, August 4, 2013 (AFP) – A 0 million Chinese-built port opens Monday in Sri Lanka, giving Beijing a vital foothold on the world’s busiest international shipping lane as it seeks to secure maritime supply routes. Hambantota, which is just 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) away from the East-West sea lane, is being promoted as a […]

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2013 (AFP) – Three convicted Somali pirates escaped the death penalty Friday when a US jury sentenced them to life in prison for the high-seas murder of four Americans in the Indian Ocean. Federal prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Ahmed Muse Salad, 25, Abukar Osman Beyle, 20, and Shani Nurani […]

Aug 01, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has cleared a tax anomaly which can make single cab trucks, especially some Indian brands, cheaper, Deputy Treasury Secretary S R Attygalle said.Until now imported single cab trucks were charged two rates of taxes based on whether the engine was protruding forward or not which had made some […]

July 31, 2013 (LBO) – State-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) expects to invest in foreign ports and look for opportunities in terminal management, a strategic plan running up to 2020 said.SLPA already has a 15 percent stake in Colombo International Container Terminal, where China Merchant (International) is the majority partner. “..SLPA will jointly explore […]

July 28, 2013 (LBO) – Scooters are becoming more popular in Sri Lanka making up about a third of all two-wheelers sold in the country now, the agents for India’s Mahindra group said at the launch of new models.Sri Lankan citizens who could not afford a car were buying up to 24,000 two-wheelers a month […]

CIANJUR, July 25, 2013 (AFP) – The confirmed death toll from the sinking of a boatload of Australia-bound asylum-seekers rose to 11 Thursday, as rescuers continued searching the seas off Indonesia for survivors.Local police spokesman Achmad Suprijatna told AFP two more bodies were found Thursday morning, two days after the boat sank off the southwestern […]

CIDAUN, July 24, 2013 (AFP) – More than 100 asylum seekers who were feared dead have been rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Indonesia’s Java island, an official said Wednesday, confirming that one child had died.Indonesia’s rescue agency was alerted by Australian authorities on Tuesday evening. “We don’t know exactly how many […]

NAIROBI, July 22, 2013 (AFP) – On Somalia’s pirate coast, more than 50 sailors are being held for ransom in grim conditions, many abandoned by their ship’s owner whose willingness to pay to free them sank with their boat.“The pirates have shown violence… the worst case is that they become agitated and open fire.” Last […]

July 18, 2013 (LBO) – A 260 million dollar circular highway around Sri Lanka’s Northeastern port city of Trincomalee will be built by a Chinese contractor with financing from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a minister said.Information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said the cabinet of ministers had awarded the building contract to Hunan Road […]

July 17, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tokyo Cement group said it planned to buy two more vessels in the next three years, as the firm expanded.“Therefore, sudden spikes in freight costs have significant and unavoidable negative impacts on the company’s balance sheet. “Our decision to invest in our own fleet of vessels therefore, has […]