Category: Shipping and Transport

TOKYO, November 21, 2010 (AFP) – A small, unidentified ship opened fire on a container vessel run by a Japanese logistics firm, in an apparent piracy attack in the Indian Ocean, a report said late Saturday. None of container ship’s 24 crew members, all non-Japanese, was injured in the incident Saturday, Kyodo News reported, quoting […]

Nov 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new Chinese built port in the Southern city of Hambantota was formally commissioned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa Thursday with the symbolic entry of a converted troopship. Rajapksa said in the second century, under then King Gajaba, there had been a port in the area called Godpabbatha which had […]

Nov 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s importance as a shipping hub in South Asia has increased after the end of a long drawn out war, an international logistic group that has offices in the Middle East, Asia and Pacific said. “Sri Lanka with its strategic location provides a gateway to the Maldives where we […]

Nov 16, 2010 (LBO) – A luxury passenger vessel, MV Le Diamant, operated by the CMA CGM shipping line, has begun calls at Sri Lankan ports following the end of the island’s 30-year ethnic war. Its second voyage is planned for May 2011. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority said the ship called at the eastern […]

Nov 10, 2010 (LBO) – South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), an associate of Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings, said volumes rose 17 percent in October to 173,528 containers from a year ago. SAGT is 42.2 percent owned by JKH and has been contributing a big chunk of the conglomerate’s profits in recent years, along […]

November 3, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to spend a billion dollars in foreign aid to rebuild roads as the island emerges from nearly four decades of ethnic fighting, a top official said Wednesday. Sri Lanka’s Highways Ministry Secretary Wasantha Karannagoda said they had secured funding to rebuild and repair nearly 4,000 kilometres (2,500 […]

Nov 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to enter into a credit agreement with India’s Export – Import Bank for an Indian government soft loan of 416 million US dollars to rebuild railways destroyed by war, a spokesman said. Media minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said the funds will be used to rebuild three sections of […]

Nov 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom is on track to get a deal to install a fibre optic cable for a toll collection system on an expressway linking the island’s south that is now under construction. These will be in the towns of Konawa, Kahatuduwa, Gelanigama, Dodangoda, Welipenna, Kurundugahahetekma, Nayapamula, Pinnaduwa, Deegoda, Kokmaduwa […]

Nov 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard has been short-listed in a contract to build more passenger ferries for an Indian government customer, having completed delivery of two vessels, officials said. The new vessels to be ordered are bigger, being capable of carrying 400 passengers and 250 tonnes of cargo. Jitendra Kumar Dadoo, […]

Nov 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka imported over 10,000 cars in the four months after import duty was slashed in June this year while state revenue has also soared, a senior finance ministry official said. The tax reduction brought down excise duty on a Maruti car, a popular model, to 90 percent from 183 […]

Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard delivered the second of a pair of passenger vessels for an Indian customer but warned profitability could dip this year owing to the effects of recession and growing competition. The island’s 30-year ethnic war ended in May 2009 leading to the removal of marine war-risk insurance […]

Oct 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shipbuilder Colombo Dockyard has secure contracts for two 78-metre Multipurpose Platform Supply Vessels (MPSVs) for Greatship Global Offshore Services of Singapore, a statement said. The vessels, to support offshore oil and gas fields around the clock, are scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of the 2012 financial […]