Category: Shipping and Transport

RIYADH, August 2, 2010 (AFP) – A Saudi insurance company is to pay Somali pirates a 20-million-dollar ransom to free a hijacked ship and its 14-member crew held hostage for five months, a newspaper reported on Monday. “The owner of the Al-Nisr Al-Saudi ship, which was hijacked by Somali pirates, said the insurance company has […]

July 28, 2010 (LBO) – Several batches of transport professionals will graduate from Sri Lankan universities and academies this year, easing a skills shortfall as the island seeks to become a hub for the region, an official said. “This program which is offered through the Faculty of Engineering will produce graduates especially skilled in professional […]

July 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has not paid some owners of land acquired by the state for infrastructure for 25-years, and a total of 8. 5 billion rupees remains unpaid for property taken to expand roads, an official said. Vokes said the guide was developed with the help of Sri Lanka’s Road Development […]

July 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has asked for 500 million US dollars from the Asian Development Bank to build a new highway from the island’s capital Colombo which will speed up traffic to the north, officials said. “We are having discussions with the government,” ADB’s country director Richard Vokes told LBO. “We have […]

July 26, 2010 (LBO) – Shipping lines calling at Colombo port may have to raise freight rates to cover losses in recent years and return to profitability, Sri Lankan ship agents representing liners have said. Nimal Ranchigoda, chairman of the Ceylon Association of Ships’ Agents, said the shipping industry was in “dire straits” last year […]

July 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shipping agents said they are concerned over delays at Colombo port although they expect the situation to improve with new equipment and transport arrangements for moving containers. “Colombo port’s total cargo volumes have seen a growth of 23.6 percent to-date compared with last year,” Ranchigoda told the CASA […]

July 21, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan ship builder Colombo Dockyard has begun building a ferry for passengers in the former northern war zone using a new yard on a river close to Colombo port, a statement said. The 100-passenger launch is being built for the state-owned Road Development Authority and will be used to […]

July 16, 2010 (LBO) – Indian and Chinese companies have been awarded two deals to modernise and rebuild parts of Sri Lanka’s railway network damaged by war and extend tracks, a government statement said. Indian and Chinese firms have already been given contracts to rebuild or modernise other parts of the rail network in the […]

July 15, 2010 (LBO) – International insurers have removed Sri Lanka from their cargo war risk insurance list paving the way for reduced import costs, removal of surcharges and increasing business confidence, a government statement said. “Post-war economic revival would be greatly boosted with increased business confidence, reduction of the cost of imports, removal of […]

July 8, 2010 (LBO) – A deal to build a container terminal in an expanded Colombo port will be awarded to a China – Sri Lanka consortium within ‘two to three weeks’ Treasury Secretary P B Jayasundera said. Sri Lanka’s listed Aitken Spence and China Merchant Holdings, a state-run port operator, were the only bidder […]

July 07, 2010 (LBO) – Container volume growth at a Colombo port private terminal run by an associate firm of John Keells Holdings slowed down sharply in June after surging in previous months, latest data shows. South Asia Gateway Terminals, a big contributor to JKH profits, handled 158,652 TEUs or twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) […]

June 29, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority is providing more space at its main container terminal for freight to ease congestion, SLPA managing director Nihal Keppetipola said. New port projects under way at Colombo as well as in southern Hambantota and eastern Trincomalee will also provide large extents of land for logistics, […]