• A total of 193,000 containers were handled in these two terminals in January, which is a 70% increase

 By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama

The number of cargo vessels arriving at the Colombo port has increased, increasing container operation capacity, Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.
Subsequent to inspection visit to the Container Terminal (JCT) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority yesterday, he said the need for a increase in the capacity of  container handling was required due to the current crisis in the Red Sea.

Based on the crisis situation in the Middle East region, shipping companies prefer to sail via Colombo port as a safety measure to avoid terrorist threats to merchant vessels sailing through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea.

Berthing facilities for 24 ships has been arranged in the harbour today, since around 10 ships are currently outside the harbour waiting for anchorage.
Based on this situation, the JCT and the Eastern Container Terminal (ECT) have been able to handle about 100 ships during January.

Apart from these container ships, five passenger ships have also arrived at the port of Colombo.

A total of 193,000 containers were handled in these two terminals in January, which is a 70% increase. The Colombo Port as a whole handled 554,000 containers during January.
During the visit, the minister gave instructions to officers to carry out operations  efficiently.