Vehicle trans-shipment picks up at Hambantota port
View(s):Vehicle trans-shipment and import operations are picking up at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port in the South with 161 car carriers calling up to September this year, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) sources revealed.
A senior official of the Authority told the Business Times that the Hambantota port had trans-shipped 97.233 units and also unloaded 19.628 vehicles for the local market since January to September 2014. Some 116,861 vehicles were unloaded during this period.
Most of these vehicles arrived at the port from Indian factories and are kept in a yard at Hambantota to be transshipped to East African countries, he disclosed.
He said that the Colombo and Hambantota ports are handling large volumes of Indian vehicle transshipment business earning much needed foreign exchange income to the country.
Local vehicle importers get many concessions when importing vehicles using facilities at Hambantota port.
The SLPA will provide a 7-day, ‘no fee’ grace period to clear vehicles from the port. Another 7-day time limit would be given to clear vehicles from the port where importers would have to pay only ‘half rates’, he disclosed.
Only 31 vehicle carriers called in at this port since its commencement of operations in June 2012 up to December 2012 while 137 car carriers arrived in 2013. This number has been increased to 161 by September this year, he added.
The SLPA official said that competitive charges and no delays at Hambantota port makes Indian car exports more cost competitive making the port attractive to India based auto manufacturers.
Sri Lankan vehicle importers had to face difficulties in clearing their vehicles due to the non-availability of dedicated automobile terminals in the Colombo port and lack of yard storage areas as well as long delays in berthing of roll on roll off vessels. This has resulted in increasing of freight rates to Colombo by operators.
With the opening of Hambantota port these problems have been eased to a certain extent, Sri Lankan vehicle importers said.