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The three leading container terminal operators in Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port – Jaya Container Terminal, South Asia Gateway Terminal and Colombo International Container Terminal – have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to unload ships bound for their competitors that would otherwise have to wait, if berths are available.
The agreement, which was signed in the presence of Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, seeks to improve Colombo’s competitiveness by reducing the time ships have to wait outside the port to be unloaded. Minister Samarasinghe said, “The previous practice was that if one terminal is busy, then the ships that are contracted to it have to wait in line. This lack of coordination makes the port less competitive, so we decided that it would be better if all three terminals came together, and when a berth is free, they unload even their competitors’ ships”.
There have been instances when berths in Colombo have been idle, even though ships outside the port were waiting to be unloaded. “This MoU is to ensure that we try to share our resources, to provide our clients with the best possible services. Collectively, we have the responsibility of attracting more business to the port, which means we have to go beyond our competitors, and improve the quality of the service we provide,” Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, added.
The move comes as Colombo Port has got off to a good start to 2018. It is reported that in the first two months of this year overall container traffic grew by 16.4%, with transshipment business up 20.4%, compared to the same period last year.
