Hambantota Port starts container transhipment service

Hambantota International Port (HIP) in Sri Lanka started a container transhipment service operated by MSC. The port announced that MSC Ingrid made her maiden call at HIP on 9 April, discharging a total of 500 plus TEU of transhipment containers to be connected to a second carrier, MSC Sky 11 expected to call at the port on 16 April.

The first shipment of containers consigned to the regional multipurpose port on the east-west shipping route originated from the Rotterdam Port and will reach its final destination, Dubai via the second carrier.

Many liners avoid Middle Eastern ports East of Suez and opt for the Cape of Good Hope route to unload or load Middle Eastern cargo in Sri Lanka.

The MSC container transhipment service at Hambantota International Port should be understood in light of MSC rerouting its ships sailing between Europe and Asia via the Cape of Good Hope, bypassing the Middle East due to concerns about attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Sri Lanka’s Ports Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, endorsed HIP in granting the necessary approvals to enhance shipping connectivity between Hambantota and the Port of Colombo.

With this approval, local importers and exporters will have the opportunity to arrange direct shipments or transshipments of cargo to and from Hambantota to Colombo, the port stated.

Operations at the Port of Hambantota began in 2010. Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) represents a joint venture between China’s CM Ports group and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.