India’s development of domestic maritime transhipment hubs will not harm Colombo’s port revenues as global shipping lines expand operations on both sides of the Palk Strait.
The assurance was delivered by Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, Director General of the New Delhi based National Maritime Foundation, during a virtual forum organized by Sri Lankan financial and commercial institutes on Saturday.
Addressing persistent regional concerns over market competition, Chauhan stated that major ocean carriers like Mediterranean Shipping Company are actively investing in both Colombo and India's Vizhinjam port simultaneously.
He clarified that Indian maritime initiatives such as Sagarmala and SAGAR should be viewed as collaborative frameworks rather than exclusive financial systems designed to isolate neighboring ports.
Former Sri Lanka Navy Commander Admiral Jayantha Perera supported the assessment, noting that roughly 80 per cent of Colombo's transhipment volume originates from India.
Perera highlighted that Colombo handled 9.9 million container units recently, with ongoing terminal expansions set to boost total capacity to 15 million units by 2028 amid rising traffic caused by Middle East maritime disruptions.
Apart from port operations, the experts called for joint action in disaster management, artificial intelligence workforce training, and transitioning regional feeder vessels to electric power to green the regional ocean economy.
Leave your comments
Login to post a comment
Post comment as a guest