Car carrier MV Delhi Highway makes maiden call at Colombo
K Line, the pioneer in the transport of automobiles further
strengthened its confidence in Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) with the
maiden call of its RO-RO vessel MV “Delhi Highway” on January 4, 2013.
To mark the maiden call of the vessel MV “Delhi Highway,” at Port of
Colombo, a plaque exchange ceremony was held on board the vessel between
Dr. Priyath B Wickrama, Chairman SLPA and the Master of the vessel Capt.
Peter C. Dzhiliyalov. Makoto Hashizume, CEO of the K Line Container
Division in Singapore had paid a special visit to Sri Lanka to grace
this occasion.
MV Delhi Highway |
The 299m long vessel built in July 2011 has a gross tonnage of
58,997and a dead weight of 18,891 tons. MV “Delhi Highway” sails under
the flag of Panama and has recorded a maximum speed of 20.3 knots.
Commenting at the ceremony, SLPA Chairman Dr. Priyath B Wickrama said
“Let me congratulate K Line on their progress on this occasion,
especially their concern on the environment is worthy of emulation.”
“We as terminal operators are also facing challenges. We have been
able to maintain higher productivity levels in all terminal activities
with added capacity and capabilities of current Port of Colombo. Our
fleet of equipment was strengthened.
Yard space, we have added close to 600,000 TEU annual capacities. We
spent approximately US $ 200 million to upgrade these facilities.
This apart, with the largest-ever infrastructure projects taking
shape in Sri Lanka, I believe, nothing could hinder Sri Lanka becoming
the logistics hub of South Asia.” added Dr. Wickrama.
Expressing his optimism at the occasion Capt. Nihal Keppetipola –
Managing Director of SLPA stated that since the commencement of RO/RO
operations at Hambantota Port in June last year, congestion at Port of
Colombo has significantly eased off.
“We promote Hambantota Port for transshipment and shipments of
individually imported vehicles while Colombo can accommodate vessels
brining in brand new vehicles in bulk orders.
As clearance won’t take much time in the case of such orders, their
yard occupation time will be minimal.” said Capt. Keppetipola.
“I congratulate K Line, one of our loyal and outstanding customers,
on this occasion. 2013 will be a year of further change for SLPA as we
have focused our attention on improving internal procedures and business
processes to be on par with international best practices.
You would be able to witness a plethora of changes within the SLPA.
Change is inevitable in this hyper-competitive business and we do
everything possible for the benefit of our customers.” he further added.
Capt.Nihal Keppetipola, Managing Director of SLPA, expressing
views on the occasion of plaque exchange held onboard to mark
the maiden call of MV “Delhi Highway” at SLPA. Dr.Priyath B.
Wickrama, Chairman of SLPA, Jayantha Perera, Chief Manager
(Conventional Cargo) SLPA, Master of the vessel Capt. Peter C.
Dzhiliyalov, Hashizume Makoto, Chief Executive Officeer K’Line
Container Division Singapore, John Shiran Dissanayake, Chairman
of ABC Shipping (Private) Limited and Tressel G Silva, General
Manager Operations, ABC Shipping (Pvt) Ltd are also in picture. |
John Shiran Dissanayake, Chairman of ABC Shipping (Private) Limited,
expressing confidence with the RO RO operations handled by SLPA both in
Colombo and the brand new Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port (MRMRP)
in Hambantota stated that the facilities at both ports are sure to
benefit more brand new ships to call at Colombo and Hambantota during
the year.
He further opined that the facilities at MRMRP in Hambantota would
also enhance confidence of their Principals to consider promoting
transshipment of vehicles from India to route via MRMRP to East Africa
and Europe.
“The Principals would launch some brand new ships in 2013 and 2014,
which will call at Ports of Sri Lanka”, he said.
K Line, with local agency services purveyed by ABC Shipping (Private)
Limited, provides safer and speedier car transportation service.
Commenting at the occasion over the success of K Line with SLPA,
Wasantha Thalagala, Managing Director of ABC Shipping (Private) Limited
stated that he was confident of the success of Sri Lanka Ports Authority
with the services rendered to them as agents and anticipate to handle
more volumes and ships at both ports during this year.
“K Line provides services for safer and timely transport of
completely built-up cars (CBU). It not only makes unstinting efforts to
transport CBUs safely but also ensures no damage during loading and
unloading operations and navigation.” he further voiced.
K Line is also making fleet upgrades to improve environmental
performances.
The upgrades include the use of fuel tanks placed within a
triple-bottom structure to prevent oil leaks and protect the environment
with enhanced fuel tank protection performance in the event of damage to
the ship.
K Line has also adopted electrically controlled engines on Pure Car
Carriers (PCCs) for the first time.
K line is actively working to reduce environmental impact through the
use of various cutting–edge technologies such as particulate matter
removal equipment that uses ceramic filters to prevent soot dispersion.
In automobile industry, production is shifting from the traditional
auto production countries to newly industrialized countries. In
conjunction with this change, the transport of CBUs is diversifying
around the world and K Line believes that the trend will continue in the
future.
In response to the changes, K line will continue its efforts to
operate various types of ships and reinforce its global-spanning service
network to meet customer needs. |