Direct shipping line with India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan introduced

FE Team | Published: June 29, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Jasim Uddin Haroon A consortium of shipping firms Thursday announced direct shipping line in South Asia connecting Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to tap trade potentials in the region. The operational alliance among NYK of Japan, Hanjin of Korea, Simatech of Dubai and Evergreen of Taiwan will, however, reduce reliance on transhipments in Singapore and Malaysia. The traders of the region now carry their goods mainly through Singapore port which, according to them, is costly and time-consuming. The service named BAS (Bengal-Arabian Sea) has a port rotation with Chittagong, Colombo, Mundra and Karachi with weekly calling at each port. "We've taken the move to launch the new service and the new route to facilitate trades in the region," said Rashed Ali, Managing Director at the NYK Bangladesh Ltd. Mr Ali said trading among the South Asian countries has been growing steadily in recent years. "We want to grab a good market share in the trades as well." "Businesses among the South Asian countries are growing but there was no direct shipping link until our move," he added. Mr Ali said the freight will be at least 40 per cent cheaper on the route if transhipment is considered. Initially four vessels will run on the route and it will save at least one week. However, each ship will carry at least 1000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). Each voyage will take 28 days only with calling at each port each day. The new service and the new route are a pivot in South Asia as the consortium seeks to exploit the region's appetite for speedy services amid stagnant demand in Europe, shipping analysts noted. They said the alliance has been encouraged to develop its connections in the region following the World Bank (WB) forecast for South Asia recently. The region will grow at 5.2 per cent in 2013, 6.0 per cent in 2014 and 6.4 per cent in 2015, the WB said. With this service, the BAS will directly call at Chittagong port four times every month. However, the first ship of the service might reach the Chittagong port today (Saturday). The service will be beneficial to shippers from Mumbai, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Karachi and other regional hubs. Currently, some 35 vessels are plying on Chittagong-Singapore-Colombo route and Port Klang of Malaysia.