The Milan Maersk, one of the world’s largest ships arrived in Colombo on October 17 and berthed at the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT)
To mark the occasion, a ceremony was organized on board Milan Maersk at the CICT Terminal at the Colombo port. This state of the art megaship belonging to the second generation of Maersk
Line’s well-known Triple-E class, is the fastest service from Colombo into major North European countries such as UK, Netherlands & Germany, that will also bring essential imports from China and South East Asia into the Sri Lankan market.
Commenting on this historic occasion, Julian Michael Bevis, Senior Director, Group Relations, South Asia, AP Moller Maersk said “This occasion reaffirms the commitment of the Maersk Group in the container shipping industry and the business of international trade, where we will continue to push the boundaries in international shipping to serve our customers better. We commend the SLPA and the Government of Sri Lanka for their foresight in developing the Sri Lanka port to hold the capacity of a ship of this nature, that is well in keeping with other leading international ports.”
Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, Chairman Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), commended Maersk Line for the confidence shown by them to call the port of Colombo with one of their largest ships. He affirmed that the growth of the port of Colombo has been synonymous with the type of support and unwavering loyalty extended by companies such as Maersk.
Atul Keshap, Ambassador of USA in Sri Lanka stated “We consider Colombo as a truly important shipping and transshipment center for the Indian Ocean and we are heavily dedicated to working closely in partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka and the Ports Authority to help make it a safe, secure and a reliable and important port of call in the Indian Ocean.”
Zeeshan Mukhi Country Manager for Maersk Sri Lanka added “The decision to call on Colombo with the Milan Maersk reiterates our commitment in bringing tremendous value to our customers in terms of scale and operational efficiencies. We are here for the long haul and want to grow profitably with the market, with faster transit times for our customers to help them reach out to the global market place in a cost-effective manner.”
At present, Maersk Line in Sri Lanka has 10 weekly services, which includes vessel sharing agreements, connecting Colombo with global ports with competitive transit times and high schedule reliability.
The company has a very strong understanding of the local market and leverages on differentiators such as: Weekly calls on all major ports,local expertise with a modern fleet of vessels, easy availability of equipment of its dry and reefer containers, specialized equipment for Garments on hanger, tea fit containers, triangulation, direct container drop off at terminals and 24/7 quote generation.
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