(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –The Hambantota International Port (HIP) saw an increase in vessels docking at the port in the first week of the new year.One of the region’s top multi-purpose ports, HIP currently handles a number of different activities, from ship-to-ship transfers (STS) to ship repairs and warm layups.
Apart from the regular car transshipment vessels, there is a vessel requiring ship-to-ship transfer operations and a ship belonging to the Sri Lanka Navy among the six vessels currently berthed in the harbour.
The varied services offered by the highly experienced port staff include a warm layup for drillship Aban Abraham in the port for a period of six months, a hot layup for oil tanker Champion Express, a ship-to-ship transfer operation for mv Orchid, loading and unloading operations for RORO vessels Glovis Siris and Glovis Champion as well as a familiarisation and operational requirement for Sri Lanka naval vessel Saurala.
Traffic to be Hambantota International Port increased significantly during the last year, with 300 vessels calling with different services requirements.Whilst the volume of RORO vessels handled has increased by 136 percent, the multi-services provided by the Port has pushed its activities, which were previously centered around RORO and passenger ship operations, to bulk, break-bulk, ship supply services, repairs and layups.
The Port’s marketing and commercial teams have had a busy 2018, working on a worldwide campaign to position it as a truly multi-purpose harbour. Today, their efforts have borne fruit with so many different ships with varied service requirements calling at the Port.HIPG expects to see a manifold increase in vessel traffic in the new year, which would greatly increase the turnover of the Port and in turn provide economic benefits to the Hambantota region.
