CICT is the first and currently the only deep water terminal in South Asia equipped with facilities to handle the largest vessels afloat. The Colombo Port ended 2015 with an impressive 5.185 million TEUs, an overall growth of 5.7% over 2014 volumes while some other transhipment ports in the region recorded negative growth. CICT CEO Nelson Liu said this record achievement was made possible due to the excellent port support auxiliary services provided by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Sri Lanka Customs and Sri Lanka Navy, which play a very critical but subtle role in the operations of the Port. The trust of customers and the support of other stakeholders within the industry also contributed to CICT’s success, he said.
“While the efficient and professional pilotage services are well recognised by the Masters of the ULCC vessels calling at CICT, the initiative by the Customs Department to operate on 24 x 7 basis is also a key factor which facilitates faster movement of cargo during night time,” Liu said.
CICT received some of the largest vessels plying the Asia Europe routes in 2015. They included MSC New York (16,652 TEU), CMA CGM Marco Polo (16,020 TEU) and Edith Maersk, Estelle Maersk, Ebba Maersk, Elly Maersk and Eugene Maersk, each 14,770 TEUs. Many of these are now regular callers at CICT. CICT also added two new shipping lines to provide new services to the Port of Colombo in 2015.