News and Media

CASA facilitates seminar to celebrate World Maritime Day

CASA, the voice of the shipping industry, is facilitating a seminar to coincide with World Maritime Day on 25 September at the Main Ballroom of Hotel Galadari. The seminar is titled ‘Global shipping trends and Sri Lanka’s strategy to face the future’ and is endorsed by the Ministry of Ports and Shipping and Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

The seminar would focus on Sri Lanka’s current position in terms of global shipping and trading and visualize and set goals for future developments while studying evolving trends in the maritime and trading sectors. The seminar will also focus on the Asian region; the importance and impact that China would have on the region and the benefits Sri Lanka could derive therefrom. Speakers would also delve into the Indian sub-continent and analyze the recent developments taking place, particularly, in India such as the lifting of Cabotage restrictions and the impact, if any, such developments would have on Sri Lanka and how Sri Lanka should respond. Key digital innovations in South Asia and a case study of how Block Chain can be used will also be discussed.

Showing CASA’s commitment in developing the next generation of the maritime industry, YoungShip will be launched during this event which will be a landmark event in the Sri Lankan Maritime History. YoungShip is a professional non-profit organization for young people working within the global maritime industry. The international YoungShip network today counts more than 3000 individual members in Norway, Cyprus, Greece, Belgium, Denmark, Singapore, England, UAE, Sweden, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands, America, Germany, Nigeria, France, Spain and Tanzania.

Speakers

The keynote address will be made by Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake – Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority. He was recently elected as the first Non British International President of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers UK. He is a University of Oxford (UK) Business Alumni, Alumni of University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Fellow of Harvard Business School (USA), Norad, JICA and a member of the International Association of Maritime Economist.

Dr. James Jixian Wang, Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Management Science, City University of Hong Kong will discuss the importance and impact that China would have on our region and the benefits Sri Lanka could derive therefrom. With more than 25 years of experience and expertise, He has been invited as a transport expert or panel member by various city governments, including Hong Kong SAR Government, Guangzhou City Government, Shanghai City Government, and Zhuhai City Government, for projects of urban/regional planning and transport planning. Dr. Wang has been widely invited by various international organizations such as World Port-City Conference, to give presentations on issues about port development in China, Belt-&-Road Initiative, E-commerce and logistics in China, and the Greater Bay Area Development.

S.N. Srikanth will speak on the Indian Sub-continent and analyze the recent developments taking place in the region. He is the CEO and Senior Partner of Hauer Associates, India’s premier shipping and port consultancy firm and has a rare blend of both industry and consulting experience of over three decades. He facilitates private investment in ports and has overseen viability assessments of numerous ports and terminals in South Asia, in Africa and in Europe for global terminal operators.

Ravi Kuruppath will speak of the digital initiatives with his experience in leading block chain solutions for Maersk in India. He has been with Maersk for the past 18 years and has handled over eight profiles across project management, supply chain management, customer service, leading business automation and implementation of integrated solutions.

The speeches will be followed by a panel discussion represented by the speakers and eminent industry professionals such as Sri Lanka Ports Authority Managing Director H.D.A.S. Premachandra, Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders Association Vice Chairman Roshan Silva, and Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents Chairman Ruwan Waidyarathne.

The panel will be moderated by Senior Journalist Nisthar Cassim, Founding Editor and Chief Executive of the Daily FT.

Registrations

To register for the seminar please contact Anandhi/Prabhath on 0112696227 or drop an email to info@casa.lk before 21 September.

The Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents, well known by the acronym CASA, is the voice of the shipping industry of Sri Lanka and has served the industry with unwavering focus and dedication since the association began as the Ceylon Shipping Committee in 1944.

Its members represent all international shipping lines who call Sri Lankan Ports due to its very strategic location in close proximity to the main international shipping lanes.

Members of CASA are involved in vessel agency, husbanding services and act as manning/crewing agents for leading ship owners and managers. CASA members also provide various other services to ship owners/managers in the ports of Sri Lanka and at off port locations.

Through regular dialogue with stakeholders; Government institutions, regulatory bodies and other government and private sector agencies, CASA seeks to effect an interchange of ideas and information, represent and advocate the views of the association in all official fora and shape the future of the industry by investing in education and training for its members and working with maritime training academies to train Sea Farers.

ICT attracts new shipping line to Port of Colombo

Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd. (CICT) the first and only deep water terminal in the Port of Colombo, has made another major breakthrough by attracting a new shipping line Interasia Lines Ltd. (IAL) to call at the Port of Colombo on a weekly schedule.

This new shipping line is based in Taiwan and specializes in inter-Asia services. The Line was convinced to extend its services to cover the lucrative South Asia market through the joint marketing network of CICT and CMHI, the holding company of CICT.

IAL will now service the South Asia market by transshipping cargo via the Port of Colombo. This new service is bound to boost new transshipment volumes connecting Bangladesh and Myanmar cargo through the Port of Colombo.

With the introduction of this new service, CICT continues to play the anchor role of attracting new volumes through the Port of Colombo in line with CICT’s concept and focus of marketing the Port internationally as one unit for the benefit of all terminals, thereby enhancing the position of the Port of Colombo as a major common-user transshipment hub.

The first vessel of this service called at the Port of Colombo on the 30th March and a plaque exchange ceremony was held on board to commemorate the maiden call at the CICT terminal.

CICT closed 2015 with an impressive 1.561 million TEUs, with the ULCC (Ultra Large Container Carrier) and VLCC (Very Large Container Carrier) segments making a 67% contribution to that volume. As a member of CMHI, the world’s second largest global terminal operator by throughput, CICT has access to a wide network of 72 terminals operated and invested by CMHI across the globe, none of which are in any form of competition with the Port of Colombo. This is a unique advantage to boost the status and recognition of the port as a common-user transshipment hub.