With the congestion at the Colombo ports growing by leaps and bounds, the Cochin Port authorities expect several mainline vessels to anchor at the Cochin Port Trust shortly.
The first ship to have entered the Cochin Port Trust waters was the S.S.Padma (a coastal ship of the Bombay Steam Navigation Co.) on 26 May 1928. Since then, the Cochin Port Trust has been expanding to meet the trade requirements of the region.
The latest anchoring at the inner harbor of the Cochin Port Trust was of the 366.5-meter ship, Maersk Edinburgh. This mainline vessel of the 2M Alliance was berthed at the International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam under the US East Coast Service.
Another fact accorded to this ship is that it belongs to 13568 TEU Container Capacity Vessels that are among the largest class of ships called at Indian Ports. With the ongoing congestion at the Colombo Port, the mainline will benefit in two aspects. The benefits include lower logistics costs as well as lower transit time of cargo.
Interestingly, trade sources all point out that Colombo congestion has turned out to be an opportunity for the Kochi ports. This has promoted the trans-shipment business following the diversion of ships. This directly boosts Kochi’s image in handling the transshipment of cargoes