Maersk Line and APM Terminals seek to expand in India and Sri Lanka.

04 December 2007

A Maersk official has advised Sri Lanka to further liberalise its shipping sector in order to help the island become a logistics hub, Hellenic Shipping News reports.

"Colombo has the potential to capture regional business but needs regulatory reform and simplified customs and other procedures," Maersk Lanka managing director, Eric Maard said at a seminar on Sri Lanka's prospects of becoming a regional logistics hub. The event was organised by the Asian Development Bank, the Freight Forwarders’ Association and the Academy for International Trade and Transport.

"It was the partial liberalisation of shipping in the early 1990s that created the basis for Colombo becoming a hub for the south Asian region. If freight rates were controlled, none of this would have happened. This does not mean I want a completely open society or to throw out ethics and good governance," Maard said.

North of Sri Lanka, Maersk India has invested about $500 million over the last two to four years. Maersk expects its container volumes handled in India to grow at an average of between 15 and 18 percent annually. Over the last three to four years, its revenues from India increased by about 20 percent a year.

APM Terminals, which operates the container terminal gateway in Mumbai, expects to handle up to 1.2 million containers this year. Furthermore Maersk is interested in operating a new container terminal in the southern Indian state of Kerala, according to Lloyd’s List newspaper.

More details: www.hellenicshippingnews.com