Shreyas Shipping vessel calls as part of SMILE service
Kandla International Container Terminal (KICT), an infrastructure project developed by the J. M. Baxi Group, has consolidated its position as the coastal gateway for northern and western India with the berthing of the second vessel, MV SSL Brahmaputra V17113, of the SMILE service on January 25, 2018.
This is one of the vessels operated by Shreyas Shipping in the SMILE service which has the following port rotation: Kandla – Mundra – Pipavav – Cochin – Tuticorin. The partners in the service consortium are Shipping Corporation of India and Shreyas Shipping (Transworld Group).
Earlier this month, MV SCI Mumbai V17106 of Shipping Corporation of India had berthed at KICT, on January 5, 2018. The berthing of SSL Brahmaputra has marked the consolidation of the SMILE service out of Kandla. The vessel, of length 260 metres, had a total exchange of approximately 1,000 TEUs on this call.
The service is an added advantage to the trade as it connects south and north India via a Major Port gateway – KICT. For the SMILE service, KICT is the best positioned gateway given its natural geographical proximity to the cargo generating areas of Morbi, Surendra Nagar, Rajkot, Rapar, etc. in Gujarat. And with the terminal having its own rail siding inside the facility, domestic cargo will also get connected to/from all the ICDs.
On this landmark occasion, Mr Yogesh Mehta, Director, KICT and Mr Amardeep Singh Parmar, Terminal Head, KICT, welcomed the Master of the vessel along with officials from the Transworld Group, among them being Mr C. M. Muraleedharan Nair (VP-Commercial) and Mr Joy Philip (GM-Operations). They thanked all for their support for bringing this service to KICT.
The occasion also saw a plaque being presented to the Master of the vessel by the KICT team.
The launch of this service has been appreciated by the trade as KICT is the closest terminal to the hinterland, and will therefore in the coming days help in reducing the cost for the end customer. It has been assured that KICT will provide international standard service to all its customers.
