Herbilan Shipping Pvt has announced they will provide via the Indian port of Visakhapatnam (also known as Vizag) a container service linking Colombo, Sri Lanka and Yangon. The service is scheduled to start September 2015. Each voyage will take 14 days.
The vessel to be used is Merchant Vessel Herbilan Success, with a capacity of 1,158 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) transporting steel, cement into Yangon and exporting timber pulses and other products from Myanmar. The company also states ability to handle reefer cargo as the vessel is fitted out for refrigerated cargo. They have seen growth in these types of exports from Myanmar.
The investment by Herbilan Shipping is $4.5m. A major driver for the project was their research that highlighted a lack of shipping services linking Yangon and Colombo. The company stated they see opportunities to “open up an untapped market in Myanmar”. Research indicated, by contrast, 42 vessels operating between Singapore and Yangon. Also, earlier this year additional services started, linking Yangon to Shanghai.
