Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Wednesday, 15 February 2012 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Mv. OEL Dubai on Monday created history again with its 200th call at the Port of Colombo as part of her services from Cochin, originally began in April 2008.
A spokesman for OEL said that when Mv. ‘OEL Dubai’ sailed into the Port of Colombo with all horns blazing straight from the builders in Singapore and Principals Orient Express Lines declared that the vessel was to be deployed on the Colombo – Cochin shuttle.
This was indeed creating history in the annuls of the Port of Colombo, as it was the first instance where a common carrier feeder vessel was coming in straight from the builders to be used on a Colombo shuttle.
This week’s milestone of 200th call was also celebrated in similar historic spirit.
To commemorate this remarkable feat a ceremony was held onboard the vessel. The Chairman of Orient Express Lines S. Ramakrishnan made a special visit to Sri Lanka to be a part of this Dr. P.B Wickrema, Chairman SLPA, Capt Nihal Keppetipola MD SLPA and other senior port officials were also present.
Orient Express Lines (OEL) which commenced calling Colombo as far back as 1992 has been long serving the Colombo trade for the last 20 years as a feeder operator and has an array of services calling various ports in the region, as is today tagged as one of the premier feeder operators in the region.
In 2011 their throughput over the Port of Colombo was over 225,000 TEUs.
Coincidently the Transworld Group of Companies which is the parent company to which Orient Express Lines belongs, is completing 35 years this year as well.
OEL serves over Colombo the Ports of Cochin, Tuticorin and Chennai in India, Chittagong in Bangladesh and has recently added Male to this list.
