Kolkata, Feb 16 Tata Steel has completed the first multi-modal shipment of 960 tonnes of steel TMT bars from Haldia Port in West Bengal to Tripura’s Agartala via the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route.

The barge ‘MV Bulker I’ was flagged off from Haldia Port on January 8 and the first leg of the journey was through inland waterways using the IBP route, to the transfer point at Ashuganj port in Bangladesh. The bars were then unloaded and the second leg of transportation via road to a Land Port Authority of India warehouse at Agartala on the India-Bangladesh border. In the third and final leg of the journey, trucks were used to trans-ship goods from this warehouse to the distributor’s warehouse in Agartala.

Tata Martrade International Logistics Ltd (TMILL) was in charge of the entire logistics management for this maiden voyage. The entire transportation from flag-off to the receiving of material at distributor’s warehouse was completed in 17 days, a press statement issued by the company said.

According to Peeyush Gupta, Vice-President, GSP and Supply Chain, Tata Steel, the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route serves as a reliable integrated logistics solution for both Bangladesh and India to use inland waterways and will further help expand consumer reach to better serve the growing north-eastern market. The route exemplifies efficient utilisation of the river-sea combination, as a mode of transport and multimodal movement. This will also help lower the carbon footprint and will contribute to decarbonising the steel sector.

“The company hopes to shorten the timelines even further to serve its clients. The possibility of using this route to service additional, smaller-lot regions along the river is worth exploring. The Indo Bangladesh Protocol route is more economical as well as environmentally more responsible,” Ranjan Sinha, Chief Group Shipping, Tata Steel, said in the statement.

Earlier in 2022, the company had successfully shipped 1,800 tonnes of finished steel products from Haldia Port in West Bengal to Pandu Port in Assam using the IBP route via the Brahmaputra River.

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