SSL Visakhapatnam, a container vessel of Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Ltd, embarked here on Thursday morning on her maiden voyage, linking the ports on the east coast with the ones on the west and further onto the Gulf.
On the occasion, Capt. V.K Singh, CEO of Shreyas Shipping, said it was the ninth container vessel in the company's fleet and the first one to be named after Visakhapatnam, with a capacity of 1,613 TEUs and a gross registered tonnage of 18,602.
He said it would be a weekly service facilitating the movement of both exim and domestic cargo to all the main container ports and terminals in the country and West Asia as well.
"We have also deployed two feeder vessels to connect Visakhapatnam with the north-eastern ports like Kolkata and Haldia. Transhipment of containers would also be carried out. Later, perhaps, even Chittagong in Bangladesh may be connected," he said.
Singh said Shreyas Shipping has a fleet of nine vessels and capacity of over 13,500 TEUs.
M T Krishna Babu, Chairman of the Visakhapatnam port, commended the efforts of Shreyas Shipping in promoting coastal shipping which would bring down the logistics costs substantially and enable India to compete with other countries.
"It is not enough if we make in India but we must make it cheaply and transport it cheaply to compete in the markets," he said.
Sushil Moolchandani, Chief Operating Officer of Visakha Container Terminal Pvt Ltd, thanked the Shreyas group for contributing substantially to the growth of the terminal.
Visakhapatnam member of Parliament K Haribabu said it was a matter of great joy and pride that a vessel named after the city would be spreading its fame far and wide. He also stressed the importance of coastal shipping.
P L Haranadh, Deputy Chairman of the Visakhapatnam port, C Rajendiran, Principal Commissioner of Customs, and others spoke on the occasion.