Second direct shipping service kicks off today
The second direct container shipping service from the country's premier sea port in Chattogram to Europe is going to be introduced today.
The new service will reach two new destinations -- Liverpool in the United Kingdom (UK) and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, which is also one of Europe's hub ports.
And this time comparatively bigger vessels will be deployed.
The introduction comes two and a half months after the first direct shipping service between Chattogram and Italy was launched on the first week of February this year.
United Kingdom (UK)-based freight forwarder Allseas Global Logistics is introducing the new service.
It is chartering three vessels with capacities ranging from 1,500 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to 1,800 TEUs.
Under the new service, a 1,700-TEU capacity Mongolian flagged vessel, MV AMO, arrived at the outer anchorage of the Chattogram port on Wednesday afternoon.
The vessel arrived with 562 TEUs of empty containers from China and those empty containers will take away export cargoes, said Syed Sohel Hasnat, chief executive officer (CEO) of Phoenix Shipping, the local agent of Allseas Global Logistics.
According to his calculations, the empty containers would have had been unloaded by last night.
Then loading of the export-laden containers will start, said Hasnat, hoping for the departure for Rotterdam to be by afternoon today.
It will take 20 days to 22 days for the vessel to reach Liverpool first and then it will head out for Rotterdam, the official said.
From the next voyage, the vessels will go to Rotterdam first, he informed.
The local agent is expecting to carry at least 300 TEUs of export-laden containers this time to the two EU destinations.
On why so little is being carried while the capacity was so big, Hasnat said they earlier had expectations of receiving around 400 TEUs but the factories delayed resuming operations after Eid-ul-Fitr.
In the next vessel, MV San Alfanso, which will arrive on May 30, they hope to carry over 800 TEUs, Hasnat said.
Earlier in February, an Italian shipping company lunched the first direct service between Chattogram and the Italian port of Ravenna.
It had two smaller sized vessels, MV Songa Chhetah and Cape Flores, each having a capacity of 1,100 TEUs.
Following this success, several Europe-based logistics providers took to launching similar services to other EU destinations, aiming at getting rid of long delays in transporting the country's export cargoes on the routes used currently connecting transshipment ports.
Another direct service is scheduled to be launched on the Barcelona-Chattogram-Rotterdam route later this week.
Switzerland-based maritime logistics service provider Commodity Supplies AG initiated launching the service with three vessels.
Sources said the Port of Leixões of Portugal was in a process of signing a memorandum of understanding with Chittagong Port Authority for a direct service with Chattogram.
Slovakia and the United Arab Emirates have also shown interest to inaugurate such direct shipping services, they added.
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