Thoothukudi: Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari flagged off the maiden container mainline vessel at Thoothukudi and said it will be a game changer in container traffic of south India.
At present, containers from Tuticorin to Far East countries like Malaysia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong are transited by the feeder vessels to Colombo, where they are further connected to the mother vessel.
The Ministry of Shipping said in a statement that with mainline call being done directly at Thoothukudi, there will be saving on account of the transshipment cost.
“EXIM trade will benefit and there will be a saving of approximately $50 per container as handling of container at Colombo will not be required. This service will give benefit to the importers and exporters in terms of saving transshipment cost and transit time,” it said.
In the last four years, the Port has made investments to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore towards improvement of infrastructure with the focus to unlock efficiencies at the port.