Colombo Dockyard signs agreement to set up fully-fledged workshop at Hambantota International Port

Thursday, 18 July 2024 04:45 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Colombo Dockyard (CDPLC) on Tuesday inked an agreement with Hambantota International Port Group Ltd., (HIPG), to setup a fully-fledged workshop at the HIPG facility.

Once setup, the workshop will augment the service availability and the speed of service to the clients, improving the economics to the end user. This new workshop, when in operation will extend the service footprint of Colombo Dockyard to the southernmost tip of Sri Lanka.

The strategic maritime location of Hambantota, in close proximity to the key maritime routes, will allow Colombo Dockyard to offer afloat repair services to a multitude of vessels calling for transhipment, bunkering and other operations and dedicated afloat repairs. HIPG port is a deep draft port with extensive berths that can handle vessels up to 17-meter draft, going up to VLCC.

Colombo Dockyard’s Rapid Response Afloat Repair Service (RRARS), which was launched in 2019 to provide afloat repairs services at all Sri Lankan ports, has played a crucial role in providing the required repair support to the vessels the Sri Lankan waters. The excellent facilities available at the HIP, with over three and a half kilometres of deep draft berths, selected berths serviced with cranage comes in handy for execution of speedy afloat repairs.

These proactive initiatives for setting up a fully-fledged workshop within the HIP facility, will provide much needed capacity augmentation for afloat repairs in Sri Lanka. These auxiliary service availability to the vessels calling the Sri Lankan waters, will also play a crucial role in generating much needed foreign exchange to the Sri Lankan economy.

Colombo Dockyard operates in joint collaboration with Onomichi Dockyard Co. Ltd, Japan since 1993. Colombo Dockyard will be celebrating 50 years of operations in 2024, since its establishment in the year 1974.

The signatories to the agreement were HIPG Chief Executive Officer Johnson Liu, who signed the agreement while Managing Director/CEO Thimira S. Godakumbura. The HIPG team consisted of DGM-Commercial and Marketing Bindu Ranasinghe, Executive Commercial and Marketing Henry Liu, Assistant Manager-Commercial and Marketing Jayathmi Gamachchige, Senior Manager-Legal Deshani Koralage, Senior Executive, Legal Kavindu Abesuriya and Ranjith Withanawasm.

The Colombo Dockyard team present at the occasion included Director J. Furukawa, GM, SRB S.G. Senadheera, Consultant, SRB Benny Fernando, CFO Gihan Ravinatha, GM,YD P.S. Abeysinghe, Additional GM, SRB S.H.P.K. Ranatunga, Legal Consultant/Company Secretary Manori Mallikarachchie and AGM,SRB Darshana Chandrasekera and Marketing Head Amila Rukshan.