Bangladesh’s HR Lines first to call at JCT after Colombo contains Covid-19

HR Lines Shipping Service, a Bangladeshi feeder vessel operator, has completed operations as the first container service at the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka, following the city getting a grip of its Covid-19 situation.

As per the information provided by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), HR Lines – who introduced their feeder service, CCE – Chattogram Colombo Express in April 2021 – dedicated one of their Chattogram loops to call at the JCT with a greater focus to provide flexible feeder connections in Colombo, reports Sri Lankan media.

Accordingly, MV HR SARERA Voyage 0042N called at the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) of the Port of Colombo (POC) on 10 March.

To mark the inaugural call of the vessel, plaque exchanges were held at the JCT of SLPA.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Tareq Md Ariful Islam, while attending the event, said that shipping connectivity was one of the most important areas in developing bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

HR Lines started the Colombo – Chattogram feeder service with two vessels, once a week sailing and eventually will upgrade it to twice weekly with adding two more vessels by October 2022.

Being one of the prominent feeder operators, within a year, HR Lines secured a total market share of about 35% of this trade lane.

Besides, SLPA Chairman Dr Prasantha Jayamanna, who was present at the occasion, said that during the discussions with the Bangladesh high commissioner to Sri Lanka, it was apparent that Bangladesh was immensely supportive of improving mutually beneficial relationships between the two countries.

It is to be noted that Clarion Shipping (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis group, is the local agent for the vessel.