The first regular container service to Dubai from V.O. Chidambaranar Port in India commenced on Tuesday.
Chairman of the VOC Port Trust S. Anantha Chandra Bose inaugurated the service being operated by Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal Private Limited on the 8{+t} {+h} berth of the port.
VOC Port will in a month run four container services, which would sail from berth 8 at the port run by Dakshin Barath Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd (DBGT), to Jebel Ali Port in Dubai.
MV ‘SSL Gujarat’ with its maiden call hauling general cargo of 507 TEUs –Twenty Foot Equivalent units in 487 containers would reach Jebel Ali Port.
The mainline container cargo shipping service, which would start from the wee hours of Wednesday, is expected to reduce shipment time by about four days from the port to Dubai as at present ships go via the Port of Colombo.
But now with the services of large container ships such as mv SSL Gujarat, the Port of Colombo could be avoided, hence saving both time and cost, sources said.
On the outer harbour development project of the port, Bose said a public investment board memorandum would be forwarded to the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to lay the foundation stone for the project at the VOC Port either in August or September depending on the cabinet approval and environmental clearance. The VOC Port, one of the twelve major ports in India, was ranked third in cargo handling growth, he added.