KOCHI: The first ship of the weekly Far East container ship service connecting Kochi with ports in China and Korea called at the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), Vallarpadam, on Friday.
In the first call, the ship handled 872 containers at the ICTT. On its east-bound route, the ship will call at ports at Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan (all China) Busan (Korea), Singapore and Port Klang (Malaysia). The service will be of great help to traders at Pollachi and Dindigul who exports coir fibre and related products to destinations near intermediate ports like Ningbo and Chiwan. “The direct sailing saves four days of transit time and overall transportation cost, while also ensuring the much-needed logistic competitiveness to the emerging EXIM sector of Pollachi,” stated Cochin Port authorities. A special feature of the service is that it calls at ports like Ningbo and Chiwan in China, reducing inland movement to ultimate manufacturing destinations in China.