The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is targeting vessels plying the east-west route past the island's southern tip, now that the Hambantota deepwater port has started bunkering in June. About 270 vessels pass Hambantota each day, while more than 700 ships per month call at the southern coast to embark/disembark sea marshals at Galle. Hambantota is situated less than 20km from the shipping lane and halfway between Aden and Singapore. This makes it well placed to be a bunkering hub, in the same way that Galle, farther up the Sri Lankan coast, was a coaling station during the steamship era.
展开▼
