CSC sees record earnings of Rs. 1.7 bln helped by coal transport

Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC) has successfully completed another season of transporting the much needed energy resource of the country by carrying nearly 2.209 million metric tonnes of coal.

As the shipping arm to the procuring entity Lanka Coal Company (LCC), CSC’s just completed few days back for the season 2016/2017 in transporting Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) annual coal requirement up to September 2017 through two-staged shipping process, according to a statement to the media released by CSC Executive Director Dr. Dan Malika Gunasekera who is also a director at LCC.

He said during the season, coal was carried from South Africa’s Richards Bay by using 37 shipments under the contract of Affreightment entered on free-on-board basis with LCC through 26 time-chartered vessels and 11 shipments by its own MV Ceylon Breeze and MV Ceylon Princess each weighing 63,000 metric tonnes.

“Within a time span of approximately six months, avoiding the rough sea season commonly known as ‘Varakan’, the transportation process isn’t an easy task to carry the country’s coal requirement that ensure energy security by thermal power production at Lak Wijaya Plant in Norochcholai, Puttalam. As mentioned, the first leg of carriage involves the main sea voyage using the mother vessels that cover a passage of around 3600 nautical miles spending nearly 340 hours in smooth sailing at an average of 11 knots per hour from Richards Bay to Puttalam. Once a ship arrives in the outer anchorage in the Puttalam coast, which is estimated at approximately 5 nautical miles off the jetty at Norochcholai, the coal is thereafter lightered using the cranes in the ship and carried up to the jetty using Self Propelled Barges (SPB). Since the draft at the coastline off Norochcholai is quite shallow, the particular process falls mandatory in carrying the coal to the conveyor belt that carry the cargo from the jetty to the plant. Since this complex procedure needs to be adopted, proper coordination in the due delivery of the cargo up to the receiving end of the CEB is absolutely imperative. In executing this said process, CSC has deployed a team of its staff with technical knowledge at the jetty who perform at some higher expected levels", he said.

During this season 2016/2017, CSC has secured total foreign exchange earnings, and in return saving of nearly US$11.6 million for the country’s national economy through its own exercise, whereas such earning may

During this season 2016/2017, CSC has secured total foreign exchange earnings, and in return saving of nearly US$11.6 million for the country’s national economy through its own exercise, whereas such earning may have been lost if an overseas supplier is vested with the task.

have been lost if an overseas supplier is vested with the task.

“This would also ensure the strategic presence of a national carrier for Sri Lanka that focus on developing a substantial fleet of ships, which is an important element in a country’s sustainable growth policy. In addition to the saving, CSC owned vessels MV Ceylon Breeze and MV Ceylon Princess that have been bought by the previous regime at quite suspicious overpriced value has been highlighted as one of the critical decisions that the present Board is faced with. It is obvious that easing the debt burden imposed upon the CSC in relation to the purchase of these two vessels can only be marginalised by employing them in the coal transportation for the country on a ‘service-for-reward’ basis. It would not only strengthen the country’s national shipping sector but also maintain a high degree of self-dependant sovereignty over its vessel owning capabilities in addition to the training of local seafarers. Despite the present volatile market on freight rates, CSC has been able to provide these transportation services at a very competitive price by matching the suppliers’ CIF rate while safeguarding its existence through considerable profit making at operations. Compared to the previous year; CSC was able to save over $3 million in foreign exchange only from barging operations due to transparent selection of a suitable party to handle the lightering operation, namely United Shippers Ltd (USL) that has helped increase the discharge rate of coal to the jetty. Due to their efficient discharge at the jetty, once incurred demurrage of nearly $5 million (2014/2015) has been dramatically brought down to just $25,000 (2016/2017) thus saving a huge outflow of the country’s important foreign exchange,” the statement added.