Maersk pilots containerised cargo movement on National Waterway-1

Maersk has commenced its first inland containerised cargo movement in India through the country’s first multimodal terminal on River Ganga (National Waterway-1), from Varanasi to Kolkata. The shipping line deployed 16 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) on MV Rabindranath Tagore that will be plying from the Varanasi terminal to RR Jetty in Kolkata, covering a distance of 1390 km. Despite the country’s vast coastline and river network, the containerisation level in India stands at only 57 per cent, well below the global average. India has 14,500 kms of navigable waterways, which can be utilised as a channel to move cargo within the country and to neighbouring countries, and potentially reduce logistics costs. Containerised cargo transport through inland waterways presents several inherent advantages such as reduced handling costs, easier modal shift, reduced pilferage and damages, thereby enabling the cargo owners to reduce their carbon footprints.

Steve Felder, Managing Director – South Asia, Maersk, says, “We believe that India’s trade growth is hidden in the hinterlands. As the global integrator of container logistics, we are focused on providing efficient supply chain solutions for our customers, and efficiently linking Indian importers and exporters in hinterland locations with markets around the world. The initiative will help facilitate the cargo movement from the hinterland to directly move to and from Bangladesh and the rest of the world through Bay of Bengal.”