Shipping Corporation of India plans to set to start a coastal container shipping service between Kandla port and VOC Port in Thoothukudi. This will be done by re-routing the SCI Middle East India Liner Express (SMILE) service. The port rotation of the service is Pipavav – Kandla – Tuticorin – Cochin – Pipavav, with the first ship to visit Thoothukudi on June 16, sources at the VOC Port Authority said.
This service aims to enhance coastal connectivity between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, facilitating the transport of commodities such as raw cotton and chemicals from Gujarat, and solar panels, tyres, & machinery spares from Tamil Nadu, a social media post by VOC Port Authority said.
The present SMILE service connects Cochin – Tuticorin – Colombo – Mundra – Jebel Ali – Mundra – Pipavav – Hazira – Cochin.
On Tuesday, Susanta Kumar Purohit, Chairperson, held discussions with Rear Admiral Jaswinder Singh (Retd), Director (Liner and Passenger Services), The Shipping Corporation of India, along with senior officers of the Port and SCI. The discussion centered around the commencement of direct coastal container shipping.
At the time of filing this report, the share price of SCI on the NSE closed at ₹210.69, down by ₹-4.44 (-2.06 per cent).