COLOMBO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Colombo Port in Sri Lanka is receiving a rising number of transshipment containers as major shipping lines are rerouting their ships following the recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, local media reported on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Keith D. Bernard was quoted saying that many container ships are now taking the longer route around Africa instead of going to the Suez Canal via the Red Sea, and these ships pass the Colombo Port.

He said the number of containers handled by the SLPA-owned terminal has increased by around 80 percent recently.

Bernard said the Port of Colombo is targeting around 7 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in 2024, adding that it handled 6.9 million TEUs in 2023.

The capacity at the Colombo Port is about 8 million TEUs, which will increase to 8.5 million TEUs when a new container terminal comes into operation this year, he said. Enditem

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