A remarkable increase in the number of the cruise ships calling at Port of Colombo was reported this year. According to Sri Lanka Ports Authority's records, 45 cruise ships called at Port of Colombo during the past 10 months of 2018 which is a 28.8 % growth compared to the same period in 2017.
This growth is a significant achievement after declaring 2017, 2018 and 2019 as investment and tourism years of Sri Lanka by Maithripala Sirisena with an objective of creating prosperous country.
Meanwhile, the port witnessed the highest, 19.5% growth in transshipment container throughput (trade via boxships) for the first 10 months of 2018 as against the same period in 2017.
During the first 10 months of 2018, Port of Colombo handled a total of 4,717,746 TEUs (containers) in comparison to 3,948,163 handled in the corresponding period in 2017.
Port of Colombo is ranked as No.01 container growth port in the world among the top thirty container ports for the first half of 2018. In container handling, the port had recorded a 15.6% increase for the first half of 2018 over the same period in 2017 according to Alphaliner Monthly. It is a significant achievement as it's the first time in history Port of Colombo reaches the top of global maritime ranking.
Port of Colombo expects to handle a total of 7.0 million containers this current year, up 12.9% from 6.2 million TEUs handled last year.