Singapore: Mercator Lines has become the first international shipping company to bag a Sri Lankan coal supply contract. The Singapore-listed arm of Indian shipowner Mercator said it had entered into a $31m, four-year contract of affreightment (COA) with a state owned Sri Lankan company to transport 650,000 tonnes of coal from Indonesia. "The port infrastructure facilities in both Indonesia and Sri Lanka necessitate the use of geared vessels and Mercator can deploy any of its existing fleet of geared panamaxes to service the contract," the company said. Logistics in Sri Lanka will be sub-contracted to the Singapore company's parent. "We are excited to secure this contract in Sri Lanka. We see Sri Lanka as a promising market with immense growth potential. Being the first International Shipping Company to enter into the dry bulk transportation market in Sri Lanka would certainly give us the first mover advantage for future growth," said Shalabh Mittal, managing director and ceo of Mercator. [23/06/10]
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