Concor plans sea routes for containers

MUMBAI: Container Corporation of India (Concor) is planning to take containers by sea route to neighbouring countries of south Asia. The company is believed to be in talks with shipping lines for container shipment.

In September last year, Concor had sent two containers of wheat by barges to Narayangunge in Bangladesh on experimental basis. But the move to operate the service on a regular basis had not succeeded.

Early in December, Concor had sent a consignment of four 20-ft containers loaded with cotton yarn to Bangladesh. Seaways Shipping had taken the consignment to Bangladesh for Concor. An agreement to this effect was signed between the Seaways and Concor in November.

Anil Gupta, director, Concor, said, "Due to the rising demand in container transportation sector, Concor is weighing options to spread its network beyond the country. As part of it, we had started service to Bangladesh. Soon we will the consignments to other neighbouring countries also."

According to sources, it should be possible to handle three rakes of shipment a month to Bangladesh, subject to cargo inducement. The trade stands to benefit from the reduced transit time and that export by sea offers a cost-effective alternative.