Sri Lanka centre of new shift in maritime industry: Class NK

Sri Lanka is at the centre of the "next great shift" in the shipping and ship building industry that is underway, according Noboru Ueda, chairman and president of ClassNK.

Head of the world's largest classification society , Mr Ueda said that the island's location, big port construction projects and plans to expand its hub role, makes it well-placed to emerge as a new maritime centre like Singapore and Dubai.

A new shift in the maritime industry is taking place, from north to south, with Sri Lanka emerging as a maritime hub after the rise of Singapore and Dubai, creating a southern maritime zone, Mr Ueda said.

"If Sri Lanka succeeds as a new maritime nation , then with Dubai and Singapore, we will have three new maritime stars in the region," Mr Ueda told at a conference in Colombo last week.