Integrated container logistics major AP Moller- Maersk said it had successfully completed the first India-Bangladesh cross-border logistics of containerised cargo using the inland waterways of the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route for Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages.
By transporting 50 containers (TEUs or Twenty Feet Equivalent Units) from Kolkata in India to a river port near Dhaka in Bangladesh on a barge on the National Waterways 1 on the India side, Maersk said it had created a new opportunity for customers to use the faster, more reliable inland waterways solution that connects the two countries.
“The Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route has created great trade opportunities for the two countries over the last decades. By advancing into containerised transport on this route, we are expanding the opportunities for importers and exporters from the two countries with a faster, more reliable and safer option for their cargo,” said Vikash Agarwal, MD, Maersk South Asia.
Soumyendu Sen Sarma, Director – Finance, Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages, said, “The maiden barge voyage has been successfully executed where there has been a significant reduction of transit time.”
“The delivery schedule of the cargo, which used to be routed through the transhipment hub and then arrive in Chittagong and further to the destination, used to be impacted severely with delays. The speed of delivery with the new solution offered by Maersk over inland waterways is going to be extremely beneficial for us,” he added.
