Orient Express Line (OEL), one of India's biggest feeder ship operators, will be relocating 60 per cent of its shipments from eastern India through the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), Malaysia's biggest container and transhipment port.
OEL (Singapore) Pte Ltd's managing director Mahesh S. Iyer said today that PTP, being a major transhipment port in the region, is already connected to most ports around the world.
"We will be calling on PTP first before going to Singapore and Port Klang, and we expect PTP to take about 60 per cent of our cargo," Mahesh said.
He said this when speaking to reporters at a ceremony to commemorate the maiden voyage of the shipping company's vessel, "OEL Excellence", which arrived at PTP early this morning.
"OEL Excellence" is one of the four vessels being deployed by OEL for its new service named "Straits Bengal Service", which provides direct connectivity between Calcutta located in the east coast of India and PTP.
Mahesh said the new service, together with PTP's high operational efficiency, will provide a faster turnaround time for shipments between Johor and the east coast of India.
"The introduction of the new service will now give Indian shippers, especially those originating from the Calcutta hinterland more options to deliver their cargo to various destinations around the world," he said.
The service will also allow cargo from India to be transhipped through PTP using the mothership of Maersk Sealane and Evergreen Marine Corp to arrive faster, therefore shorterning delivery time to the United States and Europe.
Mahesh said among the major exports from Calcutta are steel products like coils and manhole covers, and also plenty of tea to be exported to Europe and the US.
According to him, almost all the US roads uses steel manhole covers made in India.
PTP chief executive officer Harun Johari, who was present at the event, said that OEL has ben calling at PTP since the port started operations in September 2000.
"We are happy with the support that OEL has shown us all these years and we are happy to see them growing with us," he said.
Harun estimated that a volume of 30,000 containers originated from Johor is being shipped to India annually.
He said the volume of containers is expected to grow in the future, especially when the Iskandar Development Region gains momentum and is developed further.
OEL, established in 1983, is part of the Transworld group of companies, which achieved a turnover of US$450 million last year.
The company operates 22 vessels covering the Indian sub-contionent, South-East Asia and the Middle East.
It operates two weekly shipment services, which are PTP to Chittagong and PTP to Calcutta.
OEL (Singapore) Pte Ltd's managing director Mahesh S. Iyer said today that PTP, being a major transhipment port in the region, is already connected to most ports around the world.
"We will be calling on PTP first before going to Singapore and Port Klang, and we expect PTP to take about 60 per cent of our cargo," Mahesh said.
He said this when speaking to reporters at a ceremony to commemorate the maiden voyage of the shipping company's vessel, "OEL Excellence", which arrived at PTP early this morning.
"OEL Excellence" is one of the four vessels being deployed by OEL for its new service named "Straits Bengal Service", which provides direct connectivity between Calcutta located in the east coast of India and PTP.
Mahesh said the new service, together with PTP's high operational efficiency, will provide a faster turnaround time for shipments between Johor and the east coast of India.
"The introduction of the new service will now give Indian shippers, especially those originating from the Calcutta hinterland more options to deliver their cargo to various destinations around the world," he said.
The service will also allow cargo from India to be transhipped through PTP using the mothership of Maersk Sealane and Evergreen Marine Corp to arrive faster, therefore shorterning delivery time to the United States and Europe.
Mahesh said among the major exports from Calcutta are steel products like coils and manhole covers, and also plenty of tea to be exported to Europe and the US.
According to him, almost all the US roads uses steel manhole covers made in India.
PTP chief executive officer Harun Johari, who was present at the event, said that OEL has ben calling at PTP since the port started operations in September 2000.
"We are happy with the support that OEL has shown us all these years and we are happy to see them growing with us," he said.
Harun estimated that a volume of 30,000 containers originated from Johor is being shipped to India annually.
He said the volume of containers is expected to grow in the future, especially when the Iskandar Development Region gains momentum and is developed further.
OEL, established in 1983, is part of the Transworld group of companies, which achieved a turnover of US$450 million last year.
The company operates 22 vessels covering the Indian sub-contionent, South-East Asia and the Middle East.
It operates two weekly shipment services, which are PTP to Chittagong and PTP to Calcutta.