Pelican design class II drillship Aban Abraham berthed at the Hambantota International Port last week, for a warm Lay-up with full crew & equipment. 

The 219 meter vessel, which will be setting up its rig for post drilling campaign, will be stationed at the Port for a period of six months.  As per Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Flag requirements, a minimum crew would be on board whilst setting up operations are ongoing.  The vessel will be under the supervision of local agents Hayleys Energy Services Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and its marine arm, Maritime Agencies (Pvt) Ltd (Hayleys Advantis Group Companies), during its stay at the port.
 
The drillship’s call is another milestone for Hambantota International Port, which has celebrated many firsts since its management came under HIPG, a subsidiary of the world renowned port operator CMPort in December 2017. COO of HIPG Tissa Wickramasinghe, commenting on the new direction the port is moving in, said that whilst this is the first time Sri Lanka is offering such services, HIPG had the advantage of calling on the experience and expertise of their mother company in handling the operation.  “We leveraged heavily on the global marine network access of CMPort and were supported by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, to make this operation a reality.” 

The COO commended HIPG’s commercial and marketing teams, who had worked tirelessly in securing the drillship’s call.  The business had been won in a highly competitive market, amidst several other well established ports in the region providing such services.  “The market is well aware of more established ports and the fact that the Hambantota International Port was chosen despite this, clearly proves that we are benchmarking international standards.  The hard work put in by the HIP team has paid off and we are now well positioned as a multipurpose port.” 

The port’s breakthrough in diversifying from traditional shipping activities to enabling Sri Lanka to maximize its strategic location, has not gone unnoticed by the local shipping industry. “We are focused on introducing new businesses that would encourage and develop downstream marine related ancillary services at the Hambantota International Port,” says Tissa Wickramasinghe, a veteran in the shipping industry.