JICT opens direct link to India

JICT opens direct link to India

The Singapore-registered MV Sima Kija docked at the Jakarta
International Container Terminal (JICT) in Tanjung Priok on
Thursday, marking the opening of a direct India-Jakarta Straits
(IJS) service.

The container vessel has a deadweight of 17,030 tons and 790
twenty-feet equivalent unit (TEU) capacity.

Simatech Shipping LLC started its IJS service at the JICT with
a port rotation of Jakarta-Singapore-Navasheva (India)-Colombo-
Jakarta.

JICT president director WS Wirjawan said the opening of the
new direct service proved that Jakarta was more than ready to
handle more direct vessels efficiently and accurately.

"We will continue soliciting new direct services to berth at
JICT to make it unnecessary for local exporters and importers to
pay a double handling charge and other inefficient costs," he
said in a media statement.

Indonesia exported and imported a total of 5.5 million TEU
containers last year, with 80 percent of them passing through
Singapore.

The government has been working to overcome the notorious
inefficiency and rampant illegal fees in Indonesian ports as part
of an effort to slash the high cost economy and boost the
competitiveness of Indonesian products on the global market. --
JP