Bottlenecks at Colombo Port threaten exports, imports
Rumblings of discontent at Sri Lanka’s premier port, mainly at the two state-run terminals, among exporters and importers over long delays plus frustration among workers over what many see as ‘political’ transfers, may have forced the government to change the minister in charge of this key institution. On Friday, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake was relieved of two portfolios (Ports and Civil Aviation) and reappointed as Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, in a sudden cabinet reshuffle. The new Ports and Civil Aviation Minister is Anura Karunathilaka. But Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Anil Jayantha denied the claim that Mr. Ratnayake had been downgraded saying he now has more responsibilities.
Exporters and importers have been navigating choppy waters as long term congestion and procedural bottlenecks at the Port of Colombo derail trade flows and push high class global shipping lines around the nation’s strategic sea gateway. It has exposed deep seated weaknesses in port administration and customs coordination and such structural frailties deter Sri Lanka’s long standing aspiration to become South Asia’s premier transshipment and logistics hub.
In the meantime, key transfers at the state-run authority (SLPA) have caused frustration among staff. Complaints from staff are overwhelming with many insisting that they are now transferred to departments that they have no knowledge of. And in place of these transfers some of the pro-government staffers are being given positions with transfers made almost overnight.
For sectors such as garments, rubber, and electronics all relying on tight delivery schedules these disruptions have been catastrophic. With ships bypassing Colombo or coming two weeks behind schedule, exporters are incurring additional costs, penalty clauses in contracts, and lost customer confidence.
At the crux of the crisis lie terminal congestion, inefficient inter-terminal transfer, and coordination losses. Exporters note that transshipment containers must be moved manually from terminal to terminal by prime movers and an outmoded and time-consuming process poorly suited to modern logistics.
On the other hand, India’s recently commissioned Vizhinjam Port, a single-basin terminal, allows easy internal movement and quicker vessel turnaround, eroding the competitiveness of Colombo.
Enraged at inefficiencies, the majority of shipping lines are rerouting traffic to Indian ports such as Mundra, Cochin, and Vizhinjam, which are all famous for world-class infrastructure and quick clearance.
Shunting shipments costs Sri Lankan exporters an arm and a leg. Containers are shunted at a cost of between Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 300,000 per shipment in terms of added haulage, demurrage and labour a hard hit for small-scale exporters with thin margins, industry sources further added.
Official estimates place total container handling at 7.76 million TEUs so far in 2025, of which 6.2 million will be transshipment. But for that expansion, 48 to 72-hour berthing waits continue unabated, driven by congestion, incompleted infrastructure integration, and weak terminals.
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