‘Mercs Mihintale’ returns to home

Colombo Dockyard completes repair of tiger-hit MV ‘Mercs Ruhunu’

Merchant Vessel “Mercs Mihintale” arrived in Colombo port recently after a 4 year international charter.

The vessel, built in Brazil in 1983, is a multipurpose ship of 12,835 tdwt. She has returned to her home-port to carry out repairs and class-renewal at the Colombo Dockyard Limited.

Thomas Kriwat, Managing Director of Mercantile Shipping Company PLC said that it was the first time the vessel arrived in Sri Lanka after her charter with Safmarine. “The maintenance work will take approximately 1 month, after which the ship is bound to join our liner-trade between India and the Persian Gulf”, he states. “Colombo Dockyard was chosen for this class-renewal due to their expertise and efficiency, especially when it comes to older vessels,” he added.

A few weeks ago Colombo Dockyard completed the repair of MV “Mercs Ruhunu” after the vessel got damaged in the KKS sea tiger attack. Kriwat said that, “the vessel was saved from a major catastrophe, due to the immediate intervention by the Sri Lanka Navy. After only 10 days of repairs the vessel was handed back to the Government to continue her service from Colombo and Trincomalee to KKS, carrying essential goods like food items and building materials”. Mercantile Shipping Company PLC is the leading ship owner and operator in Sri Lanka, owning and operating a fleet of presently 6 multipurpose vessels, with an order book of further 6 new buildings to join the fleet in the next year.