India-Chabahar Shipping Route Debuted

A container ship carrying 300 TEU (twenty-foot container equivalent units) of rice from India’s Kandla Port in Kutch District of Gujarat docked at Iran’s Chabahar Port last week in a first such voyage to directly connect Kandla to Chabahar, Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran Mohammad Saeednejad said on Wednesday.

“Direct transaction of goods from the port of Kandla to Chabahar would result in saving $750 per forty-foot container and a one-day reduction in the time of transportation.

The costs of transport from Chabahar to Kandla would also be cut by $500 for each forty-foot container,” ISNA quoted him as saying.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said earlier this month that Kandla Port will soon be connected with Iran’s Chabahar Port to give a boost to India’s international trade.

“The linking [with Chabahar] means Kandla will cement its feet like Angad did,” the prime minister said on May 22 during a visit to Gujarat, referring to a mythical episode from Ramayana where the character puts his feet down in King Ravana’s court and nobody could move it, however hard they tried