Message of the Chairman

It is with pleasure we announce to you of the launch of YoungShip Sri Lanka. The formal launch of YoungShip Sri Lanka was concluded on the 25th of September, during the much publicized and sought after “Sri Lanka Maritime Week” event with participation from all the major stakeholders in Sri Lanka’s Maritime Industry including top corporates, ship agencies, ports and terminals.

Sri Lanka throughout history has been a major port when transporting goods from the East to West.  Port of Colombo was known to Roman, Arab, and Chinese traders more than 2000 years ago & by the 8th century, Arab Muslim traders settled in Colombo as a base for their trade for that part of the world. Throughout history the port of Colombo has been a pivotal transit hub along the Silk route and continues to be a vital stop when transporting good from the east to the west, in recent time the port of Colombo is vital transit hub for the south Asian region and in the year 2017 with was ranked the 25th most busiest container port in the world handling a throughput of over 6.2 Million TEUS. For 2017/18 the port of Colombo was recognized as the fastest growing major port in the world, recording a growth rate of 15.6% above Singapore (11%) and Guangzhou (8.6%).

In Sri Lanka’s Maritime lansdscape, the Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) acts as the voice of the shipping industry with a membership of over 130 organizations. CASA felt the need to create a forum for the youth of the Industry in order to bridge the gap that existed at the time, and it is with this in mind that Young Shipping professionals of CASA (YSP) was formed in the year 2013. With the formation of YSP, a continuous effort was made by YSP to bridge the gap between the veterans in Shipping and the youth in shipping. YSP operated with several objectives in mind; to enhance knowledge sharing, socializing and networking, promoting ethical competition and sustainability. Through the years YSP has continuously empowered the youth by organizing many events such as membership evenings and fellowship events, port visits, sporting events such as cricket and karting tournaments, educational seminars covering a wide range of topics, multiple CSR projects and also a highly successful open quiz with collaboration from CASA bringing the youth of the industry together. YSP of CASA has now reached the juncture where it is necessary to enhance value to our membership. YSP thus felt the need to engage in an international collaboration and become part of a wider network for the future. 

YoungShip was an attractive proposition for YSP in that the objectives of the two bodies are also closely aligned promoting values of ethics, enhancing knowledge sharing, socializing and networking. As YoungShip Sri Lanka, our immediate tasks include consolidating our current position in the industry, particularly boosting our membership and delivering value additions to our members. In the course of the coming months, we hope to roll out the below events. Our next plans include arranging a port visit and a networking evening to get all the members in one common forum, we have planned to have a repeat of last year’s highly successful open quiz with collaboration from CASA. The quiz is to be conducted by IQA adhering to International Quizzing standards. Youngship Sri Lanka has also planned a series of educational seminars and information exchange programs on a range of industry topics. In addition, YoungShip Sri Lanka maintains an active Facebook page with regular information feeds and exchanges on topics of interest to the maritime industry.

We also hope to partner with YoungShip International and enhance exposure to attend functions in countries outside of Sri Lanka, and to engage with the Young Maritime Professionals in other parts of the world to thus broaden our outlook and learn and exchange ideas with you all leading for stronger future co-operation. As the industry becomes more challenging it is expected the up to date professional also would up their game to overcome the challenges. Youngship offers a platform to drive forward these changes and we warmly welcome you all to be part of our journey for the future.