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Port of Colombo

Sri Lanka

UN/LOCODELKCMBWhat is a UN/LOCODE?6.9167° N, 79.85° ELocal timeAsia/Colombo, UTC+5:30

In short

Colombo: no ships detected in port from AIS in the last 3 days (as of Oct 2, 2026, 03:12 UTC). Coverage depends on AIS reception in the area.

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In port now
0
Arrivals, last 24 h
0
Departures, last 24 h
0
Ships nearby, last 6 h
0

Expected arrivals AIS-detected

Ships whose AIS destination names Colombo, with the arrival time their crew entered. Reported in the last 24 hours, due within 7 days. Crews type these by hand: a destination can be out of date and an ETA can slip.

1 ship shown, earliest first.

VesselETA (UTC)Destination as broadcastMatched by
Liberia KYOTO EXPRESSCargo (hazardous cat. D)Oct 6, 2026, 01:00 UTCLKCMBUN/LOCODE

Source: AIS voyage reports via AISstream.io global terrestrial AIS. Times are the crew's ETA, not a Voydar estimate. As of Oct 2, 2026, 03:12 UTC.

Vessels near Colombo

Ships Voydar received on AIS near the port in the last 6 hours, most recent first. Being near a port is not a port call; the board above lists calls.

No vessels detected near Colombo in the last 6 hours. As our AIS coverage grows, arrivals and departures will appear here live.

Forecast

Model forecast for Colombo over the next 72 hours, every 6 hours: wind, gusts, waves and visibility. Times in UTC.

Time (UTC)Wind (kn)FromGusts (kn)Waves (m)Period (s)Visibility (km)
2124°51.21524
5216°111.21524
5155°91.11524
3153°51.11424
2176°61.11424
6241°1111321
2120°511320
3109°50.91317
2129°60.91224
7243°120.91222

Forecast: ECMWF IFS 0.25° + ECMWF WAM, run of Oct 1, 2026, 12:00 UTC. Visibility: NOAA GFS 0.25° + GFS-Wave (WAVEWATCH III), run of Oct 1, 2026, 18:00 UTC. Waves are taken from the wave model's nearest sea point, 14 km away.

Source: ECMWF open data (IFS 0.25° forecasts, ECMWF WAM waves). This service is based on data and products of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Source: www.ecmwf.int. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Licence: CC-BY-4.0 + ECMWF Terms of Use.

Source: NOAA GFS 0.25° and GFS-Wave (WAVEWATCH III) forecasts. Forecast: NOAA NCEP GFS / GFS-Wave (WAVEWATCH III). Licence: US Government work (public domain); NOAA Open Data Dissemination.

A model forecast, not an observation. Not for navigation.

Colombo: daily port calls from satellite AIS (IMF PortWatch)

Estimates published by the International Monetary Fund's PortWatch, built from satellite and terrestrial AIS. They cover waters our own receivers do not reach yet. These are the IMF's figures, not Voydar's counts.

The IMF estimates 86 port calls in the 7 days and 325 in the 30 days to Sep 25, 2026. That is 8% less than the same 30 days a year earlier (352).

Container
248
Tanker
38
Dry bulk
21
General cargo
18
Ro-ro
0

Estimated cargo loaded and discharged in those 30 days: 2.7 million tonnes.

IMF PortWatch daily figures for Colombo, last 14 days
09-12
14
09-13
8
09-14
10
09-15
11
09-16
10
09-17
12
09-18
12
09-19
8
09-20
15
09-21
15
09-22
15
09-23
11
09-24
12
09-25
10

Sources: Kpler; UN Global Platform; IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org). IMF estimates, updated weekly; the latest days are revised. portwatch.imf.org. Counts cover container ships, tankers, dry bulk, general cargo and ro-ro vessels (30-day totals above).

Colombo: global benchmarks

How Colombo compares with the world's ports, from published statistics. These are the publishers' figures, not Voydar's own measurements.

Container Port Performance Index 2023
#40 of 405
World Bank ranking of container ports by vessel time in port (lower rank = faster turnaround). Port identified from the CPPI port name "COLOMBO" (80% confidence).
Source: World Bank, The Container Port Performance Index 2023 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Retrieved Sep 24, 2026.
Port liner shipping connectivity, 2 2026
719.1
UNCTAD index (100 = the average port in Q1 2023). Up 8% on a year earlier.
Source: UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Data Hub, port liner shipping connectivity index (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Retrieved Sep 24, 2026.

Piracy and anti-shipping incidents nearby

19 incidents within 100 km of the port in NGA's Anti-Shipping Activity Messages (ASAM) archive since Feb 14, 1986. NGA stopped updating the archive in 2024. The most recent:

  • Pirate AssaultMar 27, 2019Other70 km away

    BANGLADESH: On 27 March, two people, believed to be local pirates, were killed in a gunfight with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Pekua Upazila. RAB-7 said its team raided the area after being tipped off that a pirate gang was preparing for operations. ¿The pirates opened fire as soon as the RAB team reached the spot, triggering a gunfight,¿ said a spokesman. Bodies of two pirates were recovered after the skirmish. RAB also seized eight firearms and 26 bullets f

  • Pirate AssaultJan 27, 2007Vessel25 km away

    SRI LANKA: Container ship sustained blast damage 27 Jan, at 0530 local time in position 07-01.38N 079-39.22E, Colombo Roads. At 0530, a guard at a lighthouse spotted three vessels in a restricted zone. According to a military spokesman, as the boats approached Colombo harbor, they were told to stop, but failed to do so. Meanwhile, as the container ship (PALAPONESIA PRIDE) was waiting for pilot, the port control instructed the master to proceed to open sea at full speed. According to the incident

  • Pirate AssaultDec 10, 2002Merchant Vessel4 km away

    SRI LANKA: An unidentified container ship was boarded 10 Dec at 2300 local time while anchored 4 nm from Colombo port. Armed persons broke open four containers but fled empty handed when crew sounded alarm and mustered.

  • OtherJul 24, 2001Merchant Vessel6 km away

    SRI LANKA: LTTE REBELS ATTACKED SRI LANKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN THE EARLY HOURS OF 24 JUL DESTROYING OR DAMAGING MILITARY AND CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT. THE ATTACK OCCURED ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE START OF THE TAMIL WAR FOR A SEPARATE HOMELAND WITHIN SRI LANKA AND SO WAS PREDICTABLE AS TO TIMING IF NOT TARGET, BUT IS PROBABLY NOT A PRELUDE TO OTHER ATTACKS ON THE TRANSPORT SECTOR. IT DOES ILLUSTRATE THE ABILITY OF LTTE TO STRIKE AT TARGETS ON THE ISLAND FAR FROM THEIR ACKNOWLEDGED STRONGHOLDS IN THE

  • Pirate AssaultJan 2, 2000Merchant Vessel4 km away

    A BIMCO report states: Using at least five boats in their attack, pirates boarded a container vessel awaiting entry to the port of Colombo (06-57N 079-51E). Upon detection of the approaching pirates, the ship's crew notified the navy and the harbor police. This early action allowed the Sri Lankan police to capture four of the pirates and detain the boats used in the attacks, although another five pirates escaped with cargo items including fruit and garments. In light of this attack, vessels call

  • Pirate AssaultDec 6, 1999Merchant Vessel9 km away

    SRI LANKA: An unidentified ship was boarded the night of by 12 thieves at Colombo Anchorage. Ship's crew repelled the attack and the thieves fled in three speed boats.

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