Milestone moment in India’s maritime history, mothership ‘San Fernando’ berths at Vizhinjam port

Adani Ports and SEZ on Friday announced the arrival of the first mother ship at its Vizhinjam port.

This milestone event marks India’s entry into the global transshipment and ushers in a new era in India’s maritime history, positioning Vizhinjam as a critical player in the international trade routes.

The event was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, and the gathering was presided over by VN Vasavan, the Minister for Ports, Kerala. Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, was the chief guest.

This also marks the debut of India’s first automated port with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities, capable of handling large ships, with its modern container handling equipment and world-class automation and IT systems.

San Fernando, the 300-meter-long container vessel operated by Maersk with a capacity of 8,000-9,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), will be availing the services at the port to offload about 2,000 containers and for 400 container movements within the vessel.

Highlighting Vizhinjam’s significance, Karan Adani, Managing Director of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZ) said, “San Fernando – now berthed at our harbour is a symbol of a new, glorious achievement in Indian maritime history. It is a messenger that will tell the world that India’s first transshipment terminal and the largest deepwater port has begun commercial operations”.

Speaking about the port’s state-of-art infrastructure he added, “No other port in India – including our own highly advanced Mundra Port – has these technologies. What we have already installed here is South Asia’s most advanced container handling technology. And once we complete the automation and the Vessel Traffic Management System, Vizhinjam will be in a class of its own as one of the most technologically sophisticated transshipment ports in the world.”

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that India had now entered the global map with this transshipment port.

“India enters into the global map through Vizhinjam. It is a huge port among world ports. The biggest ships in the world can berth in Vizhinjam. The operation is starting through a trial run. And will start complete functioning soon,” Vijayan said.

Currently, 25 per cent of India’s container traffic is transshipped en route to the destination. Until now, despite India’s rising trade with the world, the country did not have a dedicated transshipment port, resulting in three-fourths or 75 per cent of India’s transshipped cargo being handled by ports outside India.

Vizhinjam, will not only facilitate the movement of transshipment traffic into India but the strategically located port will also play a pivotal role in handling traffic along major routes connecting India, such as traffic between the US, Europe Africa, and the Indian subcontinent as well as US, Europe, Africa and the Far East, and thus playing a critical role in the international trade routes.

Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala is a critical economic infrastructure project promoted by the Government of Kerala in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. It is the largest private sector investment in Kerala. After winning the bid, Adani Ports and Logistics formed a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), to develop the project.

AVPPL entered into a concession agreement with the Department of Ports, Government of Kerala, on August 17, 2015, for the development and operation of Vizhinjam International Seaport. Overcoming multiple challenges, the port is now in the advanced stages of competition.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), a part of the globally diversified Adani Group has evolved from a port company to an Integrated Transport Utility providing an end-to-end solution from its port gate to customer gate.

APSEZ has 15 ports–seven strategically located ports and terminals on the west coast (Mundra, Tuna, Dahej, and Hazira in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa, Dighi in Maharashtra and Vizhinjam in Kerala) and 8 ports and terminals on the East coast of India (Haldia in West Bengal, Dhamra and Gopalpur in Odisha, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Kattupalli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in Puducherry, representing 27 per cent of the country’s total port volumes.

The company is also developing a transshipment port in Colombo, Sri Lanka, operates the Haifa Port in Israel and a container terminal in Dar es Salaam Port, Tanzania.