MSC IRINA container ship to dock at Vizhinjam International Seaport
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], June 8 (ANI): The MSC IRINA, recognised as the world's largest container ship by TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) capacity, will dock at the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on Monday morning and will be berthed until Tuesday.
This monumental arrival marks a significant milestone for the seaport, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation on May 2.
The MSC IRINA boasts an impressive capacity of 24,346 TEUs, making it a formidable player in global shipping. With a length of 399.9 metres and a width of 61.3 metres, the vessel is approximately four times longer than a standard FIFA-designated football field.
Explicitly designed to facilitate the transportation of large volumes of containers between Asia and Europe, the MSC IRINA is pivotal in enhancing trade routes and logistics efficiency.
This vessel will be visiting a South Asian port, highlighting Vizhinjam's capabilities in handling Ultra-Large Container Vessels (ULCVs). The port has recently welcomed other Icon-class vessels, including MSC Turkiye and MSC Michel Cappellini, further establishing its reputation as a key hub in maritime trade.
The MSC IRINA was launched in March 2023 and embarked on its maiden voyage in April of the same year.
It sails under the Liberian flag and is engineered to stack containers up to 26 tiers high, offering unparalleled capacity in container stacking.
Notably, the MSC IRINA surpasses its predecessor, OOCL Spain, by a margin of 150 TEUs. In alignment with contemporary environmental standards, the vessel is equipped with energy-saving features that contribute to reducing carbon emissions by up to 4 per cent, significantly lowering its carbon footprint while maintaining operational efficiency.
The docking of the MSC IRINA at Vizhinjam International Seaport not only underscores the port's strategic importance in global shipping but also represents a leap forward in sustainable maritime practices, setting a benchmark for future developments in the industry. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
40 minutes ago
- Mint
Afcons Infra shares: Chenab Bridge inauguration puts focus on this Shapoorji Pallonji Group stock
Afcons Infrastructure share price in focus: Afcons Infrastructure shares have been on the rise, gaining over 6% in three sessions, as investors cheered the company's role in constructing the iconic Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, the world's highest railway bridge. The feat has drawn fresh attention to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group company, further boosted by multiple new order wins and a strengthening order book. Situated at a height of 359 meters above the Chenab River and built at a cost of ₹ 1,486 crore, the bridge is 35 meters taller than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was inaugurated on Friday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the Anji Khad Bridge and the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link. Overcoming the initial challenges posed by the remote, mountainous terrain of the Himalayas, transporting equipment and materials to the site was a major hurdle. Afcons initially depended on mules and horses to access the location before eventually constructing temporary roads to ease the movement of men and machinery. As the iconic Chenab Rail Bridge garners global attention, one of the key contributors to its successful construction is Professor G. Madhavi Latha, a geotechnical expert from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, who was associated with the project for 17 years. G. Madhavi Latha worked closely with Afcons, the contractor of the bridge, in the planning, design, and construction of the structure, focusing on the obstacles posed by the terrain. Her commitment to the project has earned widespread praise, with congratulatory messages flooding social media—from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra. Across platforms, people are applauding G. Madhavi Latha's crucial role in making this engineering marvel a reality. Amid the praise following the Chenab Bridge inauguration, Professor G. Madhavi Latha took to LinkedIn to express gratitude and clarify her role. She credited Indian Railways and Afcons for the project's success, highlighting the contributions of thousands behind the scenes. Downplaying media labels like 'the woman behind the mission,' she urged the public to recognise the many unsung heroes behind the engineering feat. Meanwhile, she recently published a paper in the Indian Geotechnical Journal's women's special issue titled 'Design as You Go: The Case Study of Chenab Railway Bridge.' The paper describes how the design of the bridge has evolved continuously, with the overall structure, location, and type being the only constants to suit the geological conditions of the site. The company has expanded its order book significantly in recent weeks, securing multiple new contracts — including a ₹ 700 crore order from Reliance Industries on Saturday. According to the company, this order involves construction work related to the Vinyl Projects at Dahej, Gujarat. Prior to this, on May 30, the company was declared the lowest bidder (L1) for a water supply project covering 353 villages in the Dungarpur district. The project, titled 'Kadana Back Water (Mahi Dam) Package-1,' is valued at ₹ 463.50 crore. Afcons Infrastructure debuted on Indian stock exchanges in November last year, with its shares listing at ₹ 426.00 apiece, an 8% discount to the issue price of ₹ 463.00, as the IPO saw lukewarm demand from retail investors. Since its listing, the stock has remained volatile. At the current trading price of ₹ 447 apiece, it is down about 3.5% from the IPO price and nearly 21.6% below its recent high of ₹ 570. Despite the stock's lack of clear upward direction, analysts remain optimistic about the company's growth prospects, citing its growing order book, strong track record in executing complex and unique EPC projects both in India and abroad, and stable financial performance over the years. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
View: Apple's India plans have two new threats: Trump and China's Xi
By Mihir Sharma Apple Inc. and its main manufacturing contractor Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. are still betting on India. When Hon Hai — better known as Foxconn — revealed through an exchange filing last week that it was putting another $1.5 billion into its operations there, it will have calmed a few nerves in New Delhi. Worries about the future of Apple in the country had been set off by President Donald Trump , who said last month that he had told the company's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook that 'I don't want you building in India.' This seemed to contradict hopes, shared by both Cupertino and New Delhi, that most iPhones for the US market would come from India by the end of 2026. But on the ground, Apple's turn to the South Asian nation seems well-entrenched. Reports have emerged of a new Foxconn campus meant to house 30,000 employees — the largest such effort in India's recent history — and that another contract manufacturer, Tata Electronics , is now assembling the iPhone 16 in its South Indian plant. Yet CEOs and politicians may have begun to realize that the difficulties involved in shifting — or duplicating — an entire manufacturing ecosystem extend beyond placating Trump. This is a complex environment, and there are severe obstacles to moving it out of China. US politics is only one, though perhaps the loudest. Admittedly, Apple has had a lot of success in India already. That's why even Trump's talking about it. In just the last year, the value of its products manufactured there has jumped 60%, to $22 billion. Over $17 billion is exported; thanks to Apple, India's $38 billion of electronics exports now earn more than even its world-famous pharmaceutical sector. No other investment has produced anything near this scale of return. In fact, it may be the only success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pivot to industrial policy in the middle of his decade in power. This rare win happened because Apple and its suppliers were committed to moving production into India, and because both federal and state governments rewrote regulations and permissions to help them make the move. Politicians kept up this support, even when there might be a price to pay. After a border clash between China and India in 2020 that killed 20 of its soldiers, Indian officials restricted investment from Beijing. Those restrictions have slowly softened since then, primarily to ensure that Apple's contractors didn't get caught up in red tape. That experience should have served as a reminder to New Delhi that attracting an entire ecosystem needs three sets of players to cooperate: the companies, the destination market for their products, and the source geography. Apple and Foxconn might be on board; Trump and his tariffs might be managed — but what of China? A recent book by the former Financial Times journalist Patrick McGee argues that Apple in China, and Foxconn in particular, grew because American investors and engineers helped. That's no surprise. Any industrial power trains its competitors and successors. That's what Great Britain did for America centuries ago. The financiers, engineers and suppliers that make up an existing manufacturing ecosystem need to be willing and able to cooperate in creating a new one. They are generally well rewarded for it. Apple's contract manufacturers and component suppliers, large and small, in China might be willing to set up shop in India — after all, profits are profits wherever they are earned. Some of their engineers might be happy to move to supervise new shop floors. But, it turns out, Beijing might not permit that to happen. Many crucial, experienced employees have found themselves forbidden to travel to India and Southeast Asia. Apple and New Delhi have both tried to woo Trump, and make him accept the possibility that iPhones destined for the US will be made in India. But it appears that they may need to woo President Xi Jinping as well. Objectively, India's Apple-led mobile phone ecosystem is nowhere near challenging China's manufacturing dominance. China is, after all, the indispensable country not just for Apple, but for multiple companies struggling to shift production to India, Vietnam and elsewhere. But Beijing now appears to view Apple's India project as a risk — dangerous enough that a few barriers should be erected in its path. Trump, Apple, New Delhi, and Beijing appear agreed on Indian manufacturing's potential over the next few years, whatever the rest of us might think.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
India's defence exports surged by 1,100 pc in last 10 years: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has transformed into an emerging defence exporter, strengthening national security and becoming a trusted partner in global peace. 'India's defence sector has undergone a major transformation in the last decade. India's defence exports have grown by over 1,100% in the last decade from ₹1,941 crore in 2014 to an all-time high of ₹23,662 crore in 2024. The country now exports military hardware to over 100 countries,' the Finance Minister said in a statement on X. She underscored that 75 per cent of the defence capital acquisition budget has been earmarked for domestic production in the financial year 2025-26. The Finance Minister further pointed out that over 5,000 items have been added to the defence indigenisation lists as part of the government's Aatmanirbharta campaign. India's defence production, which was only Rs 43,000 crore 10 to 11 years ago, has now crossed a record figure of Rs 1,46,000 crore, with the private sector's contribution of over Rs 32,000 crore. The government's Make-in-India campaign has turned out to be crucial for security, with the use of indigenous systems during Operation Sindoor proving that India has the power to penetrate any armour of the enemy. FM Sitharaman also highlighted the national security and foreign policy achievements of the Modi government. She mentioned the success of Operation Sindoor, in which over 100 terrorists were killed in the missile attacks on nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Among the foreign policy initiatives undertaken for the security of Indian nationals, the Finance Minister has listed the evacuation of over 22,500 Indians from Ukraine after the launch of Russia's military operation, while another 3,000 Indians were brought back home from conflict-torn Sudan. Sitharaman has also highlighted India's role as a vaccine supplier to the world during the devastating Covid-19 outbreak. The country supplied over 30 crore vaccine doses to more than 100 countries to contain the spread of the deadly disease, she added.
