Latest news with #MSCTrkiye
India Today
3 days ago
- Business
- India Today
World's largest container ship docks at Vizhinjam in first South Asian call
The MSC IRINA, the world's largest container ship by Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) capacity, arrived at Vizhinjam International Seaport on Monday morning, marking its maiden call at a South Asian port. The vessel will remain berthed at the port until Tuesday, underscoring Vizhinjam's growing prominence in handling Ultra-Large Container Vessels (ULCVs).This significant docking represents a major milestone for the port and India's maritime infrastructure. The MSC IRINA boasts an impressive capacity of 24,346 TEUs, underscoring its scale and importance in global trade logistics. A Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, or TEU, is the standard unit used to measure a ship's cargo capacity. It refers to a single 20-foot-long container, the most commonly used size in global shipping. A 40-foot container, by comparison, equals 2 TEUs. The MSC IRINA's full capacity, therefore, means it can carry the equivalent of 24,346 standard 20-foot containers at one time. advertisementThe arrival of the MSC IRINA represents a significant milestone for the Vizhinjam seaport. With a capacity of 24,346 TEUs, the ship stands out as one of the most formidable vessels in global shipping. Measuring 399.9 metres in length and 61.3 metres in width, it is nearly four times the length of a standard FIFA-designated football field. Built to transport large volumes of cargo between Asia and Europe, the MSC IRINA plays a crucial role in enhancing trade connectivity and improving logistical efficiency. The vessel sails under the Liberian flag and is designed to stack containers up to 26 tiers high, offering exceptional volume and vertical capacity in global maritime in March 2023 and commencing its maiden voyage in April of the same year, the MSC IRINA joins other Icon-class vessels such as MSC Trkiye and MSC Michel Cappellini that have recently berthed at Vizhinjam. These arrivals further consolidate the port's status as a strategic hub in international maritime IN THIS STORY#Kerala
India Today
02-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
Vizhinjam port inaugurated: What makes it a strategic gem for India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Vizhinjam port in Kerala on Friday, India's first deepwater transshipment port. The inauguration is seen as an important step in improving India's shipping strength and cutting down the cost of moving goods by Vizhinjam port project has been built at a cost of around Rs 8,900 crore under a public-private partnership model. The port is operated by the Adani Group, while the Kerala government holds the majority share. The port officially began limited operations in July 2023 and has already handled about 250 container April this year, the port made headlines by receiving MSC Trkiye, one of the largest cargo ships in the world. This vessel can carry over 24,000 containers. Vizhinjam became the first port in India to handle a ship of that size. The port has a natural sea depth of around 20 metres, making it suitable for very large ships without the need for deep digging, which is common in other A TRANSSHIPMENT PORT MATTERSA transshipment port is where cargo containers are moved from one ship to another before reaching their final destination. These ports are important for countries that are part of global trade, as they allow goods to be transferred more easily and far, India did not have a full deepwater transshipment port. Because of this, nearly 75% of India's cargo that needed transshipment was sent to foreign ports such as Colombo in Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Jebel Ali in the UAE. This made the movement of goods slower and more traders had to spend an extra $80 to $100 per container due to this dependence on foreign ports. In total, India is estimated to be losing between $200 million to $220 million every year by not handling its own transshipment cargo. Having a port like Vizhinjam can help stop this loss and improve the country's trade benefit is that it reduces the risk of delays caused by global tensions or problems in other countries' ports. Being able to manage more cargo within India makes the country more self-reliant and secure in the area of ADVANTAGES OF THE VIZHINJAM PORTVizhinjam is located on the Arabian Sea and is very close to the main international shipping route. This means it can attract large cargo ships travelling between the east and west parts of the world. The shipping route is just 10 nautical miles from the natural depth of the sea near Vizhinjam is between 18 to 20 metres, just a kilometre from the shore. This is deep enough to allow the world's biggest cargo ships to dock without any need for dredging, which is expensive and harms the important point is that the port does not face the problem of sand movement along the coast, which many other Indian ports do. This reduces the cost and need for constant upkeep. It is also well connected to the rest of the country. The port is only 2 km from a national highway, 12 km from a major railway line, and 15 km from the Trivandrum airport. This makes it easier to move goods across India SHIPPING COSTS AND BOOSTING TRADERight now, the Vizhinjam port can handle 1 million containers every year. In the future, it is expected to grow and handle an additional 6.4 million containers in two more project is being handled by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, which owns a 28.9% share. The Kerala government holds a 61.5% share, while the central government owns 9.6%. Once fully ready, the port is expected to help India manage more of its own shipping work, reduce costs, and make shipping more of its natural depth and location, Vizhinjam is also expected to save money in the long run, as it won't need as much spending on upkeep. This can make Indian exports more competitive in the global is also building another deepwater port at Vadhvan in Palghar, Maharashtra. Work started there in August 2024. Another large port has been planned at Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. That project is still waiting for currently has 13 major ports and 217 smaller or private ports. The largest container ports in India are Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai and the Mundra port, both handling more than 7 million containers every Watch advertisement
