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The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Vizhinjam seaport Phase Two expansion likely next month
The Vizhinjam seaport that was dedicated to the nation early May will likely see the kick-off of its Phase two expansion next month. Phase two, expected to be completed by 2028, targets increasing the port's container capacity to some 4.5 million TEU a year and will add a break-bulk berth, a tanker berth and a bunkering facility on an extended 4-km-long breakwater. Vizhinjam port, which has handled nearly 1 million TEUs after starting commercial operations in December 2024, now has an 800-m long container ship jetty capable of handling one container mother ship and two feeder vessels at a time. Phase two will increase the length of the container berth to 2000-m long and hold three mother ships and several feeder vessels at the same time. While Phase 1 costing a little less than ₹9,000 crore, saw the financial participation of the Kerala and the Union governments including through viability gap funding, the finance for Phase 2 costing ₹10,000 crore will be entirely raised by the Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), the ports and logistics company of the Adani Group. In 2015, the Kerala government had signed an agreement with APSEZ to develop the port and Adani has a 40-year concession to build, operate, and transfer the port, with a provision for a 20-year extension. The port commenced trial operations in July 2024, receiving its first mothership, the San Fernando. The port has a natural deep draft of some 20 m close to the shore that requires little dredging. During the inauguration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that 75% of India's transshipment operations were previously conducted at foreign ports, leading to significant revenue loss for the country. And Vizhinjam will help ensure that India's money will serve India. Port officials say the port is expected to lower logistics costs for Indian manufacturers by 30-40%, enhancing the country's export competitiveness. So far, all the containers handled by the port have been transshipment cargo – 60% international and 40% Indian. The port has handled no exim cargo — containers leaving and entering Vizhinjam by road or rail after customs clearance. Port managers say that exim cargo will grow to account for 20%, even as the second phase expansion happens. They are citing the exclusive rail line from Vizhinjam port to Balaramapuram that is being laid by the Government of Kerala and is expected to be completed by 2028. A road connecting the port and NH 66 (Mumbai- Kanyakumari) is almost ready to open, port managers say. These would help Vizhinjam's inland connectivity through road and rail and facilitate exim cargo. Merchant ships on global trade need periodic changes of crew. On the East-West sea route where Vizhinjam is located, Singapore and Reunion Island are prominent crew change points. Vizhinjam port officials are working with the government to establish an international crew change facility, leveraging the locational advantage. A crew change facility could potentially boost local economy through hotels, restaurants and other facilities serving seafarers in transit. Some of the largest container vessels of 400 m length and capacity of some 24,000 TEUs have docked at Vizhinjam. Port managers recall a fully loaded Claude Girardet, another 399-m long mega container vessel, taking a detour and steaming into Vizhinjam after the crew found that some 10 containers had to be restacked for the sake of ship stability and safety. In a few hours, the containers were restacked and Girardet set sail. Vizhinjam boasts of being a hi-tech port with operators at an air-conditioned remote control station handling the cranes at the container stacks as well as shipside. Automated handling The port has commissioned 8 Quay Cranes that are operated remotely from a control room and 20 fully automated Cantilever Rail Mounted Gantry cranes performing container operations without the need of a human crane operator. The entire container handling operations are executed by automation systems deployed by ABB systems, who are the world leaders in container terminal automation, he said. For monitoring and controlling ship operations, an advanced Digital Twin system is implemented, that automatically collects and assimilates machine and operational events, using IoT systems, in real-time on a large 3D video wall, enabling the controllers to be proactive and respond to operational exceptions without delays. The port has also adopted advanced sensor and radar-based technology along with artificial intelligence to effectively track, coordinate, and manage large container ships as they arrive to dock and depart after unloading. (The writer was at Vizhinjam at the invitation of the company)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Woman Rescued by Firefighters After Becoming Trapped 3 Feet Down a Chimney
The woman was taken to an area hospital in fair condition after the rescue in San Fernando, Calif., authorities saidNEED TO KNOW Video footage captured the rescue of a woman who was trapped in the small chimney of a municipal building at a San Fernando, Calif., park on Aug. 5 A rope system was used in the operation to pull the woman from the chimney, where she was trapped about three feet deep The reason and circumstances that led the woman to get stuck in the chimney are currently unknownFirefighters rescued a woman who became stuck three feet in a chimney at a park in San Fernando, Calif., authorities said. The incident occurred Tuesday evening, Aug. 5, when responders from the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) were summoned to the 200 block of North Park Avenue. There, a woman was trapped in the chimney of a municipal building at the City of San Fernando Recreation Center, according to NBC affiliate KNBC, ABC affiliate KABC and CBS affiliate KCAL. In a news update, the LAFD described the unidentified woman as approximately 30 years old, and said she had been found 'about three feet (36 inches) deep within a 'small chimney.'' 'Conscious and alert, she has been physically stabilized as LAFD Firefighters specially trained, equipped and certified in urban search and rescue have arrived at the scene to complete the rescue,' the department said in its update. Video footage shared by the local news outlets show emergency responders using a rope system to pull the woman out of the chimney. The LAFD issued another update, stating that the woman was taken to an area hospital in fair condition. 'She was not affiliated with the location or involved in official business,' the department said. The reason and circumstances that led the woman to get stuck in the chimney are currently unknown. The LAFD deferred questions about the woman's identity to the San Fernando Police Department. PEOPLE contacted the LAFD and the San Fernando Police Department for additional information about the incident on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Witnesses recalled the woman's behavior at the time of her predicament. Israel Olivas told KABC that the woman appeared to be "dancing" on the roof before the incident. "I come around again and I see her hands waving out the chimney," Olivas said. "She's just screaming, 'Help! Help! Help!' " Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Jose River, another witness, told KNBC, "It was kind of interesting how she ended up there. She was joking, but then she ended up stuck there; she couldn't get out. You could tell that after a while, it was serious." The LAFD noted there was no structural damage involved during the incident. Read the original article on People
CBS News
5 days ago
- CBS News
Los Angeles firefighters free woman trapped inside chimney at San Fernando park
Los Angeles firefighters on Tuesday rescued a woman who was trapped inside of a small chimney at a park in San Fernando. They were called to Recreation Park, located in the 200 block of Park Avenue, at around 7:30 p.m. after learning of the approximately 30-year-old woman who was found about three-feet deep inside of a chimney," said a news release from LAFD. Crews said that she was conscious and alert as she was stabilized and prepared for rescue. They hoisted her to safety "via skillful use of a rope system" from within the "chimney/exhaust flue atop a small municipal outbuilding," said another LAFD release. The woman was taken to a nearby hospital in fair condition, firefighters said. San Fernando Police Department officers were investigating the matter, as the woman did not seem to be affiliated with the city's parks and recreation department that was using the outbuilding for storage at the park. Investigators say that they were called to the scene for reports of a woman who was dancing and waving her arms on the roof before she climbed into the chimney and got stuck. Other people at the park called 911 after hearing her screaming from inside. They did not say if she would be charged for the incident. There was no structural damage to the building during the rescue, according to LAFD.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Vizhinjam port completes a year of operations
T'puram: Vizhinjam International Seaport on Friday completed a year since the first ship docked at the port. Since July 11 last year, the port has handled 393 ships and 8.3 lakh containers. Minister V N Vasavan said that it is a landmark moment for the port. "In this period, Vizhinjam achieved remarkable progress that amazed the world. The ship San Fernando arrived with containers on July 11, 2024, and commercial operations began in Dec 2024," the minister said. In the past year, 392 ships arrived at Vizhinjam, including 23 ultra-large container ships like the MSC Irina, which is considered one of the largest container ships in the world. Many of these ships, including the Irina, berthed in India for the first time, Vasavan added. "Vizhinjam has become one of the rare ports globally to operate at full capacity within the initial months of commercial operation. It paved the way for India to demonstrate its capability to operate ports using advanced technologies like automation and AI," he added. For the past four months, Vizhinjam ranked first among ports on India's southeastern coast. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Đây có thể là thời điểm tốt nhất để giao dịch vàng trong 5 năm qua IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo The training of local women to become India's first female automated crane operators gained international attention, the minister said. Through social responsibility initiatives in health, education, and skill development, the project supported over 100,000 people. As the first year is celebrated with pride, the second phase of construction, expected to cost over Rs 10,000 crores, will soon commence, Vasavan said. Vizhinjam is set to become a gateway to India's maritime dominance. The port is also gearing up to start EXIM cargo soon after the road connectivity is ready. The rail connectivity work will be completed in three years.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Alien' skull of toddler is actually evidence of long-standing practice of head shaping
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. While installing a water pipeline in Argentina last month, workers stumbled upon the skull of a child who was buried at least 700 years ago. The archaeological discovery quickly garnered media attention because of the asymmetry of the skull, drawing comparisons to aliens. But the flattening on the back of the skull, which belonged to a 3- to 4-year-old child, is simply the result of the cultural practice of head shaping, Cristian Sebastián Melián, director of the Provincial Directorate of Anthropology in Catamarca, Argentina, told Live Science in a translated email. The skull was found on May 27 in the town of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca in northwestern Argentina. When archaeologists investigated the pits made in the infrastructure project, they found broken and burned llama remains, along with a ceramic vessel typical of pottery from the Inca occupation there between 1430 and 1530, Melián said. But the child's skull was found several feet away along with the rest of the skeleton, which was placed in the grave in the fetal position. Although the child had no grave goods, pottery fragments in the dirt suggested a date of death around 1100 to 1300. The archaeologists did not see any trauma on the child's skeleton, but they noted the "pronounced cultural cranial alteration of the oblique tabular type," Melián said. The practice of head shaping, or cranial modification, dates back thousands of years and has been found in all parts of the world. While some cultures used long stretches of cloth wrapped around a baby's head to create an elongated shape, others applied padding to the front or back of the baby's head to create a flatter shape. Nowadays, often for medical purposes, parents may employ a special helmet to ensure their baby has a round, symmetrical head. Related: 'Cone-headed' skull from Iran was bashed in 6,200 years ago, but no one knows why The child's skull found in San Fernando was likely shaped using padding to encourage the "oblique tabular" shape, which is flat or sloping at the front and back of the skull. This practice can cause the sides of the skull to widen and appear bulged. RELATED STORIES —Viking Age women with cone-shaped skulls likely learned head-binding practice from far-flung region —Hirota people of Japan intentionally deformed infant skulls 1,800 years ago —Deformed skulls and ritual beheadings found at Maya pyramid in Mexico Most scholars of ancient head shaping agree that the practice had few, if any, negative health consequences. Instead, experts say the practice was linked to social identity or to child-rearing preferences. Currently, the Provincial Directorate of Anthropology has more than 100 skulls from ancient people in its skeletal collection, Melián said, and evidence of head shaping is extremely common. "Approximately 90% of them have an erect or oblique tabular shape" to their skulls, Melián said.
