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Kochi joins club of deep draft ports

Staff Reporter

The achievement will allow access for larger container vessels to the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal

KOCHI: Kochi port has joined the club of deep draft ports in the country with the port achieving 12.5-metre draft for its major shipping channel. The achievement will be announced officially on Sunday by Union Minister for Shipping and Transport T.R. Baalu.

The achievement will allow access for larger container vessels to the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal, now being operated by India Gateway Terminals Limited (IGTL).

Deepening of the shipping channel is in tandem with the Cochin Port Trust's (CPT) efforts to see that sufficient draft is acquired to see higher container throughput at the port.

Deepening of the channel is also considered vital in establishing the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) on Vallarpadam Island.

The draft of 12.5 metres is required for achieving the threshold volume of four lakh TEUs of containerised cargo throughput at the ICTT.

The quantity of dredging that was required for achieving the draft was initially estimated to over Rs.33 crores.

The ICTT has been planned for servicing the biggest container vessels in business and that can convey 8,000 TEUs. The requirement for LNG vessels in future too is being considered by the CPT authorities.

The CPT estimates that the total cost of widening and deepening the channel for the future requirement would be to the tune of Rs.464 crores.

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