The Vizhinjam Container port will attract the world’s biggest container ships. “Located near the southernmost tip of the country, a strategic location to tap into prominent global shipping routes, the port will allow India to grab a bigger slice of the international maritime trade currently dominated by China”, Bloomberg has reported.
Now it is a Historical moment!.MSC Claude Girardet with 24,116 container capacity, the largest ship of its size to date in South Asia, is now at Vizhinjam. The ship is 400 meters long, which is the length of 4 football stadiums with Fourth place in the world in size. 16.7 m draft.
When we were advocating for Vizhinjam in the past when we started giving more hype than this, the cranes at Vallarpadam Kochi were idle for weeks. The fact that says that a ship that does not come to Vallarpadam Kochi will come to Vizhinjam is a simple logic. At present only one berth has been completed in Vizhinjam, huge ships are coming every day as if a ship lands next in line. The lesson this teaches us is that we should not bring journalists and cultural leaders who only know literature and politics close to the issue of the development of the country.
The government is reminded that if the road access is brought as soon as possible and the gateway cargo is started, it will also benefit the locals. Officials say any large ship in the world could approach the port. 800-meter berth will be available at Vizhinjam port. It should be remembered that it is 600 meters in Kochi. A vessel with a container handling capacity of up to 24,000 TEU can be docked at Vizhinjam. Currently, more than half of the world’s mother vessels handle more than 10,000 TEU containers. In effect, Vizhinjam can go head-to-head with Colombo, Singapore, and Jebel Ali. At present, 70 percent of India’s total cargo movement is by sea. Officials say that once the Vizhinjam port becomes a reality, up to 75 percent of India’s cargo can be handled here. Vizhinjam International Port is just 10 nautical miles away from the international shipping lane, 4-lane NH-66 National Highway connectivity, proximity to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, and proposed rail freight corridor will be an asset to Vizhinjam port. Although Kerala currently has a major port at Kochi and an associated International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, it has not been able to create a surge in cargo movement.
Kochi’s major drawback is that it is only 14.5 meters deep and difficult for large ships to approach. Vizhinjam will be the focal point It is estimated that the major port that will be set up at Vizhinjam will be able to rewrite not only Kerala’s but also India’s entire cargo movement. The main feature of Vizhinjam harbor is that it has a natural depth of 18 meters. It has many advantages such as a coastline of about 7,500 km, 13 major ports including one in the private sector, around 180 minor ports, and a significant presence in international shipping lanes, still, we could not highlight our strategic place in the global shipping system.
Ports in India handle an average of 1.5 crore TEU (twenty-four equivalent units) of containers annually. India’s cargo movement through Colombo port alone is close to 30 lakh TEUs per annum with more motherships expected to approach Vizhinjam in the coming years. This development is expected to enhance India’s share in international trade, reduce logistics costs, and boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
