Paradip: Paradip Port, the leading port in the state, registered an all-time record by handling a cargo of 24 ships within a span of 24 hours Sunday, a report said Monday.
The Marine department of Paradip Port Trust (PPT) handled nine vessels in the first shift, seven vessels in the second and eight in the third shift, it said in a statement. The record was created by the port in three shifts from 8 am Sunday to 8 am Monday. In a significant achievement, a total of 2,37,341 MT of cargo was handled on the same day.
The handling of such a large volume of cargo within a span of 24-hours is a first among 12 major ports in the country, port captain Atulya Kumar Mohapatra said.
He said 12 of the 24 ships have berthed in the port while 10 have un-berthed. Two of the ships have shifted their cargo to smaller ships. The port officers were present the whole day and managed the cargo handling.
“This has been possible due to the agile Marine pilots of the port, concerned stevedores and the co-operation extended by the Traffic. The previous record stood at 19 vessels handled in a single day,” AK Mohapatra, deputy conservator and harbour master of the port, was quoted as saying in an official release.
Earlier, in November a very large crude carrier ship (VLCC) had successfully berthed in the port. Paradip port will achieve the number one place among the ports if this success continues for two to three years, he said.
Currently, Paradip Port trading in 93.6 million metric tonne cargo is the second port after Kandla Port in Gujarat.
Paradip Port is now gearing up to handle Cape size vessels regularly inside the harbour to enhance the cargo throughput as it is vying for the coveted top position in the country with a slew of other infrastructure and modernisation facilities of the port.
