Tamil Nadu's VO Chidambaranar Port Sets New Milestone By Managing Ship With Largest Parcel Size

The VO Chidambaranar Port in Tamil Nadu set a new record for managing a vessel with the largest parcel size.

On 29 August, the Singapore flagged vessel 'M V Ince Ankara' arrived from the Port of Mina Saqr, United Arab Emirates, with 93,719 tonnes of limestone consigned to Chettinad Cements, breaking the previous record for handling the largest parcel size set by the vessel 'MV Bastions' on 14 May 2020 with 92,935 tonnes of coal handled at the port.

Last week, the vessel moored at Berth No 9 began its discharge with three Harbour Mobile Cranes capable of releasing more than 50,000 tonnes per day. On 29 August, the entire shipment was unloaded. Macsons Shipping Agencies Private Limited in Thoothukudi was the vessel's agency, while Chettinad Logistics was the stevedoring agent.

T.K. Ramachandran, Chairman, VO Chidambaranar Port Trust said: "This has been a great collaborative effort and I take this opportunity to recognize the hard work and commitment of the ship agents, stevedores, Harbour Mobile Crane operators, officers and the staff of the Port."

This fiscal year, the VO Chidambaranar Port handled 11.33 million tonnes of cargo, up from 10.58 million tonnes in the previous fiscal year—which is a 7.14 per cent increase. Container handling at the port in Tamil Nadu has also improved significantly, with the port handling 2.69 million TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent) this fiscal year through July 2021, up 21.07 per cent from the previous fiscal year's same time, according to an official press release.