Scripting a new chapter in the maritime history of the country, the first mothership carrying cargo from the Xiamen Port in China called at the Vizhinjam international seaport, India’s first deep-water container transshipment port, on July 11 morning.
The Marshall Island-flagged container ship San Fernando, owned by SFL Corporation Ltd. and chartered by Maersk (AP Moller Group), Denmark, and managed and operated by Bernhard Schulte Ship Management, Singapore, (BSM), reached off the coast of Vizhinjam.
Mothership ‘San Fernando’ carrying containers to the Vizhinjam international seaport in Kerala being berthed at the port on July 11. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Adani Port pilots boarded the ship carrying 1,930 containers around 7.45 a.m. when the ship reached the start of the passage leading to the berth. The ship was then navigated through the buoyed channel to enter the tranquil breakwater area inside the port. The ship was then turned around before the tugs pushed it to the berth and moved the ship to the wharf with mooring ropes.
Mothership ‘San Fernando’ carrying containers to the Vizhinjam international seaport in Kerala arrives at the port on July 11. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Four tugs were pressed in to bring the ship to the berth. Three tugs were involved in pushing the ship forward and pulling the aft, or vice versa, to turn the ship to get the bow facing out and then aligned the ship with the berth before the tugs finally pushed the ship to berth. The ship’s bow thruster and the power from the main engine were also used for the berthing.
The vessel was set to begin the work of offloading 1,930 containers by around 2 p.m.
Water salute
The ship was also accorded a water salute at the port. The ship will leave for Colombo on July 12 (Friday) after the official reception planned by the Kerala government to be attended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and others.
The work on the ₹7,700-crore port project, one of the major flagship infrastructure projects promoted by the Kerala government with the Adani Group through a public–private partnership (PPP) mode, started on December 5, 2015.
However, the project, which was scheduled to be commissioned in 2019, got delayed and missed several deadlines due to various reasons. The trial run of the port will officially begin on July 12, ahead of the revised scheduled commissioning of the port in December 2024.
