India: Port Pipavav Moves in Right Direction

The first consignment of wheat for the year 2012 on behalf of the Government of India (GOI) was exported from Port of Pipavav on September 20, 2012. The vessel MV Spar Canis sailed from the port with a total of 36,750.082 MT on board. The cargo is being exported by the GOI to Pt. Indofood Sukses in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Starting September, 2012, Port Pipavav has undertaken the handling of a new Bulk Cargo commodity – Wheat. The port has tied up with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to handle part of its wheat exports. The cargo was stored at Central Warehousing Corporation warehouses. The channelizing agent on behalf of FCI was MMTC and the trading partner was Louis Dreyfus.

Despite heavy rains at the port, the operations team achieved a much higher rate of loading than committed and reduced the turnaround time for the vessel by 26 hours.

“This is an important milestone for us. We were keen to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction to FCI, MMTC , and Louis Deryfus,” said Captain Dinesh Lokapure, Head of Bulk Business at APM Terminals Pipavav. “Handling wheat cargo calls for a number of special arrangements and extra effort to maintain professional and efficient movement and I am glad that my team achieved excellent results.”

Appreciating the efficient handling of cargo, Mr. Raman from Louis Drefyus said: “At the outset, our congratulations on smooth and efficient handling of the wheat shipment per MV SPAR CANIS. The performance has been above our expectations. We are definitely looking at Port Pipavav as one of the gateway ports for our bulk export shipments.”

Port Pipavav handles Coal, fertilizers, iron ore, scrap and other bulk commodities. New storage space and equipment have been added to the port’s facilities to handle wheat henceforth. The port is expanding its infrastructure facilities and in the forthcoming years, the following projects will be completed:

For Container Cargo:

– A new container berth of 348 m to provide contiguous berth of 735m – this will enable the Port to simultaneously handle two post-panamax vessels

– Dredging in berth pockets

– 3 new Post Panamax Cranes, 10 new Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes

– Yard capacity for a total of 1.5 million TEUs

– Internal Roads

For Bulk cargo:

– New container berth will enable the port to dedicate the existing multi-purpose berth exclusively for bulk cargo services

– Additional berth extension by 110 m to provide a contiguous berth of 800m

– Dredging

– New Gottwald crane

– Dedicated conveyor system for Coal

The proposed expansion activities for bulk cargo will be undertaken based on customer requirements by entering into commercial arrangements with the customers.

About APM Terminals Pipavav

APM Terminals Pipavav is part of an international network of ports and terminals belonging to APM Terminals of the AP Moller-Maersk group. Strategically located in Gujarat, approximately 152 nautical miles from Mumbai, Port Pipavav is one of Western India’s fastest growing gateway ports. The port has excellent connectivity to the rich hinterland and recently achieved a national record in rail frequency by handling 14 container trains in a day. Since taking over in 2005, the port has steadily expanded its infrastructure facilities to suit its growing customer base in North West India. New expansion activities will further enhance the port’s capacity and efficiency.

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Press Release, September 24, 2012