When Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurates the ambitious Coastal Shipping Project at the Kollam Port on Saturday, one ‘dignitary’ will be sorely missed - MV Suryamukhi, the first container ship chartered by the Kerala State Maritime Development Corporation Ltd (KSMDCL) for coastal shipping.
The 154-TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit or the size of a standard container) vessel was to have been a part of the inaugural ceremony, but was delayed at the Goa Port on her arrival from Mundra Port in Gujarat.
The ship is expected to make her first call at Kollam only by November 15, KSMDCL managing director K K Rajendran said.
“She was headed for Kollam from Mundra Port in Gujarat. But there was a customs clearance hitch at Goa. So the ship will be here only by November 15,” Rajendran said.
On Saturday, the star will be Orient Victory, a 400-TEU private vessel which will offload her cargo at Kollam to mark the inauguration attended by the Chief Minister and other VIPs. “For Suryamukhi, we have signed a one-year charter agreement and transportation agreement,” Rajendran said. KSMDCL also has plans to charter a 3500-tonne bulk carrier which will mainly ply the Gujarat-Beypore port, he said.
The KSMDCL has also appointed six ‘coastal shipping managers’ who hold MBAs in transportation and logistics across Kerala as part of promoting coastal shipping.