THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A ship carrying massive cranes anchored at the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, ahead of the formal reception on Sunday. The Chinese ship ‘Zhen Hua 15’ was received with a customary water salute. The ship reached the outer sea on Wednesday and was tugged towards the berth on Thursday.
The ship started its journey from Shanghai Port on August 31 and went straight to Mundra Port in Gujarat before leaving for Vizhinjam. Adverse weather conditions delayed the arrival of the ship by at least 10 days. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the official reception ceremony on Sunday.
Union Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will receive the vessel. State Ports Minister Ahamed Devarkovil will preside over. Meanwhile, there was confusion about receiving approval from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for allowing the Chinese employees on board the ship to disembark.
There are around 15 employees of Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Company Limited (ZMPC), the manufacturer of the cranes, on board the ship. However, officials of the Adani port said that the cranes would be offloaded by the ZPMC’s employees of their Mumbai office.
“The disembarkments of international crew members and passengers are governed by the laws of the respective country.
There are people available to offload the cranes. However, we need permission from the MEA to allow the Chinese employees to erect them in Vizhinjam. The port secretary has written to the Centre seeking approval,” said an officer of the state’s ports department.