THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vizhinjam International Seaport has handled its 500th vessel within 10 months of launching commercial operations.
MSC Verona, with a draft of 17.1m, is the deepest-draft container ship handled at any Indian port. It was also the 500th vessel to be serviced at Vizhinjam.
A ship’s draft is the vertical distance from the waterline to the lowest point of the hull, and determines the minimum water depth required for safe berthing.
Earlier this month, the port handled MSC Virginia, a ship with a draft of 16.95m, the second-highest draft in any container ship handled in the country.
“In port operations, ‘safe draft’ means there must be at least 1.5m of clearance between the bottom of the ship and the seabed. Only then is berthing allowed. The berthing of MSC Verona shows that Vizhinjam’s natural depth exceeds 18.6m,” said Ports Minister V N Vasavan.
Of the 500 vessels Vizhinjam handled so far, 28 were ultra large container vessels (ULCVs), the highest for any Indian port.
Vizhinjam has handled 1.1 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to date, exceeding its initially projected annual capacity. A statement said the figures reflect the port’s role in India’s maritime network and global trade.