THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vizhinjam International Seaport, located on the southern tip of the state, has achieved a historic milestone by becoming one of the fastest ports globally to handle 1,000 ships in less than two years since its operations began.
The milestone was reached on Wednesday evening with the arrival of the mothership MSC Luciana, which was welcomed with fanfare and a water salute. Key officials from Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd and Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd were present to receive the vessel, marking a major step forward for the port as an emerging global maritime hub.
The port project has consistently broken performance records since its inception. Trial operations initially began in July 2024, followed by the official launch of full-scale commercial operations in December 2024. Since then, the port has processed over 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo, making it the fastest Indian port to cross this threshold.
Remarkably, this steady growth remained unaffected by geopolitical tensions and war situations in West Asia, which otherwise caused stagnation in global shipping movements during the same period.
The port’s total traffic includes hosting 67 Ultra Large Container Vessels measuring nearly 400 m in length, such as the MSC Irina-the world’s largest container ship-and the MSC Verona, which is one of the deepest-draft vessels to ever call at an Indian port.
This latest achievement follows a steady climb in operational efficiency and capacity for the deep-water transshipment terminal. In May alone, Vizhinjam handled a record-breaking 1,30,863 TEUs across 55 vessels, outperforming its previous monthly high of 1.23 lakh TEUs set in January 2026.
The port maintained a high gross crane ratio of over 30 moves per hour during this peak period. This rapid scaling follows its earlier success in October 2025, when it welcomed its 500th vessel within just 10 months of launching commercial operations.
Local expertise has played an integral role in maintaining the precision required for these milestones. Waterline Shipping and Logistics Private Ltd, a Thiruvananthapuram-based company, has successfully managed the mooring activities for all 1,000 ships that have docked at the port, starting with the very first vessel, the Zhen Hua 15, in October 2023.
Mooring remains a highly critical task given the challenges posed by changing weather and ocean currents. What sets Waterline’s operations apart is its team of 28 employees, all of whom are recruited from the local coastal community and specifically trained for these highly skilled tasks. The team recently completed training on the Shore Tension System — an advanced mooring technology implemented for the first time in India at Vizhinjam — which controls wave impact and improves berth productivity.
1,30,863 TEUs in May alone
In May alone, Vizhinjam handled a record-breaking 1,30,863 TEUs across 55 vessels, outperforming its previous monthly high of 1.23 lakh TEUs set in January 2026. The port maintained a high gross crane ratio of over 30 moves per hour during this peak period.