The Vizhinjam International Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram is expected to receive the second shipment of container handling cranes today (9 November).
The second project cargo vessel called Zhen Hua 29 carrying one rail-mounted quay crane and four other yard cranes is likely to arrive at the port here on Thursday (9 November).
While the ship-to-shore crane would be unloaded at Vizhinjam, the yard cranes would be taken to Mundra port in Gujarat.
The under-construction seaport received its first cargo vessel on 12 October with the berthing of the project cargo vessel, Zhen Hua 15 from China, sailing under the flag of Hong Kong and carrying one quay crane and two yard cranes.
Vizhinjam Port authorities have placed an order for eight rail mounted quay cranes and 24 rail mounted gantry cranes to Shanghai-based company, Zhenhua Port Machinery Company Limited.
The rail mounted gantry (RMG) crane is a specialised crane designed to move shipping containers from one location to another with precision and efficiency.
RMG cranes are typically mounted on rails, allowing them to traverse the length of the terminal and position containers at specific storage locations or onto trucks for transport.
On the other hand, the Quay crane is a type of large dockside gantry crane found at container terminals for loading and unloading container to and from container ships, respectively.
The Quay crane to be employed at Vizhinjam Port are of Super Post Panamax size, which is currently the world’s largest container crane size. The cranes will have a 65 ton lifting capacity and can therefore handle ships of Super Post Panamax size or 22 containers wide.
The third project cargo vessel is anticipated to reach the location on 25 November, followed by the fourth vessel on 15 December. The remaining four ships are scheduled to arrive between January and March.
The Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, which is building the port, is hopeful of completing the much-touted and delayed international container transshipment port at Vizhinjam by May 2024.