[RM Motorsports]

300-metre ship carrying 2,000 containers, MV San Fernando, berths at India’s first deepwater transshipment port after arriving from Xiamen port in China.

The Rs 7,600-crore transhipment deepwater multipurpose seaport project in Vizhinjam is being executed by Adani Ports and SEZ Private Limited on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) model.

Vizhinjam is the first international deepwater transhipment port in the Indian subcontinent, with a natural depth of more than 18 metres, scalable up to 20 metres, which is crucial to allow entry of large vessels and motherships.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p10dnpTELM

[sirius]

Good news for the country. If this port is fully utilized it will save a lot of transshipment changes paid to Srilankan ports will be saved.

[sarathlal]

The Vizhinjam International Transshipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport is India's First Deep-Water Container Transshipment Port.



It is designed to serve container transshipment besides multi-purpose and break bulk cargo. The port is being currently developed in landlord model with a Public Private Partnership component on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (“DBFOT”) basis.


Project Design


The port is strategically located just 10 nautical miles from the busy international shipping route connecting Europe, the Persian Gulf and the Far East, Vizhinjam enjoys inherent locational advantages that position it for success as a global transshipment hub. Its proximity to the East-West axis, which accounts for a substantial quantum of global maritime trade, provides easy access without deviation for the large vessels that form the lifeline of today’s ocean commerce. This is the ports main USP.

Maritime map showing Vizhinjam ports proximity to the International shipment routes


With the port point focussed and zoomed


Vizhinjam Port has a natural deep draft of 18m close to shore that requires no capital dredging, Vizhinjam can leverage its natural depth to host even ultra-large next-gen container ships requiring 20m+ drafts. Its curvilinear coast mitigates tsunami impact, has very low natural erosion, thereby minimizing maintenance costs. The port has capacity for handling 18,000+ TEU ships and scalable infrastructure to match cargo growth and minimal siltation in the future.

This photo shows how naturally blessed is this location, with the 20m harbor, right next to beach side


Being the southern tip of India, Vizhinjam is strategically poised to emerge as a transshipment hub that can consolidate and transfer Indian and regional origin cargo to mainline vessels at lower costs than routing them via Colombo.
By locating a world-class Indian transshipment port right on top of a core international shipping lane, Vizhinjam can unlock lasting maritime and economic advantages for our country.

As of today, the project is around 90% completed and has welcomed its first Mothership, the MV San Fernando.
Project status report from the port website


Port's recent image


More on the first ship arrival: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/comme...-fernando.html

Port official website: https://vizhinjamport.in

[Jeroen]

Interesting development! Thanks for sharing .

One thing though, it seems very tiny, as container terminals go these days?

Jeroen

[that_sedate_guy]

I'm from Nagercoil, Kanyakumari and while I'm all for development, I find this project giving mixed feelings because the government is proposing to mine out massive, I mean massive amounts of rocks from the western ghats that envelope Kanyakumari district. The projections are on a very large scale and huge amounts have already been excavated. My concern is, when other countries are also able have ports with wave breakers made of concrete, why are the investors and the government here adamant about development only via erasing significant geographical features? Also, indiscriminate mining in that area will completely topple the monsoon cycle. Kerala which enjoys a lot more rainfall now will see a decline when the mountain slopes are not what they used to be. Hope the actual mining is not as much as media projects, or that the project owners get some sense inside their heads and go for precast structures instead of trying to move mountains into the sea.

[krrisdrive]

Originally Posted by that_sedate_guy

I find this project giving mixed feelings because the government is proposing to mine out massive, I mean massive amounts of rocks from the western ghats that envelope Kanyakumari district.

My concern is, when other countries are also able have ports with wave breakers made of concrete, why are the investors and the government here adamant about development only via erasing significant geographical features?

Concrete = Sand + Metal + Cement = Mining

Infra development cannot be done without mining somewhere. Though we know this by brain, our heart won't accept because of the nature getting abused in front of our eyes.

I live in Navi Mumbai, where 20 years ago there were lot of hills and the beauty during monsoon is awesome. Now some of the hills have vanished, but we got MTHL, Navi Mumbai airport, high raises, industrial complexes which eventually improves living conditions.

If one accepts development, they have to accept this reality.

[that_sedate_guy]

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

Concrete = Sand + Metal + Cement = Mining
...

If one accepts development, they have to accept this reality.

Yes concrete is also a product of mining but let's think about the scale of the same. Sand is mined, yes but the ratio of blatant ecological disruption vs less straining activities like river and lake desilting etc is different. And yes the metal for concrete is again mined but for a given volume of a breaker block, solid stone vs a bunch of different materials in the form of concrete does have a significant difference even if both are mined.

And I'm also all for development. But at the end of the day, it's all about sustainable development. For instance, no Swiss person would be smiling at the Alps being cut away just to make way for something else.
Also let's be very clear minded about the fact that the top developed countries are always careful never to allow heavily destructive industries and factories in their own countries but invest in third world countries where there is either no awareness or the people can be swayed easily either by words or by money. The question is why do they do that? Because they know the harm enough to avoid it in their own place and yet can't be bothered about investing elsewhere because it's not in front of their own door.
Back to the topic, such accelerated development attempts eventually would end up in the country being devoid of natural wonders and we the people would be the ones spending money to go somewhere else and pay again to see and experience such things because we erased them out of our own place. This is a vicious cycle where eventually people end up leading a mechanical life without freedom of experiencing nature just because everything got consumed and whatever left becomes protected and guarded off because we just can't have nice things.

I wouldn't be venting out like this if we had the mindset towards sustainability, cleanliness etc. and conservation plans like some countries do but the fact of the matter is that we live in a country where almost 90% of the hefty population doesn't even have any idea that the candy wrapper they tossed into a water stream is wrong, let alone think about massive ecological conundrums. We have a seriously long way to go before we accept that economic development comes at a cost.

Just my opinion and my rant

[krrisdrive]

Originally Posted by that_sedate_guy

And I'm also all for development. But at the end of the day, it's all about sustainable development.

Also let's be very clear minded about the fact that the top developed countries are always careful never to allow heavily destructive industries and factories in their own countries but invest in third world countries where there is either no awareness or the people can be swayed easily either by words or by money.
Just my opinion and my rant

First goal in Sustainable Development is Eradicating Poverty in all means everywhere as per SDGS.UN.ORG. That won't come without growth and that won't come without development and its destructive methods.

India cannot accommodate majority in services sector where carbon footprints are less but can do in manufacturing and trading with high impact on environment. For such sectors, these ports are vital.

We can go to end of earth arguing this, but for me it is clear. Poverty elimination is a humanitarian goal and growth is the only sustainable way to do this. (not welfare-ism / half heart-ed development / save environment also)

I think private companies from developed nations offloading to other nations is purely a business objective.
Didn't USA have capabilities to manufacture Fabs? Why to offload to Taiwan?
Why GCCs are mushrooming everywhere in India? Because that makes business sense.

It is futile to compare us with developed nations because there is a reason they are called so. May be we should compare us with these nations when they were in development stage.
Had they stopped building factories because they cared for environment?
Had they stopped building ports because they cared for coral reefs?
Had they stopped building off shore platforms because they cared for Whales?

Long rant, but Peace.

However I must mention, a Kerala coastal photo with a container port shocked me since we are used to beautiful beaches and sea from God's own country.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Interesting development! Thanks for sharing .
One thing though, it seems very tiny, as container terminals go these days?
Jeroen

Believe this is phase 1, there are three more phases and the project completion is actually 2035 or somewhat. Having read your posts on shipping and ships in general, what do you reckon about the Vizhinjam port or what you have read of? Have been hearing since I was a kid about how natural the port is, how close it is to international shipping channel, how almost all of India's transhipment is handled by Dubai, Colombo and Singapore, how it would save India thousands of crores per year etc etc... So much, that I maybe in an echo chamber. So, how good will be this deep water container transshipment port or will it be a white elephant without proactive government support?

Originally Posted by that_sedate_guy

I'm from Nagercoil, Kanyakumari and while I'm all for development, I find this project giving mixed feelings because the government is proposing to mine out massive, I mean massive amounts of rocks from the western ghats that envelope Kanyakumari district. The projections are on a very large scale and huge amounts have already been excavated. My concern is, when other countries are also able have ports with wave breakers made of concrete, why are the investors and the government here adamant about development only via erasing significant geographical features? Also, indiscriminate mining in that area will completely topple the monsoon cycle. Kerala which enjoys a lot more rainfall now will see a decline when the mountain slopes are not what they used to be. Hope the actual mining is not as much as media projects, or that the project owners get some sense inside their heads and go for precast structures instead of trying to move mountains into the sea.

Same feeling here. But the hills have been blasted for rocks even before the port construction started. Have seen the hill sides facing the old NH47 being defaced, but guess they have gone for the others sides now. Earlier driving to Nagercoil meant seeing numerous ponds and paddy fields stretching all the way to the foothills. Now most have been filled up from the late 2000s itself. Development is inevitable and I console myself believing they are going for the smaller hills and rocks and wouldn't dare touch the bigger ones that are anyway under forest area.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Believe this is phase 1, there are three more phases and the project completion is actually 2035 or somewhat. Having read your posts on shipping and ships in general, what do you reckon about the Vizhinjam port or what you have read of? Have been hearing since I was a kid about how natural the port is, how close it is to international shipping channel, how almost all of India's transhipment is handled by Dubai, Colombo and Singapore, how it would save India thousands of crores per year etc etc... So much, that I maybe in an echo chamber. So, how good will be this deep water container transshipment port or will it be a white elephant without proactive government support?

Unless it is going to cater for transient shipping, which I don’t think will happen, an important factor for the success of any harbour is how well it is connected to the areas it needs to serve. Industry, businesses and consumers. Which means you need lots of infrastructure. Roads, railroads and possibly water.

One of the reasons Rotterdam in the Netherlands has always been successful is because of its connections to the rest of Europe. Roads, dedicated freight railway infrastructure and lots of canals and rivers.

If you can’t get those containers out or to your port it’s all a bit futile.

I really don’t know what the infrastructure is like in this part of India, so I can’t comment on what’s it like and if any major infrastructure upgrade projects are planned for.

Jeroen

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

One thing though, it seems very tiny, as container terminals go these days?

This is a transhipment port. So mega container ships will drop off its goods here and this is quickly loaded on to smaller ships. I don't think goods dropped off at a transhipment terminal needs customs clearance either. Except for a small percentage of goods that leaves this particular transhipment port via truck or railways.

So the space utilization & turnaround time in a transhipment port will be much more efficient than a normal port.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Unless it is going to cater for transient shipping, which I don’t think will happen, an important factor for the success of any harbour is how well it is connected to the areas it needs to serve. Industry, businesses and consumers. Which means you need lots of infrastructure. Roads, railroads and possibly water..

If you can’t get those containers out or to your port it’s all a bit futile.

I really don’t know what the infrastructure is like in this part of India, so I can’t comment on what’s it like and if any major infrastructure upgrade projects are planned for.

Jeroen, this new port is 10 nautical miles away from one the world's busiest East - West route and the vessels don't have to deviate from their route to enter this port. It's bang right in the middle of their path.

At present, the Colombo port in Srilanka is the major transhipment / container hub in South Asia. It's among the 25 largest ports in the world. The reason is it's max draft of 18 meters for container vessels.

Now the ships with containers designated to India also had to go to colombo harbour and unload the containers there due to the draft restrictions in Indian ports. India doesn't have a deep sea port of 18 mtrs draft on her west coast. However India's east coast has Visakhapatnam port which is a deep-sea port and caters to large vessels/ crude carriers.

Further, this new Vizinjam port has a natural draft of 18 mtrs ( and can be dredged further over 20-22 mtrs or more) making it a first choice as a transhipment/ container hub for the large vessels arriving from West and transitioning to East and Vice -versa.

The port is constructed by Govt - Private partnership and the private corporate entity is the Adani Group who are among the largest corporates in India and perhaps South Asia. They have experience, money, clout and ability to fructify this project to it's logical conclusion.

The road infrastructure in India has developed / is developing at a rapid pace with 4/6 lane highways springing up and connecting all important cities. So, is their enough infrastructure such as roads, railway, inland waterways in India now? It's an emphatic "Yes". The country has passed the threshold of infrastructure bottleneck and expanding rapidly. (Let's keep aside the environmental/socio economic impact due to these infra development for another discussion). However on the outset, do we have the capabilities and infrastructure to handle this major container hub/ transhipment port? "Yes". Is it necessary for India and will it aid us in the progress of our nation? Again 'Yes'.

Now, this is a brand new port built with latest available machinery, equipment and technology. Some of the largest ships ever built could probably, (say a 24,000 TEU ship) may need a depth of 18.6 to 22 meters which is within reach of the new port. The present largest container ship MV EVER ALOT has a draft of 17 Mtrs and cherry on the cream is that, the port is situated bang, right in the middle of the East-west international sea route with a 10 NM deviation from their path.

The focus of this port is containers. This port may not be designed to accomodate VLCCs carrying crude. I don't think that matters much as India doesn't have many (or any significant ) Crude oil refinery in South India. For smaller/ lesser draft vessels, there are a good number of ports in India on both her East and West coasts. So, this is primarily for large container vessels with draft excess of 15 Mtrs.

The first ship MV SAN FERNANDO has only arrived and it's too early days. I remember in 1989, the Nhava Sheva or the present JNPT was inaugurated and I was the Draft & Cargo Surveyor for the first vessel that arrived at the port (to discharge wheat in bulk IIRC). I had to walk for an hour or more as there was absolutely no infrastructure no vehicle, no food court, nothing was there. It was just barren for kilometres. Today after 35 years JNPT has become a major port in India and 24th in the list of World's largest ports. So, let's give some time and sooner or later, the new Vizhinjim port could become a major container transhipment hub in South Asia

[NomadSK]

Interesting. Took me down the memory lane.

When I was working at JNPT some decades back, there was an expansion project going on for the bulk storage terminal. It was getting converted to container terminal.

Around 2/3 SqKm of the land was reclaimed. The huge contract for the soil for reclaiming the land, 1000's of truck loads of soil going into the sea for reclamation for few years. Shhhh, I won't say a word about, you guys are smart enough to understand.

As Jeroen says, it requires a huge infrastructure, rail and road connectivity, which was developed. That was the first kind those days when ballast-less tracks were laid for the trains. And thermit welding was used for rails without any joints. Road connectivity was improved drastically from port to nearby cities. A new jetty deep into the sea was constructed with inclined piles to get required draft. I'm not sure, But as far as I can remember the draft was 15m, may be it's more now.

All RMQC (Rail mounted quay cranes), RTGC (Rubber tyre gantry cranes), RMGC (rail mounted gantry cranes) were coming from China. Getting them off the ship to the jetty was in itself an engineering marvel. The tide chart and the level of the rails and the ship had to be matched for offloading.

In addition, almost daily dredging was on going activity for ever to maintain the draft depth.

Here are some old pictures, which I had to dig out. I'm sure the landscape would have changed by now.

Originally Posted by ashkamath

This port may not be designed to accomodate VLCCs carrying crude. I don't think that matters much as India doesn't have many (or any significant ) Crude oil refinery in South India. For smaller/ lesser draft vessels, there are a good number of ports in India on both her East and West coasts. So, this is primarily for large container vessels with draft excess of 15 Mtrs.

Generally VLCC don't come to the port, the crude gets offloaded at the SPM and transported through subsea pipelines.

Originally Posted by ashkamath

I remember in 1989, the Nhava Sheva or the present JNPT was inaugurated and I was the Draft & Cargo Surveyor for the first vessel that arrived at the port (to discharge wheat in bulk IIRC). I had to walk for an hour or more as there was absolutely no infrastructure no vehicle, no food court, nothing was there. It was just barren for kilometres. Today after 35 years JNPT has become a major port in India.

That's good to know, I was involved when that bulk terminal was demolished (blasted) and converted into container terminal. It was a huge infrastructure push.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Unless it is going to cater for transient shipping, which I don’t think will happen, an important factor for the success of any harbour is how well it is connected to the areas it needs to serve. Industry, businesses and consumers. Which means you need lots of infrastructure. Roads, railroads and possibly water.

One of the reasons Rotterdam in the Netherlands has always been successful is because of its connections to the rest of Europe. Roads, dedicated freight railway infrastructure and lots of canals and rivers.

If you can’t get those containers out or to your port it’s all a bit futile.

I really don’t know what the infrastructure is like in this part of India, so I can’t comment on what’s it like and if any major infrastructure upgrade projects are planned for.

Jeroen

So far proper steps are being taken. The highway road widening project which was delayed for almost 50 years has been taken up in anticipation of the port project. Just 30 odd kms work is pending from the Tamilnadu state side and we would be connected with dual carriageway four lane roads to rest of India. Also side by side the whole National Highway stretch through Kerala is finally being widened to dual carriageway four lane ones. The Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari railway single track is being converted to double tracks. The port is to be connected by a 10km undergound railway tunnel with the main tracks.

Though local industries around the port will depend on a proposed 80km outer ring road project with Special Economic Zones, construction of which has not yet started. And except for IT services, there isn't much 'industry' to talk about in this area. With the Outer ring road and mass rapid transit (metro) done within five years, would be all set. But if either of them do not see the day of light, then Thiruvananthapuram will be on its way to the hapazhard visionless development that plagues typical Indian citites

[that_sedate_guy]

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

We can go to end of earth arguing this, but for me it is clear. Poverty elimination is a humanitarian goal and growth is the only sustainable way to do this.

Never ever will I disagree on this. All I'm saying is, there are many ways to skin a cat. I'm just being hopeful that all such options are evaluated and the least impactful (people, environment, cost etc. all inclusive) option is chosen without skimping on any steps. The reason I'm saying this is, natural processes have a tipping point of tolerance for the changes they undergo. There's a fine line between a controlled ecosphere and an erratic, violent one with uncontrollable floods and droughts. Human development will mean peanuts if the accelerated activities lead to unstable climate, would it not?

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

I think private companies from developed nations offloading to other nations is purely a business objective.

Exactly and where and why does the business attractiveness stem from? A very evident instance is the automotive industry. Cars in India used to be far cheaper compared to other countries but now that gap is closing up and why is that? Because the population is slowly moving away from "Cheap is best" to "Best is best" Safety features which used to be foreign to the industry are now climbing in but from inception till now, profits have already been made by way of cutting corners and making use of nonchalance and lack of awareness. Any country which prioritises safety, sustainability, low-impact progress etc. will always be LESS viable and not UNviable for business. It's all about how lenient organisations are towards the ROI periods. When they set that timeline too stringent, that's when all hell breaks loose.

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

It is futile to compare us with developed nations because there is a reason they are called so. May be we should compare us with these nations when they were in development stage.

Yes, that comparison cannot be made because let's take for example, a large scale project in Sweden would be at the very least a few times more cumbersome than in India due to the mandatory safety studies, approvals and stuff they have to run through which is not done for just a formality either. Yes, the procedures exist in India also but are much more easier to override in case of hiccups. They don't get stopped and studied for alternatives. I'm not concluding on this. All I'm saying is, it's just a hope that such practices have not been done here in this instance.

Originally Posted by DicKy

Same feeling here. But the hills have been blasted for rocks even before the port construction started.

Yeah, it has been happening before too. From the way things are headed, it's an important matter of striking a balance between researching on alternatives, recycling methods etc. vs indiscriminate fresh material sourcing because in the end, we can all agree that concrete jungles are not and will not be prettier or more functional than biomass jungles