Karaikal Port enters ‘Box Club’ of ports, begins container handling

Source: http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/karaikal-port-enters-box-club-of-tn-ports-begins-container-handling/

It was a red-letter day for the management MARG Karaikal Port on Feb. 15, as Bengal Tiger Line (BTL) has commenced the Container Feeder service from the port to Colombo.

The inaugural call of the 1,900 TEUs container vessel M.V. Tiger Bridge was marked with the exchange of mementoes with Capt. Celerian Dennis, Captain of the vessel, and the operators with the port.

With the fete, Karaikal Port becomes the fourth port in the TN & Pondy region to have facility for handling containerized cargo after Chennai, Tuticorin and Kattupalli ports.

Initially, the feeder vessel is expected to call the port every fortnight and later would become a weekly service as volumes stabilize. The inaugural call witnessed the export of 50 laden containers of CMA-CGM, the French container shipping giant which is one of the world’s largest container shipping lines.

According to port officials, this service, which offers connections throughout the world, is expected to be of immense value to the agro-industrial heartland of Central Tamil Nadu, Karaikal and Pondicherry, enabling business establishments in the hinterland to competitively access the world’s marketplace.

In addition to providing a competitive gateway for the exports and imports from this area, it will also help in reducing the carbon footprint of the industries by substantially reducing the distance through which the cargo has to be moved by road leading to benefits for the society of the entire region, the port officials added.

LIQUID CARGO

Continuing and strengthening its presence in handling liquid cargo, the newly constructed tankages in Karaikal Port, augmenting the total capacity of the port to 19,000 cbm, was commissioned on Feb. 8.

The commissioning of the new oil tankages was marked with the arrival of the first shipment of Crude Palmolein vide vessel M.T.MAPLE for M/s BUNGE. Also, Karaikal Port is regularly handling refined edible oil for M/s KTV Health Pvt. Ltd.

GRAINS EXPORT

This year also saw the commencement of wheat export from Karaikal Port. Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been exporting wheat through the port and till date, more than 1, 25, 000 MT of wheat has been exported. Another addition to the agro commodities, maize is getting ready for export. The commodity has already started to stockpile at the port’s warehouses and will be ready for loading onto the vessel shortly.

With the recent additions of Palmolein, Crude Edible Oil, wheat and maize to its cargo portfolio coupled with the commencement of the container service, MARG Karaikal Port offers a comprehensive and competitive logistics solution to businesses not only in the immediate hinterland but also throughout the length and breadth of the country.