Vizag Port poised to handle 150 million tonnes by 2020: Vasan

Source:http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/vizag-port-poised-to-handle-150-million-tonnes-by-2020-vasan/

Union Minister of Shipping G. K. Vasan has expressed the hope that with the expansion and modernisation plans envisaged, the Port of Visakhapatnam is poised to add a capacity of 82 million tonnes and reach a level of 140 million tonnes by the end of the 12th Plan and 150 million tonnes by the year 2020.
Addressing a gathering during the triple function – dedication of EQ-1 Mechanised Coal Handling Facility, commissioning of Unified Command & Control Centre and signing of Concession Agreement for upgradation of Ore Handling Complex of Visakhapatnam Port Trust – in Chennai on Dec. 13, he said: “The East Quay-1 berth capable of berthing PANAMAX class vessels has been developed by M/s. Adani Vizag Coal Terminal Pvt. Ltd. at an investment of Rs. 323.18 crores. The fully mechanized facility with a capacity of 6.41 million tonnes per annum is designed to handle steam coal with an unloading rate of 27, 000 tonnes per day.”
With the commissioning of the berth, the port will be able to cater to the much needed requirements of the power sector in and around the region, Mr. Vasan addedd.

Developed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, the project with a capacity of 6.41 million tonnes per annum with a quay length of 280 metres, is capable of berthing PANAMAX class vessels.
The East Quay-1 berth, developed in the inner harbour of Port of Visakhapatnam, has a dredged depth of 16.1 metres and can accommodate 14-metre draft vessels.
Laying emphasis on the PPP initiatives to meet the growing demand for well-equipped ports, the Minister stated: “The Government has been encouraging private sector participation in port development. The areas thrown open include construction of berths, container terminals, warehousing facilities, installation of cargo handling equipment, dry docks and ship repair facilities. It has been observed that the private sector partners bring in operational efficiency and therefore PPP has been the preferred mode of attracting investments in the port sector.”

Patting Vizag Port for rising to the occasion, the Shipping Minister observed: “The Port of Visakhapatnam has been in the forefront in taking up the challenge of creating world class facilities. I congratulate the port for taking up eight projects on PPP mode at an estimated investment of Rs. 3, 250 crores. The development of the Vizag General Cargo Berth and Adani Vizag Coal Terminal has already been completed. Another five projects have been awarded and are progressing. The port is going to award one more project, “Extension of container terminal at outer harbour”, at an estimated cost of Rs. 633.11 crores with a capacity of 0.54 million TEUs shortly.”

Speaking about the new tie-up between Vizag Port and Essar Limited, Mr. Vasan noted: “Another important PPP project of VPT for which a concession agreement has been signed between the Port of Visakhapatnam and M/s Vadinar Oil Terminal (Essar) – for the upgradation of the existing facility at outer harbour and creation of new facility at inner harbour for handling iron ore.”
The Minister pointed out: “The facility will be developed at an estimated investment of Rs. 845 crores to create a capacity of 23 million tonnes. This project envisages upgradation of the existing 40-year-old facility in the outer harbour to receive 2-lakh DWT iron ore carriers and development of new facility in the inner harbour to load PANAMAX vessels through an integrated mechanized handling system.”

ASSURANCE
Using the podium, the Minister also assured that the 500-odd port employees who are now working at the existing iron ore handling facility will not lose their livelihood. His announcement came at the backdrop of the reported strike by the employees to seek the Minister’s attention against the port management which went ahead with the privatization of the facility despite stiff opposition from several labour unions.
“There will not be any retrenchment of workforce and all the workers now engaged in iron ore handling facility would be shifted to suitable job over a period of time,” the Minister promised. It may be noted here that the Minister’s address was broadcast live in Vizag Port via video conferencing and Mr. Vasan utilized the opportunity to assuage the feelings of the workers there.

Unified Command and Control Centre: As part of the ceremony, Mr. Vasan also inaugurated the Unified Command and Control Centre of the Port – the first of its kind among Major Ports in the country.
The facility envisages monitoring and controlling the entire gamut of port operations in a cross-functional and collaborative environment and enables monitoring of port operations such as navigation, cargo handling, railway operations, security, environment management, commercial transactions, communications, etc., all at one central location on real-time basis.

The Minister also urged the Chairmen of other Major Ports to examine how they could harness information technology to create similar hubs in their ports to monitor the various activities.

Besides others, Mr. N. Muruganandam, Joint Secretary (Ports), Ministry of Shipping; Mr. Raj Pal Singh Kahlon, Chairman, Visakhapatnam Port Trust; Mr. Atulya Misra, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust; Mr. M. A. Bhaskarachar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Ennore Port Limited; Mr. Rajiv Agarwal, Managing Director, M/s Essar Limited and Mr. G. J. Rao, Director, Adani  Ports, attended the ceremony.

Opportunities worth over Rs 20K crore available for domestic shipbuilders: ASSOCHAM

Source: ASSOCHAM

                                         Mr D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM

With over 41 per cent of India’s fleet of ships in the 20 plus age group, India’s shipbuilding and ship-repair industry holds tremendous growth potential with opportunities worth over Rs 20,000 crore available in the sector, an analysis done by apex industry body ASSOCHAM has revealed.

“Ships older than 20 years require more frequent and extensive repair and maintenance, this augurs well for the Rs 7,300 crore worth India’s shipbuilding industry, however domestic shipbuilders must invest extensively in their capacities to take advantage in this regard,” according to an analysis of ‘Indian Shipping Fleet: Size, capacity and Age Composition,’ conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and released on Dec 16.

“Majority of Indian ships are less competitive as mostly younger vessels that are less than 15 years old are preferred in international trade,” said Mr D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the chamber’s analysis.

“The government needs to act as a facilitator and create opportunities for a healthy business climate to attract fresh investments in the shipping sector,” Mr Rawat added.

As per the ASSOCHAM analysis, India has a total of 1,122 shipping vessels in its shipping fleet and 41 per cent of these (about 466 vessels) fall in the age group of 20 years and more. Considering that average life of a shipping vessel is about 26 years, most of the existing Indian vessels need to be replaced.

Assuming that out of the 41 per cent vessels, about seven per cent (approximate rate at which India’s vessel strength has grown between 2000 and 2011) of them get replaced then this would translate into 33 ships.

An average cost of constructing a large vessel is roughly about $100 million, therefore the size of such an opportunity would amount to $3.3 billion.

“As such the domestic shipbuilders need to pull up their socks and invest in capacity enhancement in order to take advantage of this opportunity or else shipbuilders from other countries will cash in on this opportunity,” said Mr Rawat.

Further, over 23 per cent of India’s total shipping vessels (about 264 vessels) fall under the age group of five years. Of the rest, about 141 vessels are in the age group of 16-20 years, 135 vessels are 11-15 years old and about 116 vessels are in the age group of 6-10 years, highlighted the ASSOCHAM analysis.

Despite total volume of cargo moving in India’s trade expanding progressively, the share of Indian ships in carriage of country’s overseas trade declined from about 36 per cent in 1990-91 to just over eight per cent in 2009-10.

“The continued slippages in share of Indian shipping in carriage of country’s overseas trade puts us in a precarious situation as bulk of our essential supplies like oil are carried on foreign flag vessels leaving our energy supplies at the risk of an abrupt stoppage in case of any eventuality,” highlighted the ASSOCHAM analysis.

“Besides, it is also causing significant drain on precious foreign exchange in terms of payment of freight charges, which could otherwise be used for other high priority imports or for building up indigenous infrastructure,” the report said.

However, the drop in share also presents an opportunity for Indian shipbuilders thereby indicating tremendous scope for growth of Indian shipping.

Though, India has one of the largest merchant shipping fleet amid developing countries but its share in terms of world total deadweight tonnage (weight a ship can safely carry) is pretty low evidently as India contributes just over one per cent to the world deadweight tonnage, according to the ASSOCHAM analysis.

From about 549 vessels in 2000 India’s shipping fleet size increased to 1,122 vessels in 2011 indicating a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about seven per cent. While during this period India’s shipping capacity increased from over 69,53,000 gross register tonnage (GRT) to 1,10,61,000 GRT.

India accounts for just about one per cent of the global shipbuilding industry worth about Rs 7.3 lakh crore. China, South Korea and Japan are leading shipbuilding nations and cater to over 80 per cent of the global shipbuilding industry with China alone accounting for over 35 per cent share.

Lower costs of labour, availability of skilled workforce together with robust demand in the domestic market and a growing steel industry are certain factors that build up a strong case for shipbuilding sector in India.

Points to ponder upon:

For a well balanced and comprehensively developed domestic shipbuilding and ship repair industry, the government should provide fiscal incentives to develop strong research and development facilities, designing capabilities and set up an auxiliary base to encourage the growth of the sector.

-India needs to furbish up its ports and the whole shipping infrastructure to enhance the handling capacity and facilitate operation of larger shipments to increase its share in the global maritime business.

-The government should rope in maritime states to identify and make land available, thereby seeking their contribution for setting up a new port or a shipyard in each of these states.

-This also denotes huge scope for private sector and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the shipping industry and the maritime states can develop a composite project on the public-private partnership model.

-High input costs and rising costs of raw material, freight together with miscellaneous duties and taxes being imposed amounts to a huge price differential of about 50 per cent in building a ship in India and other countries.

-Fulfilling the requirement of skilled workforce is another significant problem being faced by Indian shipbuilders.

-The government has a key role to improve the efficiency and productivity of domestic shipbuilders to enable them to compete with their foreign counterparts.

Hence, the ASSOCHAM recommends for providing subsidy scheme, easing tax related regulations and declaring the shipbuilding a status of strategic industry.

Trailer Organisers Association enters own office building

Source:http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/trailer-organisers-association-enters-own-office-building/

Mr D.Jayakumar, former Speaker, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly greets Mr M M Gopi, secretary of the Trailer Organisers Association during the function. Also seen (from left) Mr Ennarasu Karunesan, Director & CEO, DP World Chennai, Mr A.V. Vijayakumar, Managing Director Paramount Shipping Services Pvt Ltd and Mr G Raghu Shankar, Executive Director, International Clearing & Shipping Agency (I) Pvt. Ltd.

Trailer Organisers Association, one of the important associations in Chennai having members from trailer owners and container movement organisers fraternity, moved into their own office building located at S. N. Chetty Street, Royapuram, on Dec. 12.

Mr. D. Jayakumar, former Speaker, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and MLA from Royapuram constituency, inaugurated the new building housing the office of Trailer Organisers Association in the presence of Mr. Ennarasu Karunesan, Director & CEO, DP World Chennai, and Mr. P. Dhanraj, President of the Association.

Welcoming the guests, Mr. M. M. Gopi, Secretary of the Association, said that it was a dream come true for the organisation, which was struggling for want of its own office premises for more than a year. While congratulating the members and well-wishers, he promised that the organisation would work for the betterment of logistics services for Chennai Port and always remain a voice for the trailer owners and organisers.

Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the building, Mr. Jayakumar stated that the State Government is extending all possible help to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) which is executing the Chennai-Ennore Port Connectivity road project (formerly Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project- EMRIP) from Chennai Port up to northern suburbs of Chennai.

With the cooperation of the State Government, the Rs. 600-crore road project saw the light of the day and now about 80 per cent of work has been completed so far, he added.

He also urged the association as well as other logistics players, linked to EXIM trade with Chennai Port, to bring to his notice the difficulties, if any, for early solution.

While congratulating the association and its members for moving into their own office premises, Mr. Ennarasu Karunesan appealed to the organisation leadership to desist from resorting to flash strikes or any other form of agitations that could prove detrimental to the growth of container handling operations in Chennai Port.

Underlying the prevailing condition in the port-bound logistics trade where many trailer owners find it difficult to get good and trained container lorry drivers for their vehicles, he wanted the Association Secretary to think strongly about dealing with the scarcity of trained drivers for the industry at the earliest.

Reacting to his request, Mr. Gopi replied that the organisation has plans to start a training academy for trailer drivers soon and would seek the State Government’s as well as local MLA’s help to set up the facility on the outskirts of Chennai.

Besides other representatives from different unions, Mr. A. V. Vijayakumar, former President of Chennai Custom House Agents Association (CCHAA) and Managing Director of Paramount Shipping Services Pvt Ltd; and Mr. G. Raghu Shankar, Chairman, Shipping Committee, Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and Executive Director of International Clearing & Shipping Agency (I) Pvt. Ltd, attended the ceremony and wished the association great success in future.

Cadets Jubilant over decentralisation; CDC can be obtained in Chennai & Kolkata also

Source:http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/cadets-jubilant-over-decentralisation/

Sequel to the enabling of online Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) to individual category applicants on Oct. 30, DG Shipping has now extended the same to the fresh pass outs of pre-sea Maritime Training Institutes (MTIs), stated a notification from DG Shipping on Dec.4.

Some 138 MTIs in the country are set to heave a collective sigh of relief welcoming two decisive steps taken in CDC reforms. One of them being the decision of DGS to adopt ‘e-passport seva’ like online application system for the institutional category applicants and the other being the decentralization of CDC jurisdiction allowing cadets to exercise their choice of region either Chennai, Mumbai or Kokata to deal with CDC related issues in future.

Earlier there was a long-pending plea by MTIs to streamline the system of Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) by adopting online system akin to e-passport seva where an applicant can apply online and is spared the hassle of physically frequenting the passport office till the passport is issued. Passport offices before the launch of online e-seva system used to be crowded by applicants for various purposes like submission, renewal and enquiry.

The e-seva system when introduced reduced crowding and queuing up at the offices as much of information is made available online and the personal visit is highly streamlined.

Cadets passed out of MTIs too faced the same brick-and-mortar passport office ordeal like queuing up and crowding in availing CDCs. Taking inspiration from the streamlining and de-bottlenecking the delivery system of passport by online e-seva e-governance adoption, MTIs pitched for phasing out of the hitherto brick-and-mortar CDC issuing mechanism where bulk applications of passing out students from MTIs are sent to Shipping Master Office, Mumbai, and they are required to approach the office for any other services like enquiry or renewal.

Leaving a lot to be desired at times, there were inordinate delays in issuing CDCs driving such anxious students from all over the country to make a trip to Shipping Master Office in Mumbai to enquire about their CDC status. Students coming down to Mumbai take temporary accommodation and frequent Shipping Master Office till they get their job done. Job-seeking cadets were forced to cough up sundry expenditure for CDC related stay.

To alleviate the plight of cadets thronging the Shipping Master Office in Mumbai, a section of MTIs mooted the idea of emulating the e-passport model in delivering CDCs where students’ hardships like long winding queues and repeat visits are greatly mitigated.

Responding to the plea of MTIs, on Oct. 30 DGS first introduced the online CDC system in individual category and later on Dec. 4 extended the same to the institutional category of CDCs.

 New method of application & processing

MTIs, which conduct the said pre-sea long-term and short-term training courses, shall be responsible for the submission of CDC application forms for their respective trainees/ candidates enrolled in these courses as per the approval of DGS.

MTIs shall at the first instance obtain the choice of the trainees for the Shipping Office in which the trainees would like their CDC applications to be submitted. The trainees shall be apprised by the MTIs that the choice once taken shall be the Shipping Office they will be corresponding with, in future, during their entire seafaring career for any CDC related issues.

MTIs shall thereafter submit applications for CDCs for their respective trainees /candidates online as well as in hardcopy in the new Form-1 prescribed to the Shipping Master in Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai according to the trainees’ choice for processing the CDC. The format of the applications, instructions for filing such applications and user manual for the filing of the applications shall be uploaded subsequently on finalization of the new e-module.

Such applications for CDCs for their respective training candidates, online as well as in hardcopy, shall be forwarded three clear months prior to the completion of the respective courses to the concerned Government Shipping Office.

Shipping Master Office in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata on receipt of applications shall process them and issue and dispatch the CDCs in respect of all the enrolled trainees, to the institutions concerned before the completion of the course. MTIs concerned shall hand over the CDCs to the trainees on completion of the course before the trainees leave the campus.

The MTIs shall forward the result of each of their candidates for successful completion of the given course from the concerned university/ institution as the case may be, declaration thereof. The MTIs shall also explore the possibility of uploading the results of such passed candidates of their institutions with details of batch number, roll number of examination, reference of the university results, etc. on their website.

Shipping Master Offices on receipt of the results from the concerned MTIs may update the pass out details, i.e. the pass out certificate and date of the concerned trainee in the online CDC scanned details already uploaded in the e-governance system along with the CDC checker. There will be no requirement for the endorsement in this regard in CDC booklet concerned. CDC of the concerned seafarer shall become operational only after the said pass out details are uploaded as stated above.

Embedded pre-sea course offering MTIs

Long-term pre-sea courses have an embedded sea-time or structured on board ship training in between the maritime training courses concerned as under Alternative Training Scheme (ATS), Bachelor of Engineering (Marine Engineering)/ Technical/ BS(Engineering) and BS (NT) offered by the BITS, Pilani, and Jadhavpur University and GME-1 year of the Great Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies (GESCO).

MTIs, which conduct the said embedded pre-sea long-term training courses mentioned above, shall now submit applications for the issue of CDCs for their respective training candidates, online as well as offline (hard copy) in the new Form-I prescribed by this order to the Shipping Master, Government Shipping Offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai following all procedures mentioned above for processing such CDCs.
Such application forms shall be forwarded three clear months prior to the deputation of the trainees for their sea training at the beginning of the semester 6 or 7 as the case may be for the BE (Marine Engineering)/ BS (Engineering) and BS (NT) offered by the Jadhavpur University and BITS, Pilani, and after completion of 9 months for the said ATS course, and 5 months for the GME course conducted by the GEIMS.

Shipping Master, GSO, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata shall expeditiously process such applications and issue and dispatch such CDCs to the respective MTIs to enable them to depute their trainees to sea as an embedded part of the curriculum of their courses. Shipping Master Offices also forward, promptly on a monthly mode, a list of such CDCs issued, institute and course wise, to the training branch of the office for due monitoring.

Link for old story: Will CDC go the Passport way to reduce inordinate delay?http://andamansaravanan.blogspot.in/2013/09/will-cdc-go-passport-way-to-reduce.html

IMU headquarters ready for inauguration next month

Source: http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/imu-headquarters-ready-for-inauguration-next-month/

The headquarters of the Indian Maritime University (IMU) is ready and it will be inaugurated in January next year, Union Minister of Shipping G. K. Vasan has announced.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting the progress of the IMU headquarters, which is coming up on a 300-acre land at Semmanjeri, near the IMU’s Chennai Campus on East Coast Road, along with Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Director (Admn, Parl & MP) in Shipping Ministry, Mr. Vasan said: “Initially, 106 acres of land have been developed and construction of administrative building has been completed.”

Since most of the works are completed, the facility will be inaugurated in January next year, he added.

The Minister also announced that the first convocation of IMU would also be organised at the new headquarters building.

According to IMU official sources, since the stretch of land is located very close to the Buckingham Canal (which runs along the headquarters) and the possibilities of flooding of water during rainy days remaining high, the entire land has been developed and raised by 10 feet height at a cost of Rs. 33 crores.

Besides, construction of approach bridge over Buckingham Canal to connect the headquarters building with IMU Chennai Campus is also progressing rapidly.

The headquarters building would consist of academic block with 12 classrooms, faculty rooms, separate hostel facility for girls and boys, central library, computer lab, conference hall and a convocation hall.

 VC selection at crucial stage: 

Speaking to Sagar Sandesh, a senior Shipping Ministry official said that the selection of new Vice Chancellor for Indian Maritime University has reached a crucial phase.

“We have received about 80 applications for the VC post. The scrutinizing of those applications would begin soon once the President of India appointed VC Selection Panel meets in New Delhi in a few days time,” he said and added that it is most likely that the new VC would be part of the headquarters inaugural function slated for January.

According to sources in the know-how of the VC selection process, besides representation from various reputed professionals in maritime education fraternity for the top post, around a dozen applications for the VC post have indeed landed from the Indian Navy.

Capt. Mukesh Baveja, Vice Chancellor, Indian Maritime University; Dr. P. Vijayan, Director (Chennai Campus); Mr. Hitesh Kumar S Makwana, PS to Shipping Minister; and Mr. S. Jatak Chiru, OSD to Shipping Minister, also accompanied Mr. Vasan during the inspection.

 Campus at Karaikal:

As part of expansion and to benefit the rural people of Tamil Nadu, it is proposed to establish a regional campus at Karaikal, Union Territory of Pudhucherry. The Government of Pudhucherry is being approached for allotment of 10 acres of land. The MARG Karaikal Port has consented to house the temporary office of IMU Karaikal regional campus.

At the instance of Union Shipping Minister to open campuses at all Maritime States of India, the Major Ports of Murmagoa (Goa), Paradip (Odisha) and New Mangalore (Karnataka) are being approached for establishment of IMU campuses. According to IMU sources, these ports are very positive to the Minister’s suggestion and are coming forward for extension of an arm of IMU in their respective ports.

Makwana to succeed Vaghela in Kandla Port?

Source: http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/makwana-to-succeed-vaghela/

Mr. Hitesh Kumar S Makwana, IAS, Private Secretary to Union Shipping Minister G. K. Vasan, is being tipped to succeed Dr. P. D. Vaghela as new Chairman of Kandla Port Trust, according to reliable sources. 
Sources in New Delhi and Kandla told Sagar Sandesh that his name has been cleared by the Central Government and he is certain to take over as new CEO of the Port Trust.
Being a PS to the Shipping Minister he is thoroughly aware of the in and out of Indian ports and shipping. Kandla is a problematic port and he knows what ails Kandla.

Mr. Makwana belongs to the Tamil Nadu Cadre of IAS Officer (1995 Batch) and after working as Collector and Commissioner in key districts of this important Southern State, he went to Delhi in 2011 to work as PS to the Union Shipping Minister and since then he is working with him.
Born on April 28, 1966 in Gujarat, Mr. Makwana is considered as a sober, honest and strict officer.
It may worth notable here that Mr Makwana went on his Central Deputation in Sept 2011 and it would end by Sept 2016.

(NOTE: additional inputs added)

New Mangalore Port bustling with activities, as mainline vessels lining up

Soucre: NMPT

Main Line container vessel of M/s Pacific International Lines (PIL) – M.V. KOTA HALUS from East Africa (Port Matwara) called at New Mangalore Port on Dec 2.

According to the port’s Traffic Department sources, this is the fifth main line vessel which called at the Port during the current financial year.

The vessel commenced its operation of unloading 175 Boxes of raw cashew to various cashew processing units situated in and around Mangalore. While sailing back to East Africa enroute Jebel Ali in Dubai, the vessel expected to carry export containers.

Another Main Line vessel M.V. KOTA NALUS is expected to call at the Port during next week and M.V. KOTA HARAM, again a mainline vessel, is expected to dock New Mangalore Port on Dec 23.

Both these vessels will be sailing back to East Africa with export containers from the port enroute Singapore.

“The advantage of mainline vessel directly calling at the port is the reduced transit time and economical handling cost for the regional EXIM players,” a statement from NMPT has said.

It may be noted that the voyage from East Africa to New Mangalore will be only 9-10 days whereas vessels via Colombo will take 28 days.

Commenting on the lining up of mainline vessels to the west coast’s fast growing major port, Dr. P. Tamilvanan, Chairman, NMPT, said that it was due to the port management’s sustained marketing efforts to bring more business.

He also expressed happiness over the overwhelming response from the mainline operators (MLOs) and users (EXIM fraternity) by tapping the advantageous position of lesser transit time and lesser handling cost from New Mangalore Port.

“From a humble beginning with one vessel during 2007-08, now it is the 36^th mainline vessel calling at the Port”- he added.  M/s Seamaster Shipping Logistics (Seaways group) are the agents of the vessel.

With the regular calling of mainline vessels, the container traffic at the Port is steadily growing.

During the current financial year 2013-14(upto December) 33,422 TEUs handled as against 31,272 TEUs handled during the corresponding period of previous year with a growth rate of 6.88 %.

Furthermore, the Port has also witnessed the handling of large parcel size timber vessel, M.V. STADT SOLINGEN loaded with 28,150 tonnes of timber (26,525 pieces) which called at the Port on Nov 13 and sailed out on Nov 29 after discharging the entire consignment. This is the largest parcel size of timber ever handled at the Port in a vessel.  M/s Dix Shipping are the agents of the timber-laden vessel.