Vizhinjam International Port and Deepwater Container Terminal - Dream project of Kerala

Vizhinjam , a non-major natural port, is located about 17 km south of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala on India’s South West coast. The dream Port is envisaged with a quay length of 2000 meters in three phases. It will be designed to cater primarily for container transhipments besides multi-purpose and break bulk cargo.

Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL), a fully-owned company of the State Government set up to facilitate the port project, was incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 on 15.12.2004. The main object of the company is to provide external support infrastructure such as road / rail connectivity, water and power supply for the proposed port, besides overseeing the implementation of the port project by the private developer. The company will also be responsible for addressing other development needs like special economic zone, logistic centre, free trade zone & warehousing zone and allied activities.

The first phase of the multi-thousand-crore project is estimated to require an investment of Rs 4,010 crore. The project is proposed to follow Landlord Port Model and the State Government will invest Rs 3,040 crore for dredging, reclamation and basic infrastructure like construction of break-water and quay etc. Port Operation will be on PPP model. Terminal superstructure will be built by private operator who will also operate and maintain it for 30 years. As an initiative , the state finance minister announced a sum of Rs.224 crore for the works related to the Vizhinjam Deep-Water International Container and Transhipment Terminal in the financial budget of 2012 -2013 .

The bid-winning consortium led by Welspun Infratech Limited (India), has requested a grant of Rs.479.54 crore spread over 16 years from the State Government to participate in the project. In other words, the consortium, if the bid is accepted, will have to invest Rs.970 crore on the superstructure of the port, but will receive Rs.479.54 crore as grant from the State government towards operating expenses over 16 years. The port operator can operate the port for 30 years, after which it has to be handed over to the State Government.

Studies conducted at Vizhinjam shows that a natural depth of about 18 to 23 metres within about 3 kms from the shore. A port constructed here could easily accommodate ships with displacements of up to 300,000 tons, with little or no dredging. Basically this means that the Vizhinjam port can handle super tankers and the biggest container mother ships with ease.

Located on the Southern tip of the sub-continent, it is just 10-12 nautical miles from the busy Persian Gulf - Malacca shipping lanes which carry almost a third of the world shipping traffic. Because of the strategic location it could also attract transhipment traffic from Bangladesh in the East, Pakistan in the west and SriLanka in the south to emerge as a mega transhipment terminal in South Asia substantially reducing the importance of Colombo as a hub.

However , Vizhinjam , a non-major port at present – has no cargo traffic at present. Its hinder lands overlaps with that of Tuticorin Port in the South East ( about 200kms) and Cochin on the North West(about 200 kms). Also there is no industrial belt / manufacturing units nearby and there is no such activity is expected to pick up in the near future too. So, Vizhinjam port will have to essentially depend on the transhipment traffic only, which is highly volatile and depends on many factors including the Cabotage / coastal policy etc. Once developed the port will have to gear up for stiff competition from internal ( ICTT,Vallarpadam, ) as well as external established hub ports like Colombo, Portkelang, Tanjung Pelepas , Singapore etc.

There are 9 Chinese container ports among the top 20 container ports and India has none ! Shipping plays an important role in the transport sector of India’s economy. India has an extensive coastline of about 7500km and around 95% of India’s external merchandise trade by volume and 70% by value, is through maritime transport.

The Indian seaborne trade has been growing at a CAGR of 11.38% for the last 10 years, and it was the highest , 12.25%, prior to the global slowdown. Considering this Indian seaborne trade is expected to grow to the level of 2,134 million tonnes by the year 2020, ie, about 3.56 times the current trade.

Despite the existence of Port Kelang, 14th largest port, Malaysian Govt had gone in for a new transhipment port in Tanjun Pelepas, just about 150 kms away , in the year 2000, which is the 17th biggest port now. Chinese port Ningo , 7th largest port, is just about 200km from Shanghai , no.1 port of the world ! Considering all above Vizhinjam Port would be one development which could make a very significant contribution to India's economic progress in the coming years.

Container Maintenance - major concern for the line

Modern container is a rectangular structure of standardised dimensions, designed to carry unit loads, packages or bulk cargo, and which is quickly transferable as a complete module between a number of modes of transportation (IICL, Guide for Container inspection).

Container Inventory is the asset of the shipping company and the storage, maintenance and repair expenses are one of the major cost heads of the line.

A Successful containerized cargo shipment depends on

1. Matching the cargo to the correct type of container

2. Good condition of the container

3. Correct handling of container throughout the voyage

4. Correct method of stuffing / De-stuffing

Container Inspection at the depot

The container should be returned by the customer in an acceptable condition and all containers should be inspected thoroughly at the gate prior accepting to the depot. Accuracy and consistency in container inspection is the key to maintaining containers in safe and serviceable condition. Containers should be inspected for

1. Damages

2. Cleanliness

3. Out-of date labels

Container Damage

Damage is one or more physical defects in a container caused by a single event or series of single events, such as impact, abrasion, contamination, overloading and/or other events beyond the normal exposure to which the original design was intended. (IICL ,Container repair guide)

Common types of container damages are

1. Racking ( Twisting of the structural shell of the container)

2. Toppling

3. Container Collapse

4. Structural failure

5. Holes

6. Interior/Exterior contamination

Container Cleaning

The primary objective of container cleaning is to ensure that the cargo appropriate to those type of containers is not damaged due to the condition of the container. Also , containers provided must be clean enough to carry the type of cargo and must meet the customer requirements.

In general , cleaning is required when

- The material or odor is transferable to cargo

- And the transferred material or odor will damage the type of cargo

- Or prevent the safe operation of the container

- Or the general appearance and cleanliness of the container would not be acceptable to the customer.

Cleaning Methods

The depot must chose most economic and less complicated cleaning method which is effective and of minimal adverse environmental impact. Most recommended container cleaning methods are as under

1. Removal of debris, wire, rope, nails or other waste materials

2. Sweep out – Dust, dirt , and small remnants of cargo should be swept out of the container.

3. Spot Cleaning – This method is applied when only small area needs to be cleaned.

4. Scraping with a flat or shaped tool – This method used for removing labels, tapes or other adhesive material.

5. Power Sanding – This is an alternative spot cleaning method that can be used to remove oil stains or other materials from flooring.

6. Power grinding with an abrasive disk or wire brush /repainting – Heavy layers of dried adhesive and heavy wall scratches may be ground away to bare metal and repainted.

7. Washing – Wash with cold water at standard tap pressure to remove fine dust or other materials remaining on container floors or walls .

8. Cold / Hot high pressure wash – To remove dust/ materials which cannot be removed by ordinary wash. High pressure hot water wash is the most effective way to clean oil stains from container floors.

9. Over painting – Graffiti , wall stains , thin layers of dried adhesives, minor wall scratches etc can be painted over after cleaning the surface properly.

10. Component replacement – It is usually applied to oil soaked floors and/or flooring severely contaminated by odor.

Container Repair

The purpose of any repair is to restore structural integrity to the container, so that it may function safely in worldwide intermodal commerce as an instrument of international transportation. Repaired containers should meet all applicable requirements of ISO standards, the International Convention for safe Containers (CSC), the Customs convention on containers etc.