"Glorious Achievement": Karan Adani On Vizhinjam Port Welcoming Mothership

Adani Ports Managing Director Karan Adani today hailed Kerala's Vizhinjam Port welcoming first mothership calling it a "glorious achievement in Indian maritime history":

"San Fernando – now berthed at our harbour is a symbol of a new, glorious achievement in Indian maritime history. It is a messenger that will tell the world that India's first transshipment terminal and the largest deepwater port has begun commercial operations."

"No other port in India – including our own highly advanced Mundra Port – has these technologies. What we have already installed here is South Asia's most advanced container handling technology. And once we complete the automation and the Vessel Traffic Management System, Vizhinjam will be in a class of its own as one of the most technologically sophisticated transshipment ports in the world," he added.

The Vizhinjam Port, owned by the Adani Group, is a strategic maritime project near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The port today welcomed its first mothership, 'San Fernando', a vessel from Maersk, the world's second-largest shipping company. The port is expected to become fully operational in the coming months.

Currently, 25 per cent of India's container traffic is transshipped en route to the destination. Until now, despite India's rising trade with the world, the country did not have a dedicated transshipment port, resulting in three-fourths or 75 per cent of India's transshipped cargo being handled by ports outside India.

Vizhinjam will not only facilitate the movement of transshipment traffic into India but the strategically located port will also play a pivotal role in handling traffic along major routes connecting India, such as traffic between the US, Europe Africa, and the Indian subcontinent as well as US, Europe, Africa, and the Far East, and thus playing a critical role in the international trade routes.