Main cranes for Vallarpadam transhipment terminal arrive

KOCHI: Cochin Port Trust Chairman N. Ramachandran on Thursday said the arrival of four Post-Panamax quay cranes at the International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam was a milestone for the project. The arrival of the cranes at the terminal, after being stranded in the outer channel for over a fortnight, marks the beginning of the countdown to the inauguration of the project later this year.

Senior vice-president and managing director of DP World, Subcontinent, Anil Singh, said this was a �milestone in the development of our terminal at Cochin.

Mr. Ramachandran said that Zhen Hua 10, the vessel that brought the ship-to-shore cranes, was the biggest so far to call at the Vallarpadam terminal, work on which is fast nearing conclusion.

The ship carrying the cranes, however, could not be berthed at the Vallarpadam terminal because of a persisting hard patch under the sea, which need to be dredged. Consequently, the vessel was shifted to Ernakulam wharf of the Cochin port. The vessel is likely to be berthed at Vallarpadam on Friday.

Mr. Ramachandran said that dredging operations at the basin would take another month for completion and that it would take place in tandem with the installation of the cranes. There was no delay in the dredging operations, he said, pointing out that the port trust had begun this phase of the dredging works in May