Bhubaneswar: Gopalpur Port, deepest all-weather port in Odisha, has achieved fastest-ever loading of 59,150 metric tonnes of iron ore lumps, manually, in 24 hours on the vessel MV Reachy Spring nominated by JSW Steel.
The port also set a record by loading 86,700 MT iron ore lumps in 40 hours on the vessel on July 15 with an average loading of 2,167 mt per hour. The master of the vessel awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to the port for this record, an release said on Monday.
“The record-breaking achievement demonstrates the port’s cargo management efficiency and capacity,” said Managing Director, SP Port Maintenance, Amit Saboo.
Chief Executive Officer, Gopalpur Ports Limited, V Janardhana Rao also remarked, “The port prioritises its customer and undertakes significant planning before vessel berthing to ensure proper feeding and loading on the vessel with utmost safety. The best rail & road connected port in the state is consistently setting newer records for cargo handling. In the recent past, it discharged more than 32,000 MT coal cargo in 24 hours from vessel MV New Prestige.”
The port has ability to handle more than 20 rakes a day and this performance on marine operations reinforces its position as a reliable and competitive maritime gateway, Rao added.
Under the management control of Shapoorji Pallonji Group since 2017, Gopalpur Port provides the requisite marine infrastructure to handle cape vessels up to a draft of 14.5 metres. Furthermore, the port provides open and closed storage space to store about 2.5 MT of cargo, spread across a vide cargo mix and clientele. It has eight operational rail yard sidings for efficient and seamless handling of multiple cargoes, the release further said.
Gopalpur is strategically located between Paradip and Visakhapatnam ports positioning it uniquely for imports as well as coastal transportation of cargo on the east coast of India, it added.
