Visakha container terminal owned by J M Baxi will increase its capacity to 1.3 million Teus before the end of 2021 and can handle next generation container ships with 12 to 14,000 TEU capacity.

The expansion project is being taken up in phases with expansion of 100 meter increase in length of the berth to be achieved next month and the second phase by May. The expansion project is expected to be completed by October this year. Post expansion the 0.6 million TEU existing capacity will go up to 1.3 million TEUs before the end of the year

Trade to normalcy, terminal laden volumes and parcel size increasing

With the trade returning to normalcy, the terminal’s laden volumes are increasing, as also the parcel size.

It said that the year 2020 has been remarkable for VCT in certain aspects – highest monthly throughput achieved that crossed over 46,000 TEUs twice in the months of June and September; highest reefer volume handled of over 3,400 TEUs in June; and rail bound traffic that moved as high as 60 rakes and volumes crossing the 9,100 TEU mark.

Few feathers were added to the cap of VCT when the liner vessel- MSC introduced its own tonnage in July, that plies between Visakhapatnam and Colombo connecting the Mediterranean, Europe, US and Africa.

Similarly, International Cargo Terminals (ICT), under the aegis of J. M. Baxi, has deployed own rakes on the East Coast of India connecting the terminal and its hinterland. The first ICT rake moved from VCT on July 24, 2020

Operational performance improving for vessels and trucks, their turnaround times

Operational performance has been consistent at the terminal with improved vessel turnaround time at an average of 21 hours per vessel. The truck turnaround time has dropped below 40 minutes, thus showing greater efficiency in performance. Ship and crane productivity has also showcased growth by 10 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

The highest parcel size was handled on the vessel Varada, 3,658 TEUs in May 2020, surpassing the November 2019 volume of 3,457 TEUs. The terminal also handled the highest reefer volume till date on a single vessel - TRF Kaya: 469 TEUs in October 2020, the communiqué emphasised.