Katra Wilhelmsen launches India's first floating port in Goa

Mumbai, Apr 10 (UNI) To overcome the bottleneck of shallow draft in most ports in India, Katra Wilhelmsen logistics will launch the 'M V Goan Pride,' India's first 'floating port' at Goa tomorrow, largely to handle dry bulk cargo.

A revolutionary concept based on creative integration of self unloader technology with on-decks transhipment systems, the port will help speed loading and unloading and ease impact on environment.

Addressing a press conference here today, Katra Group chairman Ramesh Vangal said, ''The shallow draft ports and their poor loading and unloading capabilities results into avoidance of large bulk carriers to come to India. Hence, the group has devised a unique solution to overcome this problem by taking the port to the ship, instead of the ship coming to the port.'' ''The transhipper is expected to be extremely cost effective, the cost for loading this type of vessel is USD 16,000-20,000 per day. The Goan pride is capable to transfer 4500 tons per hour and loading vessels upto 300,000 deck weight tons (dwt) and loading a cape size vessel in two days, where it earlier took four to five days, the cost will be reduced tremendously,'' said Barber Marine Consultants Chairman and Member of the Senior Management of Wilh Wilhelmsen Group of Norway Knut Arnesen.

''The transhipper is classed for ocean trade and can be used as a bulk carrier, while the surge capacity of 120,000 tons permits the transhipper to achieve high-speed transhipment without relying on barge deliveries,'' said Sid Shridhar, President Seabulk, the technology provider for the ship.

Transhipment in open-sea, using safe, reliable and high-speed loading systems offers better efficiencies than a conventional port.

It is expected the port would make Goan ore more competitive, since there would be no draft restrictions and port congestion to deal with, also because the ship achieves the loading rates as that of the best ore export terminals in Brazil and Australia.

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