Essar's dry bulk terminal at Paradip Port surpasses past benchmarks
Essar Bulk Terminal Paradip Ltd (EBTPL) has surpassed several of its own performance benchmarks in the first few months of the current fiscal. In the period, EBTPL achieved the highest load rate ever recorded at Paradip port. This was made possible through loading of bigger parcel sizes, faster turnaround of vessels and minimised berth stay durations, the company said in its press release.
EBTPL successfully loaded more than 100,000 tonne of pellets into MV Shravan (sailed) at an average load rate of almost 4,300 tonnes per hour (TPH), which is a record. In contrast in FY2016, EBTPL had loaded 75,000 tonne in a vessel in 18 hours, achieving a load rate of nearly 4,200 TPH.
Overall cargo handling by Essar Ports Ltd (EPL), which is the holding company of EBTPL, has witnessed a significant jump in the last four months. During April 2017-July 2017, EBTPL alone handled close to 1 million tonne of cargo. This is a growth of nearly 40% when compared to the 0.7 tonnes handled in the same period last year. In FY2017, EBTPL successfully berthed bigger vessels and has accommodated a 106,000 DWT vessel (loading)—the largest in the history of the port.
EBTPL’s improved operational performance comes on the back of enhanced production delivered by Essar Steel, its anchor client that recorded its highest ever pellet production in July 2016. With Essar Steel production expected to increase further in FY17, total cargo handling at Paradip is also likely to grow significantly, with port traffic expanding by more than 100%.
About Essar Ports
Essar Ports is one of the largest port companies of India, with a current capacity of 140 MTPA. The capacity is being expanded to 194 MTPA over the next few years. Essar Ports has five operational port terminals at Hazira, Vadinar, Paradip, Salaya and Vizag, which are estimated to handle approximately 85 million tonnes of cargo during FY17.
The Hazira port is an all-weather, deep-draft port with 30 MTPA of dry bulk and break bulk cargo handling capacity. Vadinar is also an all-weather, deep-draft port with 58 MTPA of liquid cargo handling capacity. The Paradip dry bulk terminal is an all-weather, deep-draft port with 16 MTPA of dry bulk cargo handling capacity. The Vizag terminal is an operational berth of 16 MTPA that was taken over in May 2015. Essar Ports’s newly commissioned dry bulk terminal at Salaya has increased its capacity by further 20 MTPA.
Additionally, Essar Ports is expanding its Hazira port capacity by 20 MTPA, which will take the total capacity to 50 MTPA. Essar Ports is also undertaking capacity addition of the iron ore berths at Visakhapatnam Port, aiming at a total capacity of 16 MTPA. Essar Ports also plans to develop a coal terminal at Paradip of 18 MTPA capacity.