Kamarajar Port Limited has become India’s second major port with an 18.0-metre operational draft after completing Capital Dredging Phase VI at the Tamil Nadu gateway, according to India’s Press Information Bureau.
The ₹440 crore ($46m) project allows the port to handle fully laden Capesize vessels carrying cargo parcels of up to 170,000 DWT. Visakhapatnam Port is the only other major port in India with the same draft capability.
The dredging work deepened the outer approach channel from 20.0 metres to 23.0 metres and the inner entrance channel from 19.0 metres to 22.0 metres. It also covered berth-side areas required for 18-metre-draft operations, the harbour basin and related navigational areas.
The deeper draft is intended to allow shipping lines to use larger bulk carriers at Kamarajar, reducing freight costs through economies of scale and improving cargo-handling efficiency.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said the completion of Capital Dredging Phase VI had turned Kamarajar Port into a deep-draft, Cape Compliant port capable of handling fully laden Capesize vessels of up to 170,000 DWT.
Kamarajar Port Limited, formerly Ennore Port Limited, is a company of Chennai Port Authority under India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. It operates under a landlord port model and was incorporated in October 1999.