Water salute to first ‘ship’ carrying massive cranes at Kerala's Vizhinjam International Port

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 12 The first mother ship carrying massive cranes from China that arrived at Kerala's Vizhinjam International Seaport, the first phase of which is nearing completion, was given the traditional water salute on Thursday signalling that the much awaited and long cherished dream is all set to become a reality.

The massive ship Zhen-Hua 15 had left the shores of China in August and had its first berthing at the Mundra Port in Gujarat early this month and it was from there this ship reached the outer waters of Vizhinjam on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister of Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal among others will officially receive the ship on Sunday at the seaport.

Incidentally it was last month that CM Vijayan and top officials named the port Vizhinjam International Seaport, Thiruvananthapuram and released its logo at a function and termed this as the dream project of Kerala. Now finally commissioned, this is going to open the gateway to international marine transshipment which has a huge potential.

This momentous event takes place after a delay of five years. During the commencement of the port by Adani on December 5, 2015, its founder Gautam Adani had announced that the first ship would berth here on September 1, 2018, in a record time of less than 1,000 days. But the group failed to meet the deadline due to various factors.

At the moment, more than 80 per cent of the first phase of the work at the port is over. Soon after the first ship arrives, seven more ships are scheduled to arrive and the port will be opened to commercial operations in May next year.

The project was signed off by the Congress-led UDF government under Chief Minister Oommen Chandy (2011-16) and the work on the port began at the fag-end of Chandy's tenure.

After the Vijayan government took over, due to numerous reasons, the pace set by the Chandy government could not be followed.

After cyclone Ockhi hit the construction site in 2017, a portion of the constructed breakwater was washed away and since then the shortage of limestone, the most important raw material for the project, caused yet another delay.

According to the project, a record one lakh jobs which includes direct and indirect ones will be created and hence once opened, the port will prove to be a game-changer not just for Kerala but for the entire country as 80 per cent of transshipments to India that currently takes place at Colombo, Singapore and Dubai, will now happen at Vizhinjam.