OREANDA-NEWS. It was yet another milestone achieved by Essar Ports, when MV Kiran, a 175,000 ton DWT vessel, the largest dry bulk vessel in the Indian Fleet, berthed at Essar Bulk Terminal, Hazira to discharge iron ore pellets. The vessel, owned by Essar Shipping, has a length overall of 281m and beam of 45m, making it the largest ship the terminal has handled till date. The handling of a ship of this size highlights the capability of Essar Bulk Terminal Hazira, to handle the largest of bulk carriers. It also highlights the operational efficiency of the terminal, and the capability of the operating team.

Speaking on the occasion, Capt. Subhas Das, CEO, Essar Bulk Terminal, Hazira, said, "We deployed powerful tugs, and ensured adequate under keel clearance, accurate judgment of vessel's engine and steering capabilities. We congratulate the pilots and the terminal team which brought in the largest ship we have handled till date."

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Rajiv Agarwal, MD & CEO, Essar Ports Ltd. said, "We are proud of our team at Hazira, which is now handling some of the largest bulk carriers. Our focus is on operational excellence and safety of operations, and our teams on the ground are continuously striving towards it. My congratulations to the EBTL Hazira team on this achievement".

Essar Ports Ltd. is one of the largest port companies of India, with a current capacity of 104MMTPA. The capacity is being expanded to 181MMTPA over the next few years. Essar Ports has three operational terminals at Hazira, Vadinar and Paradip. Hazira terminal is an all-weather, deep-draft terminal with 30MMTPA of dry bulk and break bulk cargo handling capacity. Vadinar is also an all-weather, deep-draft terminal with 58MMTPA of liquid cargo handling capacity. Paradip dry bulk terminal was commissioned in December 2012 and is an all-weather, deep-draft terminal with 16MMTPA of dry bulk cargo handling capacity.

Essar Ports is also currently developing a coal terminal at Paradip of 14MMTPA capacity and a dry bulk terminal at Salaya of 20MMTPA capacity. Additionally, the company also has plans to expand its Hazira capacity by 20MMTPA - taking the Hazira Terminal capacity to 50MMTPA. With this new project at Visakhapatnam port, Essar Ports capacity under construction will increase by 23MMTPA, taking the total under construction capacity to 77MMTPA.