Essar's Paradeep terminal logs 40% growth in cargo throughput

It handled close to 1 mt cargo in the period under review as against 0.7 mt in the year-ago period

Essar Bulk Terminal Paradeep Ltd (EBTPL) has recorded 40% growth in its cargo throughput in the April-July, riding on record production of pellet at Essar Steel's Paradeep facility.

EBTPL handled close to one million tonne (mt) cargo in the period under review as against 0.7 mt in the year-ago period. In FY17, EBTPL successfully berthed bigger vessels and has accommodated a 106,000 dwt (dead weight tonnage) vessel, 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's production expected to increase further in FY17, total cargo handling at Paradeep is also likely to grow significantly, with port traffic expanding by more than 100%.

Rajiv Agarwal, managing director, Essar Ports, said: "This year, our terminal has not only berthed the biggest vessel for loading, but also recorded the highest ever loading rate at Paradip Port. We will continue to focus on delivering operational excellence and setting new benchmarks."

EBTPL successfully loaded more than 100,000 tonne of pellets into M V Shravan (sailed) at an average load rate of almost 4,300 tonne per hour (tph), which is a record. In contrast in FY16, EBTPL had loaded 75,000 tonne in a vessel in 18 hours, achieving a load rate of nearly 4,200 tph.

Essar's dry bulk terminal at Paradeep port is an all-weather deep draft facility that has the capability to serve the rapidly growing markets of Southeast Asia, including China, Japan and Myanmar. It is integrated with its anchor client Essar Steel, which operates a 12 mt pellet plant in Paradeep, through a fully mechanised dry bulk terminal and a 9.15-km conveyor system.

The Paradeep dry bulk terminal is an all-weather, deep-draft port with 16 million tonne per annum (mtpa) of dry bulk cargo handling capacity.