Odisha ports gear up to resume operations

Paradip Port Trust on Monday decided to allow vessels up to a draught of 13 metres to berth inside the port area for cargo loading and unloading

The ports in Odisha that had suspended operations due to the severe cyclonic storm Phailin, are gearing up to resume business.

The Paradip Port Trust, which had halted cargo operations in its area on Friday on the eve of the Phailin strike, has started operations partially by allowing small-sized vessels. It will start full scale loading and unloading by Thursday after assessing the damage caused by the cyclone, said officials.

On Monday, the port decided to allow vessels up to a draught of 13 metres, to berth inside the port area for cargo loading and unloading. A total of three vessels were permitted to upload and unload cargo, mainly coal, with a total traffic of 58,200 tonnes. A large part of coal for power generation in Tamil Nadu is shipped via the Paradip port.

Though the port did not report major damage to its properties, officials said the uprooting of some 10,000 trees blocked key roads to its dock area.

Two days before Phailin’s landfall, the port had removed all the vessels inside its berthing area in anticipation of damage to the ships due to speedy winds and a turbulent sea.

As of now, 14 vessels are lined up to load and unload cargo, with eight being coal vessels and two iron ore ships. The port mainly deals with import and export of coal, iron ore, ferrochrome, chromite, fertiliser raw materials, limestone and crude oil. Being the only major port of the area, it serves the eastern and central parts of the country and its hinterland extends to Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

Between April and September this year, the port handled 34.12 million tonnes of cargo, up from 25.63 million tonnes handled during the corresponding period of the previous year, registering a growth of 33.13 per cent over the previous period. The growth comes mainly from substantial increase in coking coal and iron ore traffic. Among other ports of the state, Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL), which operates a non-major port in Bhadrak district, said it will resume cargo handling operations from Wednesday.

“We have started our site operations on Tuesday after a closure of three days. Since there was no damage due to the cyclone, we will allow vessels to begin arriving from Wednesday,” said a DPCL source.

Dhamara port is the only port in Odisha which can handle Capesize vessels.

Meanwhile, the authorities of Gopalpur port, a minor port, said several portions of the port, including break-water and berth have been damaged in the cyclonic storm.

“The loss however, is yet to be calculated. It will take about one-and-half months to bring normalcy,” said director of Gopalpur Ports Ltd (GPL) M M Moharana.

Two vessels were scheduled to anchor in the port, but GPL has asked them to defer the date of arrival, he added.