The Hindu Business Line : New Mangalore Port box traffic crosses 10,000 TEUs

Container traffic at New Mangalore Port crossed 10,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) during the current fiscal as against 9,646 TEUs in 2005-06.

A press release by the Traffic Manager of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), Mr S. Gopalakrishna, on Friday attributed this growth to the increase in the frequency of container vessels calling at the port and to the movement of more container cargo from the hinterland.

In addition to the commencement of a new line by Relay Shipping connecting NMPT with JNPT, one more relief vessel — m.v. Achiever — started calling at the port to handle the additional cargo moving through the port.

The release said that the NMPT Chairman, Mr P. Tamilvanan, has expressed his happiness over the port's efforts in attracting containers.

Various trade meets were held in Bangalore, Mysore, Hassan and Hospet to highlight the advantages of the port in handling containers.

Rail traffic

During the first half of the current financial year, 12 lakh tonnes of cargo was handled by railway line as against 15 lakh tonnes during 2005-06.

The commissioning of the Mangalore-Hassan railway line for freight traffic on May 5, 2006, has helped in achieving this growth.

On October 24, the port handled a record quantity of 20,174 tonnes of limestone in m.v. Talisaman, surpassing the earlier record of 13,311 tonnes handled on February 24 in m.v. Jag Vikram.

The release said that m.v. Talisaman called at the port on October 23, carrying 51,000 tonnes of limestone from UAE for Anudeep Carbonates Pvt Ltd of Bhadravathi.

Seaport Shipping Pvt Ltd is the steamer agent and HML Agencies Pvt Ltd is the stevedores and clearing and forwarding agents, the release added.