The Hindu Business Line : First mainline container ship calls at New Mangalore port

Mangalore, Jan. 29 For the first time in the more than three-decade-old history of the New Mangalore port, a mainline container vessel called at the port on Tuesday. This is a major achievement for the port and for users, mainly the cashew industry in Karnataka.

The mainline container vessel — m.v. Kota Handal — of PIL (Pacific International Line) of Singapore with a cargo of 121 TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units) of raw cashew called at the port.Mr P. Tamilvanan, Chairman of the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), told Business Line that the transit period for Kota Handal from Matwara port in East Africa to New Mangalore was eight days.

“This is for the first time that the port is handling a mainline container vessel,” he said.

Raw cashew imports

Mr Tamilvanan hoped that the arrival of mainline container vessel will facilitate raw cashew importers and reefer cargo exporters, as there will be reduction in transit period and less ocean freight.

Vessel Capcity

The vessel has a capacity of 1,088 TEUs with 200 reefer plug points.

The vessel will load 105 export containers for various destinations.

Mr K. Prakash Rao, President of the Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers’ Association (KCMA), said that the long-cherished dream of cashew importers in the State has been fulfilled with the arrival of a mainline container vessel at the port.

He said there will be a reduction of around 60-70 per cent in the transit period of raw cashew from African countries.

Transit time reduced

Earlier, it used to take around a month for the import of raw cashew. The maiden mainline container vessel has brought the cargo from East Africa in eight days. The quality deterioration of raw cashew will be reduced, if it is brought directly from the exporting countries.

He hoped that it will help boost the import of raw cashew to Karnataka.

With this, the cashew processing industries in the State can utilise their full processing capacity.

“We hope that there will be operation of mainline container vessels from West Africa also in the days to come,” he added.