Hanjin Shipping has announced the launch of a new direct, weekly service called India-Europe Express Service (AEC-1), with calls at Port Pipavav from November 25, to North Europe. The service calls at Malta, Antwerp, Thamesport, Hamburg and Rotterdam. This will be a fixed-day weekly service and will accept reefer boxes too.

The AEC-1 service commences from Busan, calling India westbound direct to Europe. It will be operated with 10 x 3,800-teu vessels and offers a transit time of 15 days to Antwerp, 17 days to Thamesport, 19 days to Hamburg and 21 days to Rotterdam.Le Havre will be feedered via Antwerp, which will give a short transit time. In addition, Hanjin is offering door deliveries to customers in North-East of France, via Antwerp. Cargo to Mediterranean and North African ports will be transhipped via Malta. It will also accept cargo to Koper, Casablanca, Rijeka, Tunis, Venice, Ancona, etc.

Customers dispatching consignments to these destinations will have one of the fastest transit times available from a global operator, for both dry and reefer cargo to Europe.

Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited (GPPL), in an announcement pledged an additional investment of Rs 260 crore for dredging purposes at Port Pipavav, the multi-purpose all weather port located near Bhavnagar district in Gujarat. Dredging funds are for 14.5 meter draft which will improve the accessibility to the port. The company has tied up with Singapore-based Zinkcon Marine, a subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster, which has dredging and earth moving as its core business. The capital dredging work at Pipavav will increase the acceptance of draught from 12.5 meters to 14.5 metres. The dredging is scheduled to be completed by mid- 2009.

A deeper draft at Pipavav will offer a safe port for the ever larger container vessels that cannot call at major ports in India. Port Pipavav has of late become a preferred gateway to New Delhi and other markets in north-western India, that allows shippers an alternative to the traditional routing via the congested infrastructure around Mumbai.

Currently, the port has a dedicated 735 meters of quay length for handling containers along with a dedicated 325 meters of quay length for handling bulk and break-bulk cargo. It is India’s first private sector port, and is promoted by APM Terminals, which is also the leading shareholder.

The India China Service (ICS) of Tokyo Senpaku Kaisha Line (TSK), the feeder wing of Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line (NYK) is now calling Port Pipavav. The inaugural call of this service at Port Pipavav was made by ‘MV ACX Diamond’ on May 28, 2008. With this fixed day weekly sailing from Pipavav, TSK Line provides the shippers in Gujarat and North West India with one of the best round trip transit (35 days) on the India China Sector. The ICS is serviced by five vessels having a capacity of 2,800TEUs.

TSK Line has provided two vessels on this service, while one vessel each has been provided by Hapag Lloyd, Regional Container Line (RCL) and Hyundai Merchant Marine, the other partners in this service. Overseas ports serviced by this service are Xingang, Qingdao, Ningbo, Shekou, Singapore and Port Klang. This is the second new service which has started calling Port Pipavav in this month, following the Hyper Galex II service of Emirates Shipping Line.

Mr. Ashley Dinning, Chief Commercial Officer of Port Pipavav said “With more and more shipping lines now offering fixed day weekly sailings from Pipavav to US East Coast, Europe, Middle East, Far East and China, Port Pipavav is emerging as an efficient gateway for shippers in North West India”.

Emirates Shipping Line’s Hyper Galex II service has started calling Port Pipavav. With the fixed day weekly sailing from Pipavav, Emirates Shipping Line now provides shippers in Gujarat and North West India with direct connections to ports in China and the Middle East. The inaugural call of this service at Pipavav was made by ’MV Emirates Kabir’ on 20th May 2008.

Port Pipavav’ s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Ashley Dinning, said today the Hyper Galex II service offers direct connections with the rapidly growing trading and commercial centres in Northern China and the Middle East. “We are very happy to welcome this service to port Pipavav” he said. The Hyper Galex II is serviced by six vessels of 2500 – 3100 TEU size and offers one of the best transit times between Northern China and Dubai.

verseas Ports serviced by this service are Tianjin (Xingang), Qingdao, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Klang, Qualombo, Dubai and Bandar Abbas. Mr. Dinning said Port Pipavav now offered weekly direct sailings to the US east coast, Europe, Middle East, Far East and China. “With direct services covering all major trade lanes, plus good road and rail connectivity with regular weekly train services to all North India ICDs, Port Pipavav is quickly emerging as an efficient gateway for shippers

T.S Pusan, T.S Lines inaugural voyage under the newly launched Hyper Galex II (HGX) service, called at Port Pipavav on 25th April’ 08. The vessel sailed off the next day after completing a total of 187 moves.

T.S Lines has joined hands with Emirates Shipping (ESL) and OOCL to launch this new service (Hyper Galex II), which provides comprehensive and speedy port connections linking China, the Far –East, South – East Asia, The Arabian Gulf and India, the key trading and commercial centres in Asia.

The service deploys six vessels of 2,300 – 2,700 TEUs and the port of rotation is Xingang, Qingdao, Shekou, Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Klang, Colombo, Jebel Ali, Bandar Abbas, Mundra, Port Pipavav, Nhava Sheva, Colombo, Port Klang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Xingang.

Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited Managing Director, Mr. Philip Littlejohn, has sent a clear signal to the ports and shipping industry of his determination to substantially grow India’s first private sector port, with the recent appointment of two industry heavy hitters to his senior management team.

Mr. Ravi Gaitonde, who has 27 years’ industry experience – including senior level international roles – has taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer at Port Pipavav. He will lead the further development of infrastructure and service provision at a port that only last November installed three new state of the art post panamax quay cranes and 10 new Eco-RTGs.

Last week, Port Pipavav received three state-of-the-art, post-panamax quay cranes and 10 RTGs from ZPMC, China. The quay cranes have been designed keeping in mind the increasing vessel sizes on the West Coast of India and to deliver world-class operations at the port. The new quay cranes are amongst the biggest cranes to be deployed in any port in India, with an outreach of 53m (18 across), total lift of 58m (40m above crane rail) and a capacity of 61MT under the spreader with twin-lift capability. Critical components for the cranes have been sourced from renowned suppliers such as ABB, Siemens, Pirelli etc.

Along with the three new quay cranes, Port Pipavav also received 10 new Eco-RTGs. Port Pipavav has become the first port in India and only the second port in Asia to receive the Eco-RTGs. The new Eco-RTGs are 7 across and 1 over 5 high. The Eco-RTGs are the result of joint development effort of APM Terminals and Siemens to achieve fuel savings of upto 50% as compared to standard RTGs of the same capacity. The deployment of the new Eco-RTGs demonstrates the commitment of Port Pipavav to bring in the most modern equipment to the country and its commitment to safeguard the environment.

The new quay cranes will operate on the 385m new container berth and will be put into commercial operation together with the first part of the new berth in March 2008. The new cranes and RTGs are part of an aggressive expansion programme launched by the port to take the container handling capacity at Port Pipavav to more than one million TEUs.

Global container shipping company APL’s Subcontinent Red Sea Express service has begun calling at Pipavav. The APL Tulip made the inaugural call at on 5th November 2007. With this weekly service from Pipavav, APL connects shippers in Gujarat and North West India to the world-wide network of APL through their hub in Salalah, and direct connections to Jeddah and Al Sokhna.

Now with APL’s SRX service calling, Pipavav today offers eight fixed-day weekly sailings to Europe, US East Coast, Red Sea, China and the Far East. With direct weekly services to all major trade lanes backed by excellent road and rail connectivity, Port Pipavav has emerged as a premier gateway for container cargo on the West Coast of India.

Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited (GPPL) is the first private sector port in India and is promoted by APM Terminals. Port Pipavav currently operates two berths - 332 meters are dedicated to handing bulk commodities such as cement and coal, and 343 meters for the container operations. The container berths are supported by one mobile harbour crane and three container gantry cranes commissioned in 2004 and the bulk and general cargo berth is supported by 2 B.M. Titan cranes.

Port Pipavav handled a total of 20,556 TEUs in March' 07, which is the highest ever container volume handled in a single month since the commencement of container operations. This was the first time that the port handled in excess of 20,000 TEUs in a month. The port also handled 56 container rakes to and from North West Indian ICDs in the month.

Now Pipavav – US East Coast in 18 days. On 10th December 2006, Port Pipavav received MV Tianjin, the first UASC vessel on the SINA (Singapore – India – North America) service to call the port. The new fixed day direct service from Pipavav offers shippers in North West India fast transit times to US East Coast ports from the West Coast of India.

The transit from Pipavav to New York is 18 days. UASC along with its partners Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (‘K’ Line) have deployed 8 vessels having a capacity of 2,300 – 3,700 TEUs on this service.

The port of rotation for the SINA Service is: Singapore, Colombo, Nhava Sheva (GTI), Port Pipavav, Port Said, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Port Said, Jeddah, Colombo, Singapore.

Port Pipavav today received the Gallant Wave, the first vessel of the new PIX service launched by NYK, RCL and Hapag Lloyd. This fixed day, weekly service, which will call Pipavav on Monday, provides shippers in Gujarat and North West India a reliable connection to Colombo, Port Klang and Singapore. The consortium partners have deployed three 1,500 TEU size vessels on this service.

Rajeeva Sinha, Managing Director of Port Pipavav said “We are proud to receive the PIX service at Port Pipavav today. With the PIX service calling Pipavav, the port now offers five fixed day sailings every week, two to the Far-East, one each to China, Europe and the US East Coast.

With direct services covering all major trade lanes, excellent road and rail connectivity with regular weekly train services to all North India ICDs, Port Pipavav has successfully emerged as an efficient gateway for shippers in North West India”.

Port Pipavav today received Hyundai Bridge, the first Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) vessel to call the port. The new fixed day direct service from Pipavav offers shippers in North West India fast transit times to ports in the Far East and China from the West Coast of India. The transit from Pipavav to Singapore in 6 days, to Shanghai in 13 days, Ningbo in 15 days and Hong Kong in 17 days. HMM deploys four 2,200 TEU vessels on the service.

Rajeeva Sinha, Managing Director of Port Pipavav says: “With the Hyundai’s CIX service calling at Pipavav, we now have four fixed day sailings every week – to the Far East and China, to Europe and to the US East Coast. With direct services covering all major trade lanes, backed by excellent road and rail infrastructure, Pipavav has now emerged an important gateway for container traffic on the West Coast of India.”

Port Pipavav in its constant endeavour of providing high quality services to the EXIM trade of India has acquired eight new Rubber Tyre Gantry Cranes (RTG’s) from the Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Company Limited (ZPMC). The eight RTG’s for the new container terminal at Port Pipavav arrived from China on 7th August 2006. The eight RTG’s at the yard will be commissioned progressively thus reducing the dependence on the reach stackers and increasing the productivity of the container terminal.

Port Pipavav with its deep draft, modern container handling facilities coupled with excellent road and rail connectivity and weekly direct sailings to Europe, US and the Far East by mainline services has emerged as the principal gateway port for handling containers on the West Coast of India.

The inaugural call of Maersk Line’s MECL service was made by vessel Maersk Dhaka at Port Pipavav on June 8, 2006. With this call Port Pipavav now offers weekly direct sailings to US east coast. The vessels on this service will call at Pipavav every Thursday. Port Pipavav received its first mainline service last month on May 19, when Maersk Line commenced their ME1 service connecting Pipavav to Europe.

The ME1 service is also a weekly service and the vessels call Pipavav every Friday and depart on Saturday. With mainline services now calling the port and offering weekly direct sailings to Europe and US coupled with excellent road and rail connectivity, deep draft and modern container handling facilities Port Pipavav has emerged as the principal gateway port for handling containers on the West Coast of India.

The inaugural call of Maersk Line’s ME1 service was made by vessel Maersk Mandraki at Port Pipavav on May 19, 2006. The vessel with an LOA of 294m and capacity of 4,774 TEU is the biggest container vessel to call at any port in Gujarat. The port will be able to take in vessels with 12.5m draft in the future which opens new opportunities for the Exim trade of India.

“With the first mainline vessel call by Maersk Mandraki Port Pipavav opens a new chapter in the Exim trade of India. Port Pipavav is set to receive many more large size ships and will in the days to come set glorious standards of productivity and efficiency.

With this call Port Pipavav will now offer direct sailings to Europe every week, the vessels on this service will call Pipavav every Friday and depart on Saturday. With mainline services now calling the port coupled with excellent road and rail connectivity, deep draft and modern container handling facilities Port Pipavav has emerged as the principal gateway port for handling containers on the West Coast of India.

On Friday 24th March 2006, Port Pipavav created history by becoming the first port in India to receive a double stacked container train. The first ever double stack container train of the Indian sub-continent was flagged off by the Union Minister of Railways from the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Kanakpura (Jaipur) in the Northern Indian State of Rajasthan, on Thursday, 23rd March 2006 which carried 180 TEUs.

The double stack container train has a capacity of carrying 180 TEUs as against 90 TEUs carried on a single stack train. The advantages of running a double stack container trains are: 1)Lower freights. 2)Increase in the capacity of the railway line connecting the port. 3)Better utilisation of locomotives and fuel economy. 4)Faster evacuation of containers from ports and inland container depots.

Port Pipavav remains in the forefront as far as rail connectivity is concerned, the port today receives more than 10 container trains every week and offers connectivity to all the major ICDs located in North-West India. Port Pipavav today offers the most competitive freight rates and fastest transit times to North India ICDs. The handling of the first double stack train in India further strengthens the position of the port as the most competitive gateway to serve North West India.

During this quarter, Port Pipavav placed orders for eight new Rubber Tyre Gantry (RTG’s) cranes which will be delivered in June 2006. The RTG’s are being procured from Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. Ltd. (ZPMC). The addition of the new RTG’s will further strengthen the container handling infrastructure at the container yards.

Port Pipavav handled 10,182 TEUs in October’ 05, which is the highest ever container volume handled in a single month at the Port. There were 15 container vessel calls in the month.

Rail movement at the port continued to remain strong in October, with the port handling 41 container trains in the month. A total of 6,040 TEUs moved on rail between the port and the various ICDs.

'MV Arcadia Progress' carrying 32,889MT of Urea called at the port on 12th Ocotber' 05. The discharge operation on this vessel was performed by Pipavav Stevedoring. The recievers of this cargo were M/s IFFCO. This is the first fertiliser vessel that the port has recieved after a period of 6 years.

In September' 05, Sony India began routing its imports through Pipavav. Sony India is using the port CFS facilities for clearing its cargo and also the rail connections to NorthWest India ICDs. Sony India plans to use Pipavav as a gateway to serve its markets in North West India.

The rail movement continued to remain strong during the month of September in which the port handled 41 trains. The port handled 6,969 TEUs in September' 05 the highest volume of containers handled on rail during any calendar month. A total of 3,610 TEUs (imports) were despatched to the different ICDs and the port received 3,359 TEUs (exports) from the various ICDs. The port handled a total 7,605 TEUs during the month of September.

The reefer season (sea food exports) once again began in the month of September. PIL, APL and Shreyas commenced their services during the month. Apart from Maersk Sealand, PIL and APL shipping lines such as Lykes, Hyundai, OOCL and ZIM also began their operations at Pipavav to handle reefer cargo.

In August' 05 the port handled the largest container vessel ever to call Pipavav when the port handled M.V Maersk Arizona (240m LOA) on 28th August' 05.

We are pleased to announce that the safety slogan “Safety for Life” coined by Ms. Anjali Kharkanis of the Operations Department of Port Pipavav has been selected as the safety slogan which will be used by APM Terminals worldwide in all its terminals.

During the month of August' 05 the port handled the maximum number of trains in a month since the commencement of rail movement of containers to the port. The port handled 42 container trains during the month. The total number of containers moved by trains stood at 5,630 TEUs. The total number of containers handled during August stood at 7,892 TEUs.

Earlier, in the month of July the port created a record by handling a complete rake (90 TEU discharge and 90 TEU loading) in 35 minutes.

Port Pipavav achieved a new throughput record in July' 05, when it handled 4,66,573MT of bulk cargo Coal constituted 65.03% whereas H.R Coils constituted 19.94% of the entire bulk throughput handled in the month.

This new bulk throughput record surpasses the ports previous best record which was acheived last year in July where 4,10,865MT of bulk cargo was handled in the month.

APM Terminals and Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited (GPPL) are pleased to announce that a new shareholding structure has been completed for GPPL. Together with a fresh capital injection of INR 2 billion by way of new share subscriptions from existing and new financial investors, this will position GPPL well for further growth and development. Following the capital injection, and a previous share purchase, APM Terminals and the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group hold 47% of the shares.

The other financial investors are: IDFC Infrastructure Fund, Industrial Development Bank of India, India Infrastructure Fund, The Infrastructure Fund of India, New York Life International India Fund, Jacob Ballas Capital India, The Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries, Il&FS Trust Company Limited, UTI Asset Management.

Kim Fejfer, Chief Executive Officer of APM Terminals says: " We are pleased to have completed the new shareholding structure for GPPL. Together with capital injection from existing and new Financial Investors, it prepares GPPL to make the most of its very interesting value proposition".

Port Pipavav created a new record by discharging 26,050MT of coal in bulk in 24 hours. MV ‘Xin Qiang’ berthed on 22nd April’ 05 at 1558 hours carrying 38,380MT of coal. On 24th April’ 05, the port was able to discharge a quantity of 26,050MT of coal in 24 hours thereby surpassing the previous coal handling record of 25,308MT achieved in February this year.

The port was able to achieve an average discharge rate of 17,630MT for the vessel, which is a new record using a 10cbm grab. The vessel sailed out on 25th April’ 05 at 0220 hours. The cargo belonged to M/s Ultra Tech Cement Ltd. and all the stevedoring and cargo handling activities were carried out by Port Pipavav.

Port Pipavav has achieved compliance with the maritime security provisions of SOLAS chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code. Directorate General of Shipping has approved the Port Facility Security Plan (PFSP). The PFSP for Pipavav was approved on 5th January 2004.

The Port is now part of a select group of ports that have been listed on the web site of IMO, as ports declared complaint by the designated authorities of the respective countries. This site forms an integral part of IMO's Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS). It facilitates the communication of maritime security-related information by Contracting Governments, pursuant to SOLAS regulation XI-2/13.

The three quay gantry cranes for the new container terminal at Port Pipavav arrived from Japan on 29th April’ 04. The quay cranes have landed on the existing berth at the port and a team of engineers from Japan are currently stationed at the Port to install these cranes. Currently all container operations at the berth will continue to be handled by the Mannesman Gottwald Mobile Harbour crane till June 2004 when two of the quay cranes will be commissioned.

Port Pipavav with the installation of its quay cranes and its broad gauge rail connectivity to all major North West Indian ICD’s is now well positioned to service the growing container traffic from North West India.

Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ONGC and Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited (GPPL) for enabling ONGC to set up a supply base at Port Pipavav for the purpose of exploring, appraising and developing ONGC’s offshore block for Oil and Gas in the West Coast of India. GPPL will be ONGC’s exclusive agent for stevedoring & material handling activities at Port Pipavav in relation to such operations in addition to managing the supply base.

The Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) has commenced regular train services from ICD Dhandarikalan (Ludhiana) and ICD Kanakpura (Jaipur) to Port Pipavav. The first trains from ICD Dhandarikalan (Ludhiana) and ICD Kanakpura (Jaipur) arrived at Port Pipavav on 28th February’ 04 and 1st March’ 04 respectively, carrying 80 TEUs each.

Port Pipavav has received a total of 8 trains in less than a week (26th February – 2nd March’ 04) from ICD Tughlakabad, ICD Sabarmati, ICD Kanakpura & ICD Dhandarikalan and has handled 1246 TEUs during this period.

Apart from now being connected to the ICD at Ludhiana and Jaipur, regular train services connecting Port Pipavav to ICD Sabarmati in Gujarat has been operational since last month and train service between Port Pipavav and ICD Tughlakabad has been operational since November last year. In order to efficiently handle movement of large number of containers by rail, Port Pipavav has developed a dedicated rail siding within the port limits and has deployed adequate equipment for handling the same.

Maersk Sealand has commenced a new weekly fixed day direct service between Port Pipavav and Salalah Port. The first vessel in this service ‘Maersk Avon’ berthed at Port Pipavav, on Tuesday 24th February’ 04 and a total of 720 TEUs (385 boxes) were handled on the first call.

Maersk Sealand will operate this service with 1,200 TEUs vessels, which will connect Port Pipavav to Salalah Port (West Asia hub of Maersk Sealand). The vessels will arrive at Port Pipavav every Tuesday at 2000hrs.

This service will not only cater to the trade in Gujarat, but also open a new gateway for Northern India trade. CONCOR operates train services to and from Port Pipavav for ICD’s at Tughlakabad and Ludhiana in North India & ICD Sabarmati and RCT Vadodara in Gujarat. This new global service will directly connect Port Pipavav to US/Europe/Middle East/Mediterranean ports.

The Container Corporation of India LTd. (CONCOR) have announced a dedicated weekly train service to and fro Port Pipavav and ICD Sabarmati. The train service connecting Port Pipavav and ICD Sabarmati will run on every Wednesday.

Port Pipavav created a new record in cargo handling by loading 30,268MT of Clinker in one day. The vessel MV Nordbright berthed on 29th November’ 03 to load 42,880MT of Clinker on account of Gujarat Sidhee Cement Limited. On 1st December’ 03 the port was able to load 30,268MT of Clinker in 24 hours thus breaking their previous Clinker handling record of 27,908MT in 24 hours achieved in April’ 03 this year.

CONCOR has started a train service for the movement of containers between Port Pipavav and ICD Tughlakabad. The first container train bound for Port Pipavav departed from ICD Tughlakabad on 4th November 2003 carrying 66 TEUs on account of Maersk Sealand.

Broad Gauge rail link to Pipavav was established in the month of May earlier this year with the commissioning of the new broad gauge railway line between Port Pipavav and Surendranagar. In order to efficiently handle the movement of large number of containers by rail, Port Pipavav has developed a dedicated rail siding within the port limits and has deployed adequate number of reach stackers and trailers. It is expected that additional regular train services will commence shortly to connect Port Pipavav with other ICDs in North India.

Port Pipavav created a new record by discharging 24,400MT of coal in bulk in 24 hours. MV ‘Nissos Hios’ berthed on 11th August’ 03 at 1618 hours carrying 43,527MT of coal. On 12th August’ 03, the port was able to discharge a quantity of 24,400MT of coal in 24 hours thereby surpassing the previous coal handling record of 20,157MT achieved in June’ 00. The vessel sailed out on 14th August’ 03 at 3:55 hours. The cargo belonged to M/s GHCL and M/s Velji. P & Sons were the subcontractors.

This is the second cargo handling record set this week, the first being on 8th August’ 03, when a record peak loading rate of 15,253MT of steel coils was achieved in 24 hours.

Port Pipavav created a new record by loading 15,253MT of Hot Rolled Steel Coils in 24 hours. The vessel ’MV Eastern Star’ berthed on 8th August’ 03 at 1930 hours and the loading operations commenced at 2200 hours. Within 24 hours of operations, 15,253MT of steel coils were loaded. The vessel sailed out on 9th August’ 03 at 8:36 hours. The cargo belongs to M/s Essar Steel Limited and M/s C. Raja was the sub contractor.

The Honorable Deputy Prime Minister of India, Shri L.K. Advani inaugurated the new broad gauge railway line connecting Port Pipavav to Surendranagar on Sunday, 11th May 2003. The inaugural train carried containers of Maersk Sealand from Port Pipavav destined for Tughlakabad (ICD – TKD). With broad gauge rail connectivity Port Pipavav as an independent common user terminal, is now ready to effectively serve the entire North West India hinterland.

Port Pipavav was originally connected by the meter gauge network of Indian Railways, the nearest railheads being Rajula and Dungar. In order to expedite broad gauge rail connectivity to the port, Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited (GPPL) entered into Memorandum of Understanding with Ministry of Railways (MOR) on January 20, 2000 for conversion of the 250 Km Meter Gauge line to Broad Gauge between Surendranagar and Rajula and construction of a new 23 Km BG line from Rajula to Port of Pipavav. The broad gauge rail connectivity project was undertaken by Pipavav Railway Corporation Limited (PRCL) which is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) promoted by Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited and the Ministry of Railways.

With the completion of the rail project, Port Pipavav is now ready to handle freight trains for all origins and destinations over the country. The port has developed two railway sidings inside the port limits in close proximity to the jetties, the open stackyards and warehouses for efficient and speedy handling of cargo.

The first rake carrying 35,480 bags of onions (1628MT) departed from Port Pipavav for New Delhi on the newly commissioned broad gauge railway line on 29th April’ 03.

Port Pipavav authority has taken over all the stevedoring and cargo handling services at the port from 1st April’ 03 and has created a new record in cargo handling by achieving an average load rate of 26,779MT per day (1,116MT per hour). A total of 39,051MT of clinker was loaded on ‘MV Spur Lupus’, which berthed on 14th April’03. The operation began at 0315 hours and completed by 1415 hours on 15th April’ 03. A record peak load rate of 27,908MT of Clinker in 24 hours (14th April 0600 hours – 15th April 0600 hours) was also achieved.

Port Pipavav has surpassed the previous best average load rate of 25,335MT per day for Clinker, which was achieved in December last year. M/s Gujarat Sidhee Cement Limited are the shippers of the cargo and M/s H. K Dave the sub-contractors.

A total track of 247 Kms has been linked out of the total length 268 Kms of main line.

The Bhavnagar Division of Western Railway has already operated a light engine run between Surendranagar and Botad, at 44 Kmph speeds on 21st January 2003.

The entire line shall be commissioned before March 2003.

Of the total stretch of 268 kms Project length between Surendranagar and Pipavav which includes gauge conversion from Surendranagar to Rajula (250kms) and a new line from Rajula to Pipavav (18 kms), the entire Meter Gauge line of 250 kms has already been dismantled and 175 kms of length has already been track linked with Broad Gauge line on the Project route.

Surendranagar – Pipavav Broad Gauge Rail Project of Pipavav Railway Corporation Limited has achieved a great milestone with the running of the BG diesel engine on the Surendranagar and Botad block section (measuring 77 km) out of the above 175 kms of linked track. The engine test-run was successfully completed within 3 hours by the Western Railway authorities on 21st January 2003.

The track linking of the entire length of the Project Railway is scheduled to be completed by February 2003 followed by running of the engines. The movement of freight traffic is scheduled to begin on 31st March 2003.

Port Pipavav created a new record in cargo handling by loading clinker at an average load rate of 25,335MT per day (1056MT per hour). ‘MV Star Sea Bridge’ berthed on 17th December’02 to load 37,211MT of clinker and sailed out on 19th December’ 02. During this operation, the port was able to achieve a peak-loading rate of 23,853MT in 24 hours. The entire operation lasted 35 hours and 15 minutes. M/s Gujarat Sidhee Cement Limited were the shippers of the cargo and M/s H. K Dave were the stevedores for this operation. This record in clinker handling surpassed the previous record at Port Pipavav, which was achieved last month, where the average load rate achieved was 23,156MT per day.

Port Pipavav has achieved a new record in cargo handling by loading clinker at an average load rate of 23,156MT per day. ‘MV Star Sea Bridge’ berthed on 22nd November’02 to load 36,760MT of clinker and sailed out on 24th November’ 02. During this operation, the port was able to achieve a peak-loading rate of 23,628MT in 24 hours. Total port stay was 48 hours and the total operating time was 38 hours and 10 minutes. M/s Gujarat Sidhee Cement limited was the shipper of the cargo and M/s H. K Dave, the stevedores for this operation.