Kolkata Port Trust to unload bulk cargo at Sandheads

Kolkata: For the first time Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) will be unloading dry bulk material at the Sandheads, the mouth of the Hooghly river.

'A consignment of 42,000 tonnes of lentils will be unloaded at the Sandheads shortly,' said Dr A.K. Chanda, Chairman of KoPT, here on Tuesday.

He was talking to newspersons on the sidelines of Third Kolkata Port Trust Anniversary Lecture.

'We've been handling liquid bulk at the Sandheads for quite some time, particularly in the dry season but we'll be unloading a dry bulk item there for the first time,' Dr Chanda said, expressing hope that the success of the operation would pave the way for transloading operation at the Sandheads.

The essence of the transloading operation is: large bulk carriers (mother ships) carrying items such as coal, iron ore, coke and such other materials unload the consignments into smaller (daughter) ships by way of ship-to-ship discharge in the middle of the sea.

At the Sandheads, there is no berth or jetty and the available draft is as high as 50 metres not available in any other port in the country and the cargo therefore is to be loaded/unloaded by way of ship-to-ship operation.

While it is easy to unload liquid bulk items such as crude and petroleum products by way of ship-to-ship discharge, the process has not yet been tested for dry bulk. Dr Chanda seemed confident that the experiment with lentils would succeed.

The need for transloading operation arises because large vessels with full load cannot call either at Kolkata Dock System or at Haldia Dock because of the draught restriction in the Hooghly river.

It might be noted that KoPT had earlier handled a consignment of 37,000 tonnes of lentils at Sagar Island where the available draught is about 10 metres.

The KoPT Chairman further said that the Shipping Ministry has constituted a committee to examine the feasibility of undertaking bulk cargo handling operation in Kanika Sands, off Orissa coast. The committee comprises representatives of the Orissa Government also.

Meanwhile, the feasibility report for the construction of a cargo-handling hub comprising three jetties at Diamond Harbour has been received by KoPT. However, the rail connectivity report, being prepared by Eastern Railway, is still awaited. Dr Chanda hoped that the report would be finalised soon.

Emphasising the need for exploiting the potentials of riverine traffic at Kolkata port, which, though a river port, mainly handles sea-borne cargo, the Chairman said that the details of the joint venture with Inland Waterways Authority of India were being finalised.

'Two IWT (inland water transport) jetties will be constructed, one at Kolkata Dock System and the other at Haldia and the locations have been finalised,' he added.

Earlier, Professor Sukanta Chaudhuri, an eminent educationist, and Dr Ashesh Prosad Mitra, former Director general of CSIR, delivered the Kolkata Port Trust Anniversary Lecture 2006.