A 5500 cr Port is proposed. Vizhinjam is a Deep Sea Port. It is on the Asia – Europe route. There is a natural depth of 18 metres here. This Port will be able to accomodate ships with displacements about 300, 000 tonnes. Other ports are hard pressed to accomodate ships of even 200,000 tonnes ! A 5 metre dredging can mean that Vizhinjam can accomodate the biggest ship in the world, with a displacement of more than 564 K tonnes !
The Vizhinjam Port can handle supertakers and the biggest container mother ships with ease. This Port is closer to the international shipping line than any other Indian port, which makes it all the more economical for ships to call here. This opens up avenues for refueling or bunkering of ships as well as ship repair. On the crude transshipment front, a transshipment facility with a storage complex and docking piers will reduce the turn around time for ships. Crude is India’s biggest import and Vizhinjam lies very close to the Persian Gulf – Far East shipping lanes used by most supertankers.
