Vizhinjam International Seaport to commence trial operations on Friday with commercial ships and container vessels arriving in

Commercial and cargo ships are scheduled to arrive at the Vizhinjam International Seaport on Friday, marking the official start of the trial operations. Port Minister V.N. Vasavan announced during a news conference held on Tuesday that the port will receive its first container vessel, named San Fernando, on Thursday for a trial run. The port has all the necessary infrastructure, mandatory clearances, and permits in place. 

Subsequently, a comprehensive experimental programme including actual cargo ships making port calls at the port for a duration of two to three months will ensue. Large boats will be entering the port throughout the trial operating period. According to the Minister, a huge cargo vessel of around 400 metres in length will start making port calls a few weeks after the trial operation begins. 

The primary purpose of India's first semi-automated container port, Vizhinjam Seaport, is to handle transshipment containers. The containers that San Fernando is going to deliver here will be transshipped to ports on India's east coast. The port must fulfill international standards for important characteristics such as dwell periods, vessel turnaround, berth productivity, vehicle servicing time, ship handling productivity, quay crane productivity, etc. in order to be successful. 

Vizhinjam is set to become India's first semi-automated port, equipped with cutting-edge automation and IT systems, as well as the newest container handling machinery. According to authorities, the port will provide its clients with performance metrics and user experiences that are globally benchmarked.

At a ceremony on Friday, Chief Minister Pinaryi Vijayan will welcome the first container vessel. State and Union Ministers, officials, dignitaries, and members of the general public representing the people of Kerala will be in attendance. The ship from the Port of Xiamen, China, with a capacity of 8,000–9,000 TEUs will be welcomed. At Vizhinjam, the vessel's around 2,000 containers will be offloaded. Additionally, the ship will transport 400 containers inside the ship by using Vizhinjam Port's services.