The Chennai Port has been declared as a major fuel hub for ships due to its strategic location on the East Coast.
Dedicated bunkers to be set-up
The South Indian city is ensuring that efforts are underway to construct a dedicated bunker berth inside the port to accommodate bunker tankers, a move which is expected to swell the port’s revenues.
Supply of bunker fuel is a major source of revenue for ports since heavy oil is required for engines while diesel oil is required for running generators and machinery onboard the vessel.
A senior official at the Chennai Port Trust told, “A final agreement is to be signed in the coming week to construct a 181m long berth at a cost of 44 crore rupees at Bharati dock to accommodate bunker ships. The port has been supplying bunker fuels to ships in the anchorage area outside the port for the past two years, a practice which wasn’t of the port’s 136-year-old history”.
Port Modernization
The official further added, “The port will be able to meet a target bunker sales of up to 1 MTPA (metric ton per annum). Singapore and Fujairah have bunker sales of 45 MTPA and 25 MTPA respectively. Low prices of crude oil and better infrastructure are an advantage for them”.
Furthermore, efforts have been undertaken by the shipping ministry under the Centre’s SAGARMALA- a port modernisation and coastal economy development project.
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Source: Times of India
