Vizhinjam Port welcomes world's largest, eco-friendly container ship

Thiruvananthapuram: Billed as one of the world's largest and most fuel-efficient container ships, MSC Türkiye docked at Vizhinjam International Seaport, operated by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), in Kerala on Wednesday.

This is the first time the giant vessel has docked at an Indian port, sources in the know of the development said.

Hailed as a landmark event in India's maritime history, the arrival of MSC Türkiye is seen as a major boost to the Vizhinjam port's growing reputation as a global transshipment hub and highlights its capability to attract ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) from around the world.

MSC Türkiye, which is run by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), is a modern engineering marvel. The vessel measures 399.9 metres in length, 61.3 m in width and 33.5 m in depth. The ship can load about 24,346 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), making it one of the largest container ships ever built.

Apart from its immense size, what distinguishes MSC Türkiye is its eco-friendly design. The vessel has been engineered with a priority on fuel efficiency and reducing environmental impacts.

Sources said it has a low-carbon footprint per container, which significantly decreases carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of cargo transported.

Flying the Liberian flag, the cargo ship represents a leap forward in sustainable global shipping.

MSC Türkiye's arrival augurs well with the ambitious plan charted out by APSEZ to turn Vizhinjam port, which was founded in 2015 and started operations last year, into a major marine hub worldwide.

Last September, MSC Claude Girardet, a ULCV of the MSC, docked at the Vizhinjam port. The 399.99-m-long, 61.5-m-wide vessel with a container capacity of 24,116 TEUs was the largest container vessel to visit India at that time, which has now been overtaken by MSC Türkiye.

The APSEZ-run deep-sea water port is India's first mega transshipment container terminal. It is closest to the international shipping routes, and centrally located on the Indian coastline. It is just 10 nautical miles (19 km) from the busy east-west shipping channel that connects Europe, the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia and the Far East.

With a natural depth of 20 m, the port requires minimum dredging and can accommodate some of the world's largest cargo vessels, including ULCVs carrying over 24,000 TEUs.

Vizhinjam port offers large-scale automation for quick turnaround of vessels with state-of-the-art infrastructure to handle Megamax container ships. Its capacity in Phase 1 is 1 million TEUs, with an additional 4.5 million TEUs to be added in subsequent phases.

The Adani Group has a 40-year agreement with the Kerala government to develop and operate the Vizhinjam port, with all the phases set for completion in 2028. Once fully operational, it will be capable of handling 50 per cent of India's container transshipment needs, reducing its reliance on other major Asian sea ports such as Dubai, Colombo and Singapore.