In a significant operational feat, the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) successfully berthed two massive vessels — MV Express Athens and MV CSSC LE HAVRE — within the narrow 300-meter-wide channel of Kandla Port, officials said on Saturday.
According to officials, the MV Express Athens, a 350-meter-long container vessel, and the MV CSSC LE HAVRE, a 255-meter Baby Cape vessel with a deep draft of 14.15 meters, were launched into the port amid challenging conditions, including strong southwest winds and powerful tidal currents.
Earlier, Kandla Deendayal Port Authority (KDPA) Chairperson Sushil Kumar Singh announced that KDPA is setting ambitious targets after achieving a milestone of handling 150.16 million tonnes of cargo in the financial year 2024-25, exceeding its own target.
KDPA Chairperson Sushil Kumar Singh has said that the port aims to handle 170 million tonnes of cargo, representing a growth rate of over 10 per cent.
This new target is expected to redistribute cargo volumes among other ports. Speaking about the target, Singh said, ‘The target this time we have taken is 170 million tonnes, and it is based on the premise that we will be able to sustain our growth rate of more than 10 per cent, which will lead to some what we call redistribution of the cargo volumes on the other ports also. However, that is our target, which we aim to achieve: 170 million tonnes.
‘Deendayal Port Authority Kandla has been able to achieve its mission. We had taken up this mission of handling 150 million tonnes in 2024-25. We did 150.16 million tonnes. We achieved the target set by ourselves,’ the DPA Chairman said.
Singh emphasised that the port’s success is attributed to its collaborative engagement with port users and stakeholders, including exporters, importers, shipping agents and customs agents.