A massive campaign is under way in the city as youngsters push for renaming Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) to Trivandrum International Seaport. The movement, which gained significant traction both online and offline, is being led by local youth organisations and social media groups, including Trivandrum Indian.
The campaigners met with key officials, including VISL MD Divya S Iyer and CEO Sreekumar K Nair to present their demand. However, ports minister VN Vasavan said a final decision rests with chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The minister promised to discuss the matter with the CM. In addition to direct lobbying, like-minded people have launched a signature campaign on Change.org, with 2,512 signing the online petition so far.
There was a public demand to rename the port to brand ‘Trivandrum’ in the seaport’s nomenclature. Recently, Union minister Piyush Goyal wrongly pronounced Vizhinjam at the inauguration of Invest Kerala Global Summit in Kochi. He also said the port was in Visakhapatnam instead of Thiruvananthapuram. Hence, the youths came forward with the campaign emphasising the word ‘Trivandrum’.
Trivandrum Indian proposed the name change to address phonetic challenges, eliminate ambiguity in port naming and align the city’s global identity, thereby enhancing its visibility and positioning on international trade, logistics and tourism platforms. The memorandum also stressed the ongoing confusion between the Vizhinjam old port and the international seaport.
Kerala Maritime Board’s (KMB) Vizhinjam Seaport (UNLOCODE: IN VZJ) and Vizhinjam International Seaport (UNLOCODE: IN TRV) are often referred to interchangeably, confusing. KMB is planning to start a passenger ship service from Vizhinjam Port (IN VZJ), which may further increase confusion for stakeholders and tracking platforms.
The international seaport’s new code, IN TRV, aligns with the TRV airport code, which is widely recognised. Aligning both under the globally recognised name ‘Trivandrum’ can simplify identification and eliminate ambiguity. Many tracking websites, vessels and stakeholders have often used Vizag and Vizhinjam interchangeably, compounding the confusion, the memorandum stated.
Trivandrum Indian group founder and admin Rasis RS said they want the port renamed as soon as possible. “The discussions were positive. Hope the state govt makes a final decision soon. The name change is the need of the hour. So all youngsters in Thiruvananthapuram gathered and decided to start a campaign. It is underway and will end only after renaming the port,” he said.
Meanwhile, a top official with the ports department said the renaming would be a political decision. “The decision has to be taken by the state government. It is a political decision. So we need to wait. However, we need to concentrate on the port-led industrialisation that will generate employment for our people. Renaming is not a big deal and it can be done anytime,” the official said.
