Vizhinjam port has acquired reach stacker cranes, which are specialised mobile cranes that can lift and move containers outside the port for transportation to other parts of the country.
This allows containers to be transported to designated locations outside the yard.
“The reach stackers are known for their excellent maneuverability and high load capacity.
Four reach stackers are required for the initial phase of operations at Vizhinjam, and two have already arrived,” said Minister of ports V N Vasavan. These modern reach stackers were imported from China, and the remaining two will arrive in the coming days, he added.
The port usually uses ship-to-shore cranes and yard cranes for container handling. Since these cranes cannot move containers outside the yard, the mobile cranes are being brought in for this purpose. The port is slowly going to handle gateway and exim (cargo bound for export and import) containers and will start moving containers out of the port to other parts of the country.
The port will be ready for such cargo next month, and the authorities have requested the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to make a temporary arrangement to make movement easier for the container trucks on the highway.