Thoothukudi
The V. O. Chidambaranar Port on September 15 handled wind blades spanning the length of 74.90 metres, the longest of its kind to be made in India.
According to a press statement from the Port Trust, a vessel flagged for Panama, ‘M.V. Ginkgo Arrow’, loaded 50 windmill towers and 33 windmill blades on September 15. The ship’s hydraulic cranes were used to load the towers and blades.
The Vessel completed loading and sailed from the port on September 21 to the port of New Orleans, USA.
The port has already handled 881 wind blades and 397 wind blade towers during this financial year. “During the last financial year, the port handled 1,667 wind blades and 648 wind blade towers, making V.O. Chidambaranar Port a gateway port for the export of wind blades,” according to the press statement.
Chairman, V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust, T.K. Ramachandran, said that the feat was possible only due to the collaborative efforts of port officials, agents, transporters and exporters. He added that with the significant increase in wind power generation capacity in India and the localisation of the wind energy equipment supply chain, the only imports to India are limited to castings and power electronics.
“The manufacturing companies starting industries at ‘Tuticorin SPEEDZ’ (Smart Port Employment & Economic Development Zone) can benefit from mature industrial climate and culture, lower transportation cost for manufactured products and global reach provided through VOC Port,” he added.