Mormugao Port

Last updated

Mormugao Port
Mormugao Port
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location
Country India
Location Mormugao, Goa
Coordinates 15°24′32″N73°48′04″E / 15.4089°N 73.8012°E / 15.4089; 73.8012
UN/LOCODE INMRM
Details
Opened1885
Operated by Mormugao Port Authority
Owned by Government of India
Size450m, draft of 14.1m
No. of berths 11
Employees2600
Statistics
Website
www.mptgoa.gov.in

Mormugao Port is a port on the western coast of India, in the coastal state of Goa. Commissioned in 1885 on the site of a natural harbour, it is one of India's oldest ports. [1] The port employs around 2,600 employees and has about 4,000 pensioners. [2]

Contents

The Mormugao Port Authority (MPA), which operates the port, is the largest employer in the Vasco region and has a complete mini-township in Headland Sada which includes schools, residential complexes and amenities (like a hospital) for employees of the Port. [3] It was renamed from 'Mormugao Port Trust' to 'Mormugao Port Authority' in 2022. [4]

Location

Aerial view of Mormugao Harbour Mormugao Harbour Aerial View.jpg
Aerial view of Mormugao Harbour

Mormugao Port is located in the town of Mormugao, Goa, India. It has a naturally protected open-type harbour, that lies on the southern part of the mouth of the river Zuari. This harbour is also protected using a breakwater and a mole that was built from the outer end of the breakwater and runs parallel to the wharf. [5]

History

Mormugao port c. 1890s Vasco-da-Gama port c. 1890s.jpg
Mormugao port c. 1890s

In the 19th century, Portuguese India and British India decided to join forces to improve maritime trade, under the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1878. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Mormugao was identified as having one of the best natural harbours, and a metre-gauge railway line was constructed to connect it. The work of modernising the port and laying the metre-gauge railway was undertaken by a British company, ‘The Western Indian Portuguese Guaranteed Railway Company’. This company was founded in Britain exclusively for this purpose. The Portuguese paid a huge sum for the project, and even paid for the registration of this company in England. Work began in 1878. The harbour was commissioned in 1885, and the railway line (running till Sanvordem, and later to Castle Rock) was inaugurated in 1887. The first ship to sail into Mormugao Port was the SS Westbourne, which brought railway equipment, in April 1885. [11]

During World War II, Mormugao Harbour was the site of Operation Creek, which resulted in the bombing of a German merchant ship, Ehrenfels, which had secretly been transmitting information to U-boats. In 2017, MPA announced that it would salvage the remnants of the ship, as they were hindering the progress in a project of setting up a fishing harbour. [12]

The port was recognised as a major port in 1963 under the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963, shortly after the Liberation of Goa. [1]

The port is connected by its own railway line, with the erstwhile Marmagao railway station situated in its compound. It is thus connected to Maharashtra and Karnataka hinterlands via South Central Railways and Konkan Railways. MPT is connected by road by the National Highway 17A. There is a plan to connect it with a four-lane highway to the National Highway 17B, which was scheduled to be completed in October 2018. [13] Ore mined in interior regions of Goa and Karnataka is brought to MPA by barges navigating the rivers Mandovi and Zuari. [14]

Facilities

View of Mormugao Harbour from the Zuari river Goa-Vasco 03-2016 07 view to Mormugao Harbour.jpg
View of Mormugao Harbour from the Zuari river

MPT has berths for coal and iron ore. It also has a berth for cruise ships and even has a dedicated Cruise Terminal building, and hosts a variety of cruise ships the year-round. [15] [16] It plans to expand with a dedicated multipurpose cargo berth, a general cargo berth project (to replace the ship repair yard), and dedicated berths for Navy and Coast Guard. [17]

Ore brought via barges is either collected to be loaded onto bulk carrier ships or directly loaded onto the ships using trans-shippers. Ore which is collected on the port is handled by machinery called MOHP (Mechanical Ore-Handling Plant). This includes massive bucket wheel loaders and miles of conveyor belts. [18] MPT's MOHP has now been converted to a general cargo handling berth. [19]

Adani Ports & SEZ Limited has a one-berth terminal (Berth 7) at MPA. It has a capacity of 7 MMT cargo. It can handle coal cargo, Panamax and capesize vessels. Its main feature is a mechanized material handling system of conveyor systems and stacker cum reclaimers. This system has a stacking capacity of 5000 TPH and reclaiming capacity of 2500 TPH. [20] [21] Jindal South West Port Ltd has two berths, and berths 8 and 9 are currently run by Vedanta. They all mainly handle coal. [22]

Types of cargo

MPA briefly became the leading iron ore exporting port in India, with about 54.50 million metric tonnes (MMT) of iron ore traffic in 2010–11 (about 90% of this was exported to China). [23] Subsequently, the port's cargo volume dropped to 39 MMT in 2011-12, with iron ore accounting for 29.21 MMT, due to a global reduction in demand for iron ore. [2]

Berth numbers 10 and 11 of MPA are dedicated to coal handling. [24] MPT also exports managanese and bauxite. [25] [26]

In 1992, berth numbers 1, 2 and 3 were decommissioned and given to Western India Shipyard Ltd. for the creation of a modern ship repair facility equipped with a floating dry dock. Berth no. 7 is a shallow drafted berth meant for shipment of coastal cargo (now given to Adani). [27]

Ships carrying naphtha, ammonium or phosphorus unload at MPA, and this is transported to Zuari Indian Oil Tanking Ltd (ZIOL), located in Zuarinagar, via tankers and pipelines. A leakage in one such pipeline caused the naphtha fire incidents of 2011. [28] [29]

As of 2014, MPA's main exports were frozen fish, liquor, iron casting, pig iron and pharmaceutical products, while its main imports were of heavy melting scrap, shredded scrap, potassium carbonate and steel turning. [27]

Philanthropy

MPA Education Society runs three schools at the Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary levels, named Deepvihar. [30] MPT also plays a major role in the working of New Dawn Ashadeep School for special children. Both these institutions are located in MPA's mini-township of Headland Sada. [31]

Awards

MPA has won two awards from the Union Ministry of Shipping, for the year 2015-2016: for maximum traffic growth compared to all the major ports of the country, and for having the maximum score for RFD (Result Framework Document) implementation. [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandovi River</span> River in southwest India

The Mandovi or Mahadayi, formerly known as the Rio de Goa, is a river described as the lifeline of the Indian state of Goa. The Mandovi and the Zuari are the two principal rivers in the state of Goa. The Mandovi joins with the Zuari at a common creek at Cabo Aguada, forming the Mormugao harbour. Panaji, the state capital and Old Goa, the former capital of Goa, are both situated on the left bank of the Mandovi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuari River</span> River in India

The Zuari RiverZuvari, pronounced ) is the largest river in the state of Goa, India. It is a tidal river which originates at Hemad-Barshem in the Western Ghats. The Zuari is also referred to as the Aghanashani in the interior regions. It flows in a south-westerly direction through the talukas of Tiswadi, Ponda, Mormugao, Salcete, Sanguem and Quepem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chennai Port</span> Container port in India

Chennai Port, formerly known as Madras Port, is the second largest container port of India, behind Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port also known as Nhava Sheva. The port is the largest one in the Bay of Bengal. It is the third-oldest port among the 12 major ports of India with official port operations beginning in 1881, although maritime trade started much earlier in 1639 on the undeveloped shore. It is an artificial and all-weather port with wet docks. Once a major travel port, it became a major container port in the post-Independence era. An established port of trade of British India since the 1600s, the port remains a primary reason for the economic growth of Tamil Nadu, especially for the manufacturing boom in South India, and has contributed greatly to the development of the city of Chennai. It is due to the existence of the port that the city of Chennai eventually became known as the Gateway of South India.

Kamarajar Port, formerly Ennore Port, is located on the Coromandel Coast, Chennai about 18 km north of Chennai Port. It is the 12th major port of India, and the first port in India which is a public company. The Kamarajar Port Limited is the only corporatised major port and is registered as a company. Chennai Port Trust acquired around 67% stake of Centre in the Kamarajar Port Limited on 27 March 2020. The remaining 23 percent was already held by the Chennai Port Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasco da Gama, Goa</span> City in Goa, India

Vasco da Gama, often shortened to Vasco, is a city in the state of Goa on the west coast of India. It is named after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. It is the headquarters of the Mormugão taluka (subdistrict). The city lies on the western tip of the Mormugao peninsula, at the mouth of the Zuari River, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Panaji, Goa's capital, 28 kilometres (17 mi) from Margao, the district headquarters and about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Dabolim Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormugao</span> City in Goa, India

Mormugao is a seaport city situated in the eponymous Mormugao taluka (municipality) of the South district, in the Goa state, India. It has a deep natural harbour and remains Goa's chief port.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adani Ports & SEZ</span> Indian multinational port operator and logistics company

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) is an Indian multinational port operator and logistics company, part of Adani Group. APSEZ is India's largest private port operator with a network of 12 ports and terminals, including India's first port-based SEZ at Mundra and the first deep water transshipment port at Thiruvananthapuram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Port Talbot</span>

The Port of Port Talbot is located on the River Afan estuary next to Port Talbot Steelworks in the industrial town of Port Talbot, South Wales. The whole basin complex covers about 500 acres (2.0 km2), consisting of: an inner set of floating docks, developed from 1834 onwards; and an outer tidal basin, completed in 1970. Owned and operated by Associated British Ports, the tidal basin has the deepest berthing facilities in the Severn estuary and is one of only a few harbours in the UK capable of handling Capesize vessels of up to 170,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT), mostly for the import of iron ore and coal for use by nearby Port Talbot Steelworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram</span> Port under construction in Kerala, India

The Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram(IPA: ,VIZH-in-jam in-ter-NASH-uh-nuhl SEE-port thir-uh-vuh-nuh-thuh-PUR-uhm, Malayalam IPA:[ʋiɻiɲːaman̪d̪aːʃt̪ɾamt̪uɾamukʰamt̪iɾuʋan̪ant̪upuɾam] ) it is planned to be India's first deep water container transshipment port, currently under trial run in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. .The port is designed to be a multi-purpose, all-weather, green port located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) away from the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. It is the first automated port in India and the sole port to be located adjacent to an international shipping route in India. The port is merely 10 nautical miles (19 km) away from the busiest east–west shipping channel connecting Europe, Persian Gulf, South East Asia and the Far East. It is the sole port in India with a natural depth of 20 meters, achieved without dredging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krishnapatnam Port</span> Port in India

Krishnapatnam Port popularly known as KPCL is a privately built and owned all weather, deep water port on the east coast of India, located in the Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. It is located about 190 km north of the Chennai Port and 18 km east of the city of Nellore. The port was owned and operated by the Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited (KPCL) which was 92% owned by Hyderabad-based CVR Group. The London-based equity firm 3i owned the remaining 8% equity in KPCL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradip Port</span> Port in India

Paradip Port is a natural, deep-water port on the East coast of India in Paradip, just 53 km (33 mi) from Jagatsinghpur city in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. It is at the confluence of the Mahanadi river and the Bay of Bengal, 210 nmi south of Kolkata and 260 nmi north of Visakhapatnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mundra Port</span> Container port in India

Mundra Port is India's first private port, largest container port and largest commercial port, located on the northern shores of the Gulf of Kutch near Mundra, Kutch district, Gujarat. Formerly operated by Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Limited (MPSEZ) owned by Adani Group, it was later expanded into Adani Ports & SEZ Limited (APSEZ) managing several ports. In FY 2020–21, Mundra Port handled 144.4 million tonnes of cargo. The port currently handles over 155 MT, which constitutes nearly 11 per cent of India’s maritime cargo. The port also handles nearly 33 per cent of India’s container traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visakhapatnam Port</span> Port in India

Visakhapatnam Port is one of twelve major working ports in India and the only major port of Andhra Pradesh. It is India's third largest state-owned port by volume of cargo handled and largest on the Eastern Coast. It is located 880 km from Kolkata Port and 780 km from Chennai Port, almost midway between the two other major ports along the coast of Bay of Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Kembla harbour</span> Port in Australia

Port Kembla is a man-made cargo port or artificial harbour, with an outer harbour protected by breakwaters and an inner harbour constructed by dredging, located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.

Operation Creek, also known as Operation Longshanks, was a covert military operation undertaken by Britain's Special Operations Executive in World War II on 9 March 1943. It involved a nighttime attack by members of the Calcutta Light Horse and the Calcutta Scottish against a German cargo ship, Ehrenfels, which had been transmitting information to U-boats from Mormugão Harbour in neutral Portugal's territory of Goa. The attack was successful, and Ehrenfels and three other Axis cargo ships were sunk, stopping the transmissions to the U-boats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mangalore Port</span> Port in India

New Mangalore Port or New Mangalore Port Trust(NMPT) is an all-weather port at Panambur, Mangalore in Karnataka state in India. The total land area of the port is approximately 480 hectares (1,200 acres). The New Mangalore Port is the deepest inner harbour on the west coast. It is the only major port of Karnataka and the seventh largest port in India. It is operated by New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA).

Milind Naik is an Indian politician from the state of Goa. He was a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly representing the Mormugao constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guntakal–Vasco da Gama section</span> Railway line in India

The Guntakal–Vasco da Gama section, or Mormugao Railway, is a railway line connecting the town of Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh and Vasco da Gama in Goa, India. It traverses the Western Ghats and covers a distance of 457 kilometres (284 mi) across Goa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

References

  1. 1 2 Correia, Sherwyn veloyd (8 December 2018). "Mormugao Port Modernisation: Proceedings of an Environmental Public Hearing". Economic & Political Weekly. 53.
  2. 1 2 Manoj, P. (5 December 2012). "India's top iron ore port hit by Goa mining ban". Livemint.
  3. ↑ "MPT seeks closure of garbage dump at Sada". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  4. ↑ "MPT drops 'trust' wrests 'authority'". oHeraldo. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "Mormugao Port Trust (MPT)". GCCI. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  6. ↑ Borges, Charles; Pereira, Oscar; Stubbe, Hannes (2000). Goa and Portugal: History and Development. New Delhi: Concept Publication Company. pp. 144–145. ISBN   8170228670.
  7. ↑ DaCosta, Murelle Maria Leonildes (2002). History of Trade and Commerce in Goa 1878-1961 (PhD in History thesis). Goa University. pp. 219–242.
  8. ↑ Nagvenkar, Harischandra Tucaram (1999). Salt and the Goan Economy: A Study of Goa's salt industry and salt trade in the 19th and 20th centuries during the Portuguese rule (PhD in Economics thesis). Goa University. pp. 196–250. hdl:10603/31915.
  9. ↑ Pinto, Eric (17 September 2013). "The Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1878 - Impact on Goa". Goanet (Mailing list). Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  10. ↑ Noronha, Frederick (28 June 2015). "Goa's Babel". The Navhind Times . Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  11. ↑ Sharma, Sangita (30 January 2018). "RECLAIMING VASCO-DA-GAMA, THE PORT TOWN". The Neutral View. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  12. ↑ "MPT to salvage remnants of German ships wrecked in World War II". The Indian Express. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  13. ↑ Jha, Navin (18 August 2016). "Will 4-lane to Mormugao be a reality by Oct 2018?". oHeraldo. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  14. ↑ "High Court rejects pleas to allow ore transportation in state". The Times of India. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  15. ↑ "Italian cruise ship brings over 1,000 visitors to Goa". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  16. ↑ "Gadkari To Inaugurate Cruise Terminal & Fishing Harbour at Vasco Tomorrow". Digital Goa. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  17. ↑ "Mormugao port in Goa lines up Rs 3,141 crore projects". The Economic Times. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  18. ↑ "Iron ore handling starts in Goa port after 18 months, Supreme Court lifts ban". KNN India - Knowledge & News Network. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  19. ↑ Tandon, Shubra (8 April 2015). "Mormugao Port Trust to come out with fresh tender for dredging project". The Financial Express. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  20. ↑ "Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited: An economic gateway for the nation". Adani.com.
  21. ↑ "APSEZ to commission coal terminal at Mormugao Port this fiscal". The Hindu: Business Line. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  22. ↑ Jamwal, Nidhi (31 August 2017). "Meet the Mega-Project That Goans Fighting 'Dirty Coal' Are up Against". The Wire. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  23. ↑ "Highest ever iron-ore exports from Goa ports this fiscal". The Economic Times. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  24. ↑ "Mormugao Port banned from handing coal, coke". The Hindu. 26 September 2012. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  25. ↑ "No Court Has Indicted Me In Goa Mining Scam, Says Ex-Goa Chief Minister". NDTV. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  26. ↑ "Cruising the Spice Route with Azamara: feast your senses from Dubai to Singapore". Australian Financial Review. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  27. 1 2 Pradhan, Sisir. "Mormugao Port - In search of a fulcrum". The Dollar Business. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  28. ↑ "No ZIOTL ships till assurance given: MPT". The Times of India. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  29. ↑ "After naphtha scare, MPT writes to ZIL". The Times of India. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  30. ↑ Jha, Navin (16 September 2017). "Some Vasco schools have security measures in place, others not". oHeraldo. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  31. ↑ "First cruise liner of season arrives with 535 guests". oHeraldo. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  32. ↑ "MPT bags two prestigious awards from Union Ministry of Shipping". Navhind Times. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.