Safely nestled in the protective shadow of the Dolphin’s Nose Hill and Ross Hill promontories, the ‘Port of Vizagapatam’ or the more commonly called the Visakhapatnam Port, is a unique natural asset to Visakhapatnam. Here are 7 facts about Visakhapatnam Port that you need to know.
#1 The inauguration
The port was formally inaugurated by Lord Willington, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, on 19 December 1933.
#2 Construction cost
The port was constructed at a cost of Rs.3.78 crores and had 3 berths and handled 1.3 lakh tonnes in 1933.
#3 The making of ‘Port City’
With the development of the Visakhapatnam Port came a spate of industries viz; Caltex, CFL, BHPV, HZL, HSL, and a host of medium & small industries which have made Visakhapatnam the industrial port city of today.
#4 The unique channel
The unique aspect was the entrance channel. This channel is protected even today from sitting by a unique ‘island breakwater’; two ships ‘JANUS’ and ‘WELLESDON’, that were intentionally sunk to build the underwater ‘wall’.
#5 The international accreditations
From a tiny port of 3 lakh tonnes capacity, the port has emerged as a multi-commodity large sized port – the only port to have three International accreditations – ISO 9001 – Quality Management System, ISO 14001 – Environmental Management System and OHSAS 18001 –
Occupational Health & Safety Assessment System.
#6 The predominant cargoes
The predominant cargoes handled on exports side are iron ore, alumina, thermal coal, steel, granite blocks, pig iron, etc. Crude oil, petroleum products, coking coal, steam coal, metallurgical coal, fertilizers and fertilizer raw materials, chemicals, etc. on imports side.
#7 Increasing capacity
Visakhapatnam Port has recorded a constant increase in trade volumes going through its facility. In 2014, the capacity was 67 million tonnes which has now increased to 127 million tonnes.
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