The first project vessel Zhen Hua 15 that docked at the under-construction Vizhinjam International Seaport will leave for China on Thursday to bring the next consignment to the port.
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The technicians on board the ship completed the unloading and basic installation works of three cranes – one rail-mounted quay crane and two rail-mounted gantry cranes - brought to the port on Wednesday. Meanwhile, another ship with six container-handling cranes is on the way to India from China.
According to officials, as in the first project vessel, the next ship is also likely to head for Mundra port in Gujarat initially and unload the cranes here during its return trip to China. The unloading works of the first project vessel suffered some delays after a hold up in getting clearance for the Chinese technicians to come ashore at Vizhinjam and the rough sea conditions triggered by the weather systems over the Arabian Sea.
Meanwhile, back-to-back weather systems formed over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea during the first of the northeast monsoon season, including cyclone ‘Tej’, have also delayed the resuming of the breakwater construction at the port site. Normally, during the peak southwest monsoon period, the civil works at the port site used to be suspended by the authorities as the sea would turn rough during the monsoon months. It was only in September or in the first of October that the work would be resumed after the monsoon break.
The cyclone Tej has triggered swells and waves and the authorities are pinning their hopes on commencing the breakwater construction by the first of next month. The authorities could complete only 68% of the construction of the breakwater till now out of the total length of 2960 m breakwater required for the port project. While the breakwater construction by land mode has been completed 2250 m out of 2959 m, the work on placing breakwater armour stones has been completed only till 2050 m.