APM Terminals Pipavav starts VLGC operations

APM Terminals Pipavav commenced very large gas carrier (VLGC) operations with the maiden berthing of MT Jag Viraat earlier this month.

"MT Jag Viraat, owned by Great Eastern Shipping Company, is a VLGC vessel with an impressive 230 metres length and 37 metres beam, arrival draft of 8.2 metres and a displacement of 47,260 MT," says an official release from APM Terminals Pipavav.

The VLGC vessel loaded cargo from Ruwais, ADNOC refinery jetty, and discharged 21,907 tonnes at Pipavav for major three public sector undertakings – Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, the release added. "With a major shift in all-India LPG imports to VLGC vessels from earlier medium gas carrier (MGC) ships, the VLGC handling capability at APM Terminals Pipavav becomes critically important, allowing oil marketing companies to maximise LPG imports efficiently and safely."

Girish Aggarwal, Managing Director, APM Terminals Pipavav says: "We are proud to welcome the maiden VLGC vessel at APM Terminals Pipavav. The demand for LPG is increasing as the Indian households are shifting to LPG as household fuel, thanks to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna. This feat reinforces our unwavering commitment to offer world-class infrastructure and services to our valued customers. The introduction of the VLGCcompliant berth facility will help us bring in large vessels with larger parcel size to get economies of scale. Our DFC-compliant LPG rakes help in distributing LPG cargo to the remote hinterland safely via environment-friendly train connectivity. We look forward to contributing to the growth of India's energy sector through our on-going investments in infrastructure development.”

APM Terminals Pipavav announced the development of a dedicated VLGC-compliant LPG berth in March 2023 with readiness expected by 2025 along with the expansion of the LPG terminal capacity by its terminal partner Aegis Vopak Terminal. The expanded terminal capacity is set to handle up to 3.20 million tonnes, the release added.

APM Terminals Pipavav's current annual cargo handling capacity includes 1.35 million TEU containers, 250,000 passenger cars, two million tonnes of liquid bulk and four million tonnes of dry bulk.