Coal news and updates

Vizag General Cargo may invoke force majeure clause

October 16: Vizag General Cargo Berth (VGCB), the private terminal in the outer harbour for deep draft vessels carrying coal of Vizag Port, may issue a “force majeure” notice, following the landfall of cyclone Hudhud, a source in a shipping company told ICMW on October 16.

“The terminal has a phased power supply at the moment. Full power supply is expected to be restored by October 18 and VGCB will require two days to check the condition of its conveyor system. On October 21, VGCB will be able declare whether it can berth vessels or not subject to the working condition of the conveyor system,” the source said.

The source added that some structures of the iron ore conveyer system were damaged at the OB 2 berth of Vizag Port. “Port authorities and their CME department will let us know the conditions of the conveyor systems in the next three days,” the source said.

“There will be no night navigation at the inner harbour till further notice from port authorities,” the source added.

However, on the west quay side in the inner harbour two mobile cranes at berth 1, 2 and 3 have become ready for operations.

At Vizag’s container terminal, the Visakha Container Terminal Pvt Ltd (VCTPL) is working on the second crane to make it operational.

At Gangavaram Port, there has been no change in the situation and the source said that some vessels are diverting to ports closer to them.