In a first, ship-to-ship operation of LPG takes place at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port; Know what it means-

Kolkata, Oct 18: For the first time, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port has successfully handled ship-to-ship (STS) lighterage operation of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) of BPCL at Sandheads - a stretch of open sea nearly 130 km from Halida.

 

 

 

At Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, the first-ever STS operation of LPG in the Indian Coast was undertaken by Bharat Petroleum on October 15 and a quantity of 23,051 MT of cargo was transferred to the daughter vessel in 17 hours.

 

 

 

For BPCL, this ship-to-ship lighterage operation under Haldia Dock System will save time by 7-9 days and USD 3,50,000 (approximately Rs 2.6 crore) per voyage.

 

The instant STS operations are expected to open new business potential not only for the country’s oldest riverine major port but also benefit the trade and country as a whole in terms of saving substantial foreign exchange. Thus the STS operation at SMP, Kolkata is likely to emerge as a game changer in the overall economics in handling of imported LPG on the Indian Coast.

 

The single-port handling would not only enable to overcome draft restriction at Haldia negating dead freight but also help in mobilisation of more cargo there by reducing unit costs, he said.

 

Import of LPG from the port had more than doubled in the last five years. Due to the strategically advantageous location, HDC has witnessed incremental demand from trade in terms of catering to LPG, imported POL products and other liquid cargo. The gradual increase in the volumes of LPG imports at HDC is placed below:

 

Quantity of LPG imports at HDC in MT :

 

FY 2016-17 : 20,22,520

 

FY 2017-18 : 24,90,374

 

FY 2018-19: 34,61,547

 

FY 2019-20: 40,16,894

 

FY 2020-21: 48,48,193