In collaboration with IIT Chennai, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP) is constructing a night navigation system that will allow ships to enter and exit Haldia docks after dark. Currently, ships are unable to move during the night. “This service is already accessible in Europe’s Antwerp Port. We’ve enlisted the help of experts from the foreign port and IIT Chennai to undertake a research and present a report on the basis of which satellite-based technology for night navigation can be developed.” “The entire channel will be mapped, and a voice will be broadcast via virtual mode so that vessels can move freely even at night,” said SMP Chairman Vinit Kumar.
The Port authorities are hopeful that once the night navigation system is implemented the turnaround time will be reduced by at least 8 to10 hours. SMP has registered a 15 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 120 crore during 2021-22, up from Rs 104 crore profit in 2020-21. The port handled 58.17 million tonne of cargo in this 2021-22 fiscal against 61.36 million tonne in the previous year after iron-ore exports and coal imports declined due to volatility in prices and high logistics freight rate during the year under review. SMP has finalised projects worth Rs 1700 crore and the process will start within the year. Out of the Rs 1700 crore worth of projects, PPP initiatives will be to the tune of Rs 700 crore while the rest will be executed by the port itself. With the commencement of petro products import by Bangladesh’s Mongla Port via Kolkata, the SMP expects an addition of about one million tonnes of cargo for the riverine port.
