APM Terminals Mumbai, also known as Gateway Terminals India (GTI), in Nhava Sheva Port/JNPT has temporarily shut down one of its container berths for a major shore-side infrastructure upgrade.
Under a US$115-million investment programme announced last year, the private operator is adding six ship-to-shore cranes and three rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMQCs).
The company believes the equipment modernisation will increase throughput capacity by 10% to 2.18 million TEUs a year.
“The terminal now embarks on the most critical part of its fit-for-future project with ongoing dismantling of existing infrastructure and the arrival of new cranes,” APMT Mumbai said in a trade notice.
The company noted, “In the transition periods, expected to take six months, APMM Berth 1 will remain closed for vessel operations.”
It went on to explain, “Completion, on schedule for early September, will see the terminal not only increase capability to handle bigger vessels, but also increase efficiency allowing turnaround of vessels faster, creating value for end customers.”
For a quay length of 2,336 feet and 128 acres of yard space, APMT Mumbai has 10 twin-lifting quay cranes, 40 rubber-tire gantry cranes, and three RMQCs at present.
“The massive infrastructure upgrades will mean the terminal – India’s busiest – will have the reach to handle the largest vessels that call Nhava Sheva’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port with the arrival of 23-container-outreach cranes,” it said.
According to Sunay Mukerjee, COO of APMT Mumbai, “We are making our terminal safer, better, and bigger. We can achieve this in large part because of the dedication of our people, who demonstrate an exemplary work culture to serve our customers and to keep safety at the core of our operations.”
Industry sources believe the lengthy shutdown could cause some berthing challenges for carriers offering regular/weekly calls at the port.
Citing berth congestion, the latest Indamex Service (India-US East Coast) vessel “Bea Schult” has omitted Nhava Sheva and instead discharged affected imports at Mundra Port.
“Customers are requested to plan the shipments accordingly,” CMA CGM (India) noted in a customer advisory.
APMT/GTI has handled 1.73 million TEUs from April 2022 through February 2023, up 2% year-over-year, out of a total of 511 ship calls, according to the latest port data obtained by Container News.
Besides APMT/GTI, Nhava Sheva/JNPT has four container-handling facilities – two operated by DP World, one by PSA International and one by a consortium of JM Baxi Group/CMA Terminals.
The port is a critical gateway for India’s export/import shipments and as such, any disruption will have a major impact on the country’s supply chain ecosystem.
