Deendayal Port Authority, the state-owned entity that runs India’s second biggest port by cargo handled at Kandla in Gujarat, has shut operations till the extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Biparjoy’ hits the Gulf of Kutch.
“All cargo operations have been stopped at Deendayal Port,” said the official.
‘Biparjoy’ formed into a cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea and moved northwards towards Gujarat-Pakistan coast.
“Ships destined for Deendayal Port to unload and load cargo have been told not to come to the port but to stay in the high seas. The ships have been advised not to stay even at the mouth of the Gulf of Kutch or in the outer harbour. Because, if the ships remain there and meet with disaster and sinks, then our business will be badly hit,” the port official said.
“So, all the ships headed for Deendayal Port were driven out till the cyclone hit land. If you look at it commercially, the halting of operations will be a big loss to the port,” the official added.
The port will restart operations based on the “curative action” required to deal with any damage caused by the cyclonic storm after it strikes land.
Deendayal Port handled 137.561 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in FY 23, accounting for a 17.6 percent share of the total cargo of 783.502 mt handled by the 12 major ports. Of the total cargo handled by Deendayal Port, 123.877 mt were overseas cargo with a 20.6 percent share, the highest among the dozen major ports, while 13.684 mt were coastal cargo.
