Karachi Port Mulls Expansion
By the end of this year, the E- Class vessels are expected to steam through newly constructed three breakwaters and one revetment at Keamari Groyne of Karachi port coastline, reports the Dawn.
Safe mooring alongside berths of Pakistan Deep Water Container Port (PDWCP) will welcome the new generation ships such as Emma Maersk, categorized as E-class vessel.
The first phase of the PDWCP project is heading towards completion as the contractor has already handed over two berths to Karachi Port Trust (KPT) which expects take to over the other two by the middle of this year.
The Chinese contractor, working on the project, has completed Marine Protection Work (MPW). Three new breakwaters at Oyster Rocks, New Manora, Keamari Stuk and one Keamari revetment have been constructed to ensure stable water in the basin area of the port.
The PDWCP, with initial draft of 16 meters and designed draft of 18 meters, will enable Pakistan to appear on global maritime map. Currently only a few countries are able to handle mother ships having 400-meter LOA (Length Overall), 55- meter beam and a loading capacity of over 11,000 TEUs (Twenty Feet Equivalent Unit).
Meanwhile, a record number of 156,254 containers were handled at two terminals (east and west wharves) of the Karachi Port during January 2015.
The Karachi International Container Terminal managed 42,279 TEUs (twenty-feet equivalent unit) of import and 41,831TEUs of export cargo on handling 40 vessels.
The Pakistan International Container Ter¬minal handled 36,767TEUs of import cargo and 33,349 TEUs of export cargo on handling 27 vessels. Both the terminals are handling containers over and above their designed capacity.
