The docking at Vizhinjam port in Kerala, of the MV San Fernando, on Friday, was yet another historic moment for India's maritime history. Karan Adani, Managing Director of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited, APSEZ, described the event as a landmark one, saying that it is symbolic of India making inroads into global trade. This is not a ship reaching a port; it is a reflection of India's growing role in global trade. Vizhinjam now gives India the capability to emerge as a major transshipment hub," he said.

Saying this, Mr. Adani elaborated further: "The arrival of the San Fernando at our port marks an unprecedented moment in Indian maritime history, where this marks the start of commercial operations at India's first transshipment terminal and largest deepwater port."

What places Vizhinjam apart is the cutting edge technology, much ahead of India's most advanced Mundra Port. "We have installed South Asia's most advanced container handling technology here," Adani pointed out.

While trade activity has been strong, 75% of India's cargo was being managed by foreign ports—until now. Vizhinjam is about to blow that trend up. "Not only will the port help take out transshipment traffic into India but play a leading role in managing traffic along major routes linking India, like US-Europe-Africa and US-Europe-Far East," Adani said.

The Adani Group foresees the port project as a PPP between the State Government of Kerala and the Adani Group-an aggregate investment of Rs 20,000 crore, which will be completed by 2028-29. "The public hearing on the master plan of the port has been successfully conducted; all of us are overwhelmed by the people's support at Vizhinjam," affirms Adani.

The development is envisaged to provide massive employment. "We have already generated more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs, and we will generate over 5,500 more jobs in Vizhinjam," Adani said.

With the arrival of MV San Fernando, operations have begun at India's first fully-automated port. This 300-meter-long Maersk vessel, which has a capacity of 8,000-9,000 TEUs, will unload close to 2,000 containers at the port.

The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was optimistic about the progress of the development work. "The Vizhinjam transshipment terminal is likely to be fully operationalized by 2028, much ahead of the scheduled 2045," he said. "Vizhinjam port, with its enhanced capacity, is all set to turn into a hub for other ports."

Adani also shared, "We will finish Phase 1 by this December, but I can announce with glee that it will be ahead of schedule. In addition to the 600 meters of operational quay length we currently have, we're preparing 7,500 container yard slots. While we expect to handle 1 million TEUs per annum in Phase 1, we are sure to manage 1.5 million—up 50 percent!"