VOC Port surpasses last year’s container traffic
The Port handled 7,21,268 TEUs of containers until February 2025, registering an impressive growth of 7.52%.
CHENNAI: VO Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi, has surpassed 7,47,363 TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) of container traffic handled in the previous financial year 2023-24 on March 12, twenty days ahead of the current financial year, setting a new benchmark in container handling capabilities.
The Port handled 7,21,268 TEUs of containers until February 2025, registering an impressive growth of 7.52%.
The Ports container terminals -- Tuticorin International Container Terminal and Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminals with a combined capacity of more than one million TEUs and draft of 14.20 metres, capable of berthing 8,000 TEU vessels, offers an impressive 30 plus container moves per hour, on par with global standards, a statement said on Thursday.
On February 27, the VOC Port was honoured with the ‘Award of Excellence’ as the third best container Port among Ports handling more than 5,00,000 TEUs of containers in India by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
In addition, NICDC Logistics Data Services (NLDS) has highlighted the industry-leading performance metrics of container trade through VOC Port such as least export and import container dwell time, least Container Freight Station (CFS) export cycle dwell time, in their Logistics Data Bank Annual Report 2024. The report also highlighted that the Port’s DBGT container terminals ranked as the top performers among southern region Ports.
The container terminals of the Port offer mainline connectivity to Ports in Far East, the Middle East and onwards to the West, besides, comprehensive coastal connectivity and daily sailings to Colombo. Recently, the Port has also announced various concessions for container vessels on vessel-related charges and shifting charges to attract more volume.
Susanta Kumar Purohit, Chairperson of VOC Port Authority commended the relentless efforts of the container terminals, Port officials, Port users and the entire maritime community for achieving record performances. He also stated that the Port has witnessed more than 30 ad-hoc calls from various container lines and holds immense potential to attract more volumes on completion of dredging and widening of the entrance mouth of the Port in a couple of months.
