<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The breakthrough took place at the <b>Diamond Harbour
Anchorage</b> on the Hooghly River, marking a significant departure from
traditional port operations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A High-Stakes River Maneuver<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">At 4:30 a.m. on April 25, history was made mid-river.
Export containers, arriving via an inland barge on the <b>National Waterway 1</b>,
were hoisted directly onto the <b>MSC Andrea F</b>, a gearless container ship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Unlike standard procedures, this transfer occurred
without the ship ever touching a jetty or berth. The precision task was made
possible by the <b>Shreeji Samruddhi</b>, a self-propelled floating crane that
acted as a mobile bridge between the barge and the ocean-going vessel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Overcoming Nature’s Limits<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">For decades, Kolkata Port—situated 220 kilometers
inland—has grappled with the Hooghly’s natural draft limitations. Large
container ships often find the river too shallow to navigate all the way to the
city’s main docks, putting the port at a disadvantage compared to India’s
deep-water west coast hubs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">By shifting operations to Diamond Harbour, where the
water is deeper, the port has effectively created a "shortcut." This
"midstream" technique allows:<b>Shallow-draft barges</b> to collect
cargo from inland industrial hubs,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">,Deep-draft feeder vessels</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">
to receive that cargo at the river's mouth,<b>Reduced transit times</b>,
bypassing the slow trek up-river to the central docks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A New Chapter for the
"Hinterland"<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Port Chairman <b>Rathendra Raman</b>, who oversaw the
operation, signaled that this is more than just a technical feat. It is a
strategic lifeline for the Bengal-Bihar-Jharkhand industrial belt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">By integrating the Ganga-Hooghly inland waterway
network directly with international shipping routes, cargo from inland cities
like <b>Varanasi and Patna</b> can now reach global markets more efficiently.
This bypasses the traditional reliance on expensive road and rail transport to
reach crowded conventional terminals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The success of this operation, coupled with recent
expansions in National Waterways—such as the delivery of cement to remote Assam
via the Kopili River—suggests that India’s rivers are finally being unlocked as
the country's newest high-speed trade corridors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>