State-of-the-Art Continuous Mechanical Discharge Complex Adds 12 MTPA Capacity, Slashing Panamax Laytimes Under 28 Hours with Enclosed Conveyor Systems and Zero-Emission Material Flow

ENNORE, CHENNAI — In a major expansion of clean coastal energy handling along the Coromandel Coast, the Kamarajar Port Authority (KPL) has officially commissioned its modernized, fully automated ₹950-crore coastal coal and mineral handling berth at the Ennore maritime basin.

Engineered under the landlord port model in alignment with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways’ Maritime Amrit Kaal 2047 objectives, the newly operationalized deep-draft terminal adds 12 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) of bulk handling capacity. The installation is configured to handle coastal thermal coal, limestone, gypsum, and mineral aggregates arriving from eastern mining hubs, providing an eco-friendly sea bridge to power stations and cement grinding mills across northern and central Tamil Nadu.

The berth features an operational depth dredged to a 16-metre draft alongside a continuous 320-metre quay, allowing it to dock fully laden Panamax and Post-Panamax coastal bulk carriers of up to 85,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) without tidal restrictions.

Engineering Layout and Quayside-to-Stackyard Mechanization

The terminal replaces conventional mobile harbor grab operations and open drayage hauling with an enclosed, end-to-end continuous dry bulk transport circuit:

  • Bucket-Wheel Continuous Ship Unloaders (CSU): The quayside is anchored by two rail-mounted, high-capacity bucket-wheel continuous ship unloaders with a combined rated throughput of 5,000 metric tonnes per hour (MTPH). The mechanized buckets lift cargo directly from ship holds within a fully sealed enclosure, preventing material spillage into the marine basin.

  • Overhead Tubular Conveyor Trunk Lines: Cargo discharges straight onto an elevated, enclosed 3.6-kilometer conveyor corridor equipped with high-speed heat-resistant belts traveling at 4.5 meters per second. The tubular trunk lines transport coal and mineral cargo across water channels and port roads directly into the designated secondary storage yards.

  • Automated Stacker-Reclaimers and Rail-Silo Integration: At the landside bulk complex, twin automated twin-boom stacker-reclaimers coordinate the stockpiling of raw minerals. Outbound dispatches are routed through an automated rapid-loading rail hopper system capable of loading a 58-wagon BOBRN/BOXN rake in under 40 minutes for scheduled dispatches via the Southern Railway freight network.

  • Suppression Misting and Environmental Enclosures: The entire transfer pipeline is integrated with ultrasonic dry-fog dust suppression nozzles, negative-pressure transfer chutes, and high-pressure boundary misting cannons, ensuring zero fugitive dust dispersion across coastal townships and meeting Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) industrial air baselines.

Accelerating Coastal Energy Logistics and Regional Manufacturing

The commissioning addresses landside and berth turnaround bottlenecks across southern India's energy and mineral supply chains:

  • Shielding Power Utilities Against Fuel Deficits: The dedicated berth provides an uninterrupted fuel artery directly supplying the North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTPS), Ennore SEZ Thermal Power Plant, and regional power utilities. By speeding up coastal colliers loading out of Paradip and Dhamra, the facility safeguards thermal generation grids against peak seasonal shortfalls.

  • Compressing Coastal Bulk Laytime: Legacy grab discharge cycles that previously stretched between 65 and 80 hours per Panamax vessel have been compressed to under 28 hours. This sharp reduction in vessel port stays curbs ship demurrage liabilities and optimizes fleet utilization for domestic shipping lines.

  • Industrial Feedstock for Regional Cement and Steel Belts: In addition to coastal coal, the berth’s automated manifolds and flexible transfer gates handle imported industrial limestone, dolomite, and gypsum, channeling crucial raw materials directly to cement and metallurgical clusters in Ariyalur, Salem, and Ranipet.

Strategic Alignment with National Maritime Charters

Port engineering directors and logistics coordinators highlighted during the inaugural berthing ceremony that mechanizing bulk handling at Ennore reinforces Kamarajar Port’s position as a corporate landlord port driving operational decarbonization.

Eliminating open-truck yard drayage removes over 750 daily diesel truck trips from internal port roads, cutting operational carbon emissions by hundreds of metric tonnes annually while preventing road deterioration and traffic congestion along the Tiruvottiyur–Ponneri highway corridor.

Kamarajar Port Authority confirmed that following commercial berthing trials, the terminal has entered round-the-clock service for commercial coal charters and bulk carriers, with rail-silo operations synchronized directly with the national Freight Operations Information System (FOIS).