Haldia Port
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The Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) also popularly known as Haldia Port is a
dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...
ing facility on the
Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
in
Haldia Haldia () is an industrial port city in Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It has a major river port and industrial belt located approximately southwest of Kolkata near the mouth of the Hooghly River, one of the d ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
, India. It is one of the two dock systems under the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port,
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, with the other being the Kolkata Dock System (KDS). The facility specializes in handling dry and
liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...
bulk cargo. It is located about from the sandheads–deep sea area of the Bay of Bengal, upstream from Pilotage Station at Sagar and 104 km (65 mi) downstream of
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
. In 1968, an oil jetty was commissioned at Haldia, and officially in 1977 the dock facility of Haldia started functioning. It consists of a dock enclosed by
lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...
and riverside jetties. The dock have container terminal, dry cargo terminal and bulk cargo terminal, and river jetties mainly handle liquid products. The dock is mainly handles fully loaded Handy size (not Handymax)–carriers of 28,000–40,000
deadweight tonnage Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water Fresh water or ...
(DWT)–vessels. It has a maximum draft depth of and can accommodate Panamax vessels up to long with cargoes of 40 to 50 percent of its capacity. The dock operates floating crane facilities at the deep drafted anchorages located at Sagar and sandheads to accommodate large vessels for discharging bulk cargoes, liquid products are discharged in the Sandheads through Ship-to-ship cargo transfer. The Haldia Dock Complex support the hinterland of Central,
East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...
India. It mainly transports bulk cargoes; handled 49.54 million metric tonnes of cargoes in the 2023–24 financial year. It also handled over 0.1 million (1 ''
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
'') TEUs containers in 2022–23. The Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Port (Kolkata) handles most of the cargoes through the Port.


Location and meteorology

Haldia Dock Complex is eight meters above sea level and is located at 21.20 north and 88.06 east. It is north of
Paradip Port Paradip Port is a natural, deep-water port on the East coast of India in Paradip, just from Jagatsinghpur city in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. It is at the confluence of the Mahanadi river and the Bay of Bengal, south of Kolkata ...
by sea and river route, and south of Kolkata Dock System by river route. The dock is situated about north of the deep sea (Sandhead) and inland from the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
by river. It is developed on the western bank of the
Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
at the confluence of the Hooghly and
Haldi Haldi may refer to: * Ḫaldi, an Urartian god * Haldi, Baltistan, a village in Pakistan * Haldi, Estonia, a village * Haldi River, a river in West Bengal, India * Turmeric (''haldi'' in Indic languages), a spice ** Haldi (ceremony), application o ...
rivers in the
Tamluk subdivision Tamluk subdivision is a subdivision of the Purba Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. It under Burdwan division. Subdivisions Purba Medinipur district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions: Administrativ ...
of
Purba Medinipur East Medinipur (Alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The ...
district in the southern part of the
state of West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of as of 2011. The population estimate as of 2 ...
in
eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...
. The Haldia Dock Complex is located on the eastern coast of India in the Lower Gangetic Plain which is part of a flat plain known as the
Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses northern and eastern India, eastern Pakist ...
; the land slope is fairly flat. Haldia has seasonal temperature variations; April and May are the warmest months, while December and January are the coldest months. The highest temperature recorded so far is 44.90°C (May) and the lowest temperature is 6.90°C (December), which was recorded in 1975. The dock area receives most of its seasonal rainfall from the
southwest monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
from June to September, with an average rainfall of 250 mm. Occasionally, cyclones formed in the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
hit the coast. Average monthly rainfall is less than 50 mm from November to February under the influence of northwest monsoon. It is situated on
alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...
, mainly formed from silt carried by the Hooghly and Haldi rivers. The area surrounding the dock falls under Seismic Zone III indicating a moderate risk of earthquakes. As there is no natural harbour, the dock is constructed by excavating the land along the river. The maximum depth is up to and the soil in the dock entrance basin is mainly composed of
silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...
. Visibility in the harbor area is good throughout the year and low visibility is usually associated with heavy rains caused by the
southwest monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
. On average, there are five to seven morning fogs every month from November to February.


History


Background

The Kolkata Dock System was unable to handle large sea-going vessels due to the low navigability of the
navigable channel In physical geography and hydrology, a channel is a landform on which a relatively narrow body of water is situated, such as a river, river delta or strait. While ''channel'' typically refers to a natural formation, the cognate term ''canal'' de ...
of the century-old Port of Kolkata under Kolkata Port Trust. This inability threatened the
economy of Kolkata Kolkata is the prime business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India and the main hub of communication for the North East Indian states. Kolkata, with a GDP ( PPP) of $220 billion (as of 2024) is home to India's oldest, stock excha ...
and
eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...
. Port of Kolkata had been facing navigability problems for long due to silting and submerged sandbar, and an alternative route was needed for shipping, which led the
Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...
to consider the possibility of establishing a subsidiary dock of Kolkata Dock System. In the 1950s, the search was on for a suitable location for a dock near the estuary of the
Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
, which would not pose navigational problems and would provide sufficient draft for larger ships. Among the various possible sites,
Geonkhali Geonkhali is a village and scenic tourist spot in the Mahishadal Block of East Midnapore district of West Bengal. Geography Location It is located 130 km to the south of Kolkata at the confluence of the rivers Hooghly, Rupnarayan and ...
, south of
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, was a serious contender for Haldia. Jeonkhali had draft all-round the year, and was able to accommodate ships over long. In 1959, The Haldia Project Report was prepared by Rendell Palmer Triton (RPT), a UK-based port consultant. Haldia had draft of for all days, for 238 days and for 39 days in a year. It was expected that with dredging and river training works, the navigability would increase and by 1985, 80,000 DWT ships would be able to come to Haldia. The
Barauni refinery Barauni Refinery is an oil refinery located in Begusarai city in the state of Bihar, operated by Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL). It was the dream project of Shri Krishna Singh (politician), Shri Krishna Singh the first List of chief ministers of ...
was set up in
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
in the 1960s, an immediate need for an oil jetty was felt to import
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...
and petroleum products, the main raw materials required for the refinery, which fueled plans to build a new port.


Calcutta Port Commissioners: Till 1975

In the initial period, the then
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy selected
Geonkhali Geonkhali is a village and scenic tourist spot in the Mahishadal Block of East Midnapore district of West Bengal. Geography Location It is located 130 km to the south of Kolkata at the confluence of the rivers Hooghly, Rupnarayan and ...
as a suitable location for setting up a satellite port of Kolkata and planned to connect it with Kolaghat through rail connectivity for improved transportation. Despite various efforts by the
Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...
, the Geonkhali project was not implemented but
Haldia Haldia () is an industrial port city in Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It has a major river port and industrial belt located approximately southwest of Kolkata near the mouth of the Hooghly River, one of the d ...
on the right bank of the river was alternatively selected as the subsidiary port of Kolkata. It was located in relatively more navigable waterways, and was closer to the sea than the proposed Geonkhali area; in addition, there were only three submerged sandbars in fairly straight waterways and
shipping channel In physical geography and hydrology, a channel is a landform on which a relatively narrow body of water is situated, such as a river, river delta or strait. While ''channel'' typically refers to a natural formation, the cognate term ''canal'' de ...
. In 1959, the project report for the new port was prepared but was delayed due to some technical problems. The master plan envisaged the construction of a ''
Trishula The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism. It is most commonly associated with the deity Shiva and widely employed in his iconography. Etymology The name ''trishula'' ultimate ...
'' shaped dock included two entrances with
lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...
, 47 berths, two oil jetties on the river bank and two large
dry docks Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Rain#Deserts, Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Drynes ...
. Posthuma, DG of the
Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List of bus ...
, who advised the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
on the development of the country's ports, was involved in the outline of the Haldia project; dutch hydrologist Jansen, who examined river regimes. The port engineering aspect was overseen by the internationally renowned French harbor engineer Larras. Due to its proximity to the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
, Haldia was designed in the early 1960s to accommodate large ships. In the late 1960s, the Haldia was first developed as a river port. Construction for the dock began in 1967. In the first phase, only 7 berths and a single oil jetty were taken under construction. The need for an oil jetty at Haldia arose in the mid-1960s, as the Barauni refinery, established in 1964 with the help of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, needed to be serviced by tankers through the nearest port. Construction of the first oil jetty began in 1965, which was completed in 1968 with a pipeline connecting it to the
Barauni refinery Barauni Refinery is an oil refinery located in Begusarai city in the state of Bihar, operated by Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL). It was the dream project of Shri Krishna Singh (politician), Shri Krishna Singh the first List of chief ministers of ...
. On 12 August 1968, the oil jetty began operations with the loading of 6,500T of motor oil on the
IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...
-chartered tanker ''Ampuria''; motor spirit was transported from Barauni refinery. In 1966, Calcutta Port Commissioners entrusted dredging work under Haldia project to Ivan Milutinnovic – PIM; the company had successfully completed dredging for the Paradip port project. ₹2.86 crore was paid to the company under the dredging contract. The contract involved the dredging of 1.5 million cubic meters of silt in front of the oil jetty, at approaches to the lock-gate and the dock. The dredged silt was deposited in low-lying land near the docks. The dredging work was supposed to start in 1966 and finish in 1969, but the dredgers of the Dutch company were deployed from 1973 to 1975. The daily rent for dredging was fixed at ₹1.49 ''
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
''. The ''Dredger Ham-308'' was deployed at Auckland (a submerged sandbars on the Hooghly River) and the ''Dredger Delta Bay'' at Middleton (another Submerged Sandbars on the Hooghly River). The proposed estimate was that dredging 76 million cubic meters of sediment would provide of navigability for 320 days a year, and dredging 30 million cubic meters of sediment would provide 10.67 m of navigability throughout the year.


Calcutta Port Trust: 1975–present

Finally in 1977, the port gained momentum with the opening of the Haldia Dock Complex. Haldia Dock Complex, a modern dock complex of Kolkata Port Trust, was set up in 1977 to handle larger vessels, carrying bulk cargo with optimum economy. Cargo projection for the first financial year (1975-76) at Haldia Dock Complex was 21 million metric tonnes, which is 2.5 times more than the Kolkata dock system. The Dutch dredging company had dredged 50 million cubic meters of silt up to 1977, at a total cost of ₹26 crore. By 1978, the total amount of dredging was 82 million cubic metres, including 50 million cubic meters at Auckland, 21 million cubic meters at Jellingham and 11 million cubic meters at Midleton. However, despite dredging above the estimated value, the improvement in navigability was not consistent. The Haldia project was designed for a draft of , but even after more dredging than required, the draft did not exceed . As a result, capital dredging has stopped; later dredging continued only for channel maintenance. Later, the Haldia city and the
Haldia Industrial Belt Haldia Industrial Belt or Haldia Industrial Zone is an industrial area established in Eastern Midnapore district, West Bengal, India. This industrial area is housed in the center of Haldia port. The main industrial center of this industrial ...
were developed around the port. The import of
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...
through the port began in the 1960s, leading Haldia to develop into the first petrochemical hub of West Bengal and the entire
eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...
in the following decades. Thus, long before the
economic liberalisation Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...
was adopted by the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
in the early 1990s, the Haldia dock and industrial area became an oasis for private entrepreneurs and foreign capital. The port's navigable channel faced a navigability crisis in the late 2000s, which affected the port's normal shipping operations. The navigability crisis mainly occurred at the Jellingham and Auckland sandbars in the port's channel. The ideal navigable depth at these two locations was and respectively at zero tide. A survey conducted in October 2008 by the
Kolkata Port Trust The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SPMP or SMP, Kolkata), formerly the Kolkata Port, is the only riverine major port in India, in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the oldest operating port in India and was construc ...
showed that the depth at the two locations had decreased to and respectively. To address the navigability crisis, the port authority conducted a survey in 2011 to introduce Eden channel as an alternative channel to Lower Auckland. The Eden channel was fully opened in 2016, which is deeper than Lower Auckland; depth of its shallow part is at zero tide. Factors such as navigable crisis in the channel, dependence on tides and lockgate for shipping led to a rapid decline in cargo volume at Haldia Dock since 2009. Vessel movement at the dock occurs only during high tide, which occurs twice a day, causing port users to shift to other east-coast deep-water ports in India. In March 2018, The Kolkata Port Trust launched a floating jetty known as the Haldia Floating Terminal under the Haldia Dock Complex, which completely ending the dependence on the lock-gate. It is capable of discharging cargo from 10-12 thousand DWT barges/mini bulk carriers; the annual capacity is 4 million metric tons. From the mid-2010s, it is planned to end the dependence on lock-gate and dock for handling liquid cargo vessels to increase the port's cargo handling. A decision was taken to shift the liquid cargo unloading facility operated within the dock to the river bank. The construction of Outer Terminal-2 started on 5 September 2019 with a target of opening in 2021, but the global
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
including in
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
in 2020 delayed the construction. It was finally commissioned on 23 March 2022.


Dock system


Outside lock gate


Oil jetty

Liquid cargos at Haldia dock are primarily handling by three oil jetties on the west bank of the Hooghly River, which have a draft of . These oil jetties are known as Haldia Oil Jetty I (HOJ-I), Haldia Oil Jetty II (HOJ-I) and Haldia Oil Jetty III (HOJ-III). According to the construction design and infrastructure, HOJ-I is capable of handling tankers up to 89,000 DWT, and HOJ-II and HOJ-III of up to 1,50,000 DWT. The distance between the two outermost mooring dolphins at HOJ-I is , allowing vessels with a maximum length of 200 meters and a minimum length of . On the other hand, the distance between the two outermost mooring dolphins at HOJ-II and HOJ-III is and respectively; these Oil Jetties allow berthing of vessels with a maximum length of and a minimum length of . There are three oil jetties with an annual capacity of 10.7 million tons of liquid cargos, Of which HOJ-I, HOJ-II and HOJ-III are able to handling 2.6 million tons, 3.7 million tons and 4.4 million tons of liquid cargos annually respectively. HOJ-I has petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) handling facilities, while HOJ-II and HOJ-III have infrastructure for importing
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...
. Crude oil, petroleum products,
naphtha Naphtha (, recorded as less common or nonstandard in all dictionaries: ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Generally, it is a fraction of crude oil, but it can also be produced from natural-gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and ...
, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), para-xylene,
liquid ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pungent smell. It is widely used in fertilizers, ...
, FO, various chemicals and edible oils are transported through the three jetties.


Outer terminal-II

Outer Terminal-II is located in the river between lock-gate and HOJ-II. The berth or jetty of the terminal consists of 4 mooring dolphins and a service deck. The distance between the two outermost mooring dolphins is , while the distance between the inner mooring and the outermost mooring dolphin is and the distance between the inner mooring and centre line of the jetty is . The service deck is long and wide, and has a height of above the water line (CD). The terminal is capable of accommodating vessels up to in draft and in length. As per construction design and infrastructure, Outer Terminal-II is capable of handling tankers of maximum size of 40,000 DWT. It mainly handling
edible oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing he ...
.


Floating cargo handling terminal

The floating cargo handling terminal has infrastructure to handle
barges A barge is typically a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pull ...
and mini bulk carriers (MBC), and its jetty is capable of handling 10,000-12,000 DWT vessels. The terminal's jetty has a long berth, with 3 mooring dolphins, and two
reinforced cement concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
(RCC) decks known as crane deck and hopper deck. The crane deck contains a ''Liebherr CBG 300'' crane, and the hopper deck mounted with a hopper that is connected to the conveyor belt. Cargoes transported by barges and mini bulk carriers (MBC) from Sandheads and Sagar anchorages are unloaded at this terminal, which is transloading from larger vessels to barges and mini bulk carriers (MBC) by
floating crane Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (psychological phe ...
facilities. For discharge of cargoes, mainly
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
, has a crane on the fixed RCC jetty, which transfers the cargoes from the moored barge or mini bulk ship to the hopper. The terminal's jetty has a minimum water depth of , which can easily handle mini bulk ships. The terminal is capable of handling 4 million tonnes of cargoes annually. The cargoes are transported from the jetty to the riverside yard through
conveyor belts A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to a belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with a closed loop of carrying medium—the conveyor b ...
. The storage yard is spread over 4000 square meters. There is a 1.30 km long road network of 10.5 m width carriageway inside the boundary wall of the terminal to ensure smooth movement of vehicles for transportation of cargoes from storage yard.


Impounded dock

The port's impounded dock is enclosed by lock-gate, and mainly bulk cargos and
containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
are handle here. The maximum depth of water in the dock basin is 12.5 meters (41 ft), providing the ability to anchorage for ships up to 277 meters (909 ft) long. The average depth of the channel from the pilot station to the dock is 8.3 m (27 ft); therefore, the dock is capable of anchoring ships up to 230 meters (750 ft) long. The lock-gate of the dock is long and wide. Along with the lock-gate there is a jetty known as the approach jetty parallel to the banks of the Hooghly River, which primarily provides mooring facilities to ships before entering the lock-gate. The dock has only one turning basin, which is 545 meters in
diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...
. The impounded dock has a total of 14 berths, out of which 3 berths are fully mechanized for cargo handling. Berths at the dock include 6 dry bulk cargo berths, 3 liquid cargo berths, 3 multipurpose berths and 2 dedicated container berths. Berths are identified by numbers, which can range from 2 to 13. Dry cargo handling facilities are available at berths no. 2, no. 4, no. 4A, no. 4B, no. 8 and no. 13, of which no. 4 and no. 4A handle cargoes through fully mechanized systems. There are two mobile harbor cranes (MHC) at berth no. 2 for loading and unloading of cargoes on
Panamax Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...
and
Handymax Handymax and Supramax are naval architecture terms for the larger bulk carriers in the Handysize class. Handysize class consists of Supramax (50,000 to 60,000 DWT), Handymax (40,000 to 50,000 DWT), and Handy (<40,000 DWT). The ships are used f ...
vessels and sufficient number of equipment like dumpers, pay loaders and bulldozers required for handling cargoes at the terminal. berth no. 3, berth no. 9 and berth no. 12 are used as multi-purpose berths, the three berths collectively known as multi-purpose terminal.
Dry bulk Bulk cargo is product cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, such as petroleum/crude oil, ...
cargoes, clean dry bulk cargoes and break-bulk cargoes are handling through the terminal. Berth no. 3 has facilities for loading/unloading of dry bulk as well as break-bulk cargoes, cargoes loading/unloading is mainly done using ship's gear.
Edible oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing he ...
is also handled through pipelines laid at this berth. Berth No. 9 has dry bulk cargoes loading/unloading facilities, while Berth No. 12 has semi-mechanized infrastructure for cargo loading/unloading, equipped with mobile harbor cranes, hoppers etc. Operations on shore are carried out with dumpers, payloaders etc. berths no. 9 and berth no. 12 each have one warehouse for storing cargos, area of their storage area is 9,000 square meters and 3,000 square meters respectively. The combined cargo capacity of the berths is 5.1 million tonnes per annum, of which berth no. 3, berth no. 9 and berth no. 12 are capable of handling 2.3 million tonnes, 0.9 million tonnes and 1.9 million tonnes per annum respectively. Berths no. 5, no. 6 and no. 7 have liquid cargo handling infrastructure, the three berths are part of the port's liquid bulk cargo terminal. Berths no. 6 and no. 7 have a finger jetty, which provide vessel mooring facilities for both berths. Berths are equipped to transport
edible oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing he ...
, carbon black feed stock (CBFS),
phosphoric acid Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, ...
and various non-dangerous liquid cargoes. These three berths have the capacity to handle 4.2 million tons of cargo annually. Berths no. 6 and no. 7 have an open storage area of 19,000 square meters for storage of cargoes. Berths no. 10 and no. 11 have infrastructure for handling
container ships A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
, the two berths are collectively referred to as the Container Terminal by the Port Authority. The terminal is operated and maintained by Haldia International Container Terminal Limited, a subsidiary of International Cargo Terminal and Infrastructure Pvt. The quay of the terminal is long. The terminal is operated with state-of-the-art systems and equipment. There are 3 rail mounted quay cranes for handling
container ships A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
and 4 rubber tyred gantry cranes for stacking containers. 2 rail mounted quay cranes were added to the service in the first phase and third rail mounted quay cranes in the second phase; the third quay crane has a lifting capacity of 40 tonnes and is capable of handling containers with an outreach of 40 meters by crane arm. The terminal has ground slots of around 1500 TEUs with stacking facilities of equivalent height of 3/4 containers. It has the capacity to handling 3 ''lakh'' TEUs (0.3 million TEUs) annually.


Transloading facilities

Transloading facilities are available at Sandheads anchorage and Sagar anchorage, which are operated with the help of
floating cranes Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (psychological phe ...
. Through this system, cargoes are transferred from large ships to smaller ships or barges and unloaded at the Haldia Dock Complex. The agency appointed by the Kolkata Port Trust executes the deep sea unloading operations. Floating cranes–cranes mounted on barges–are in service for this work. ''MV Yugalraj'' and ''MV Viganraj'' are the two floating cranes used for deep sea cargo unloading. Sandheads anchorage has a water depth of , capable of anchoring the world's largest ships; On the other hand, the Sagar anchorage has a water depth of , where mainly small
capesize Capesize ships are the largest dry cargo ships with ball mark dimension: about 170,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) capacity, long, beam (wide), draught (under water depth). They are too large to transit the Suez Canal ( Suezmax limits) or ...
ships anchor. In addition to dry products, the Sandheads anchorage also has facilities of ship-to-ship (STS) operation to transshipment of liquid cargoes such as
naphtha Naphtha (, recorded as less common or nonstandard in all dictionaries: ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Generally, it is a fraction of crude oil, but it can also be produced from natural-gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and ...
,
propane Propane () is a three-carbon chain alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but becomes liquid when compressed for transportation and storage. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum ref ...
,
butane Butane () is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane exists as two isomers, ''n''-butane with connectivity and iso-butane with the formula . Both isomers are highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gases that quickly vaporize at ro ...
; floating crane facilities are primarily used to discharge dry cargoes like
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
, but transshipment of liquid cargoes do not need floating crane facilities. There are floating fender facilities for ship-to-ship liquid cargo transfer activities, which is used to avoid collision between mother vessel and daughter vessel or small vessel. Floating fenders and tug boats are provided by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.


Port channel

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port or Port of Kolkata has two entrances from the sea, one is the Eastern Channel and the other is the Western Channel; whereas the western channel is used for navigation by vessels bound for Haldia Dock Complex. The Western Channel has a deeper navigability than the Eastern Channel, thus the Haldia Dock Complex is able to handle larger ships than the Kolkata Dock System. The Western Channel is divided into four smaller channels, namely Eden Channel, Auckland Channel (upper part), Jellingham Channel and Haldia Channel. The southern end of the Eden Channel lies in the deep sea, and the northern end is connected to the Upper Auckland Channel. The Lower Auckland Channel acts as a connecting channel between the Eastern Channel and the Western Channel, connecting Middletongue Point in the Eastern Channel–the northern end of the Gaspar Channel–and the southern end of the Upper Auckland Channel. The Gasper Channel-Auckland Channel-Jellingham Channel-Haldia Channel route was used for shipping to the Haldia Dock Complex, but later Eden Channel was used to avoid the dredging costs required to remove excess silt from the Lower Auckland Channel; the current navigation route is Eden Channel-Auckland Channel (upper part)-Jellingham Channel-Haldia Channel. Balari Channel lies upstream of Haldia Channel. The Ballari Channel was formerly navigable, serving as a link between the Eastern Channel and the Western Channel; but towards the end of the last century (1986) it was declared unnavigable for large vessels and abandoned by the port authorities due to excessive siltation. The depth of the Western Channel is not uniform at all locations due to the presence of submerged sandbars. The 110 km (68 m) long channel up to Haldia has a minimum depth of and a minimum width of 345 m (1,132 ft). The natural navigability of the Western Channel's submerged sandbars is greater than 5 m, out of which the depth of Eden Channel is in the northern part and in the lower part. During high tides the channel depth exceeds with tidal support; Capable of navigating vessels with a maximum draft of and a minimum draft of . The average draft of approach channel—Western Channel—leading to Haldia varies between to .


Connectivity


Railway

Haldia Dock Complex has its own railway system to cater the traffic demand for warehouses and sidings. Each berth of the dock has railway connectivity. The dock's rail system is connected to the Panshkura-Haldia broad gauge railway section at Gaurich near Durgachak station under the
South Eastern Railway Zone The South Eastern Railway (abbreviated SER) is one of the 19 Indian Railways, railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Garden Reach, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It comprises Adra railway division, Chakradharpur railway division, Kharagpu ...
of
Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...
through a fully electrified single line rail corridor. The railway system consists of railway with track and 2 yards.
Freight trains A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...
within the dock are operated by 12
locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...
under the dock's own railway, and annual capacity of transportation of cargos is 30 million metric tonnes. This railway system has general marshalling yard and bulk handling yard. Through the rail link, the cargoes are mainly transported to the manufacturing units of the port's customers like
Steel Authority of India Limited Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is an Indian Public sector undertakings in India, public sector steel manufacturing corporation based in New Delhi. It is the largest Government of India, government-owned steel producer, with an annual pr ...
(SAIL) and NTPC etc.


Highway

Haldia Dock Complex is directly connected to National Highway 116 (Old, NH-41). This National Highway connects with
National Highway 16 Route 16, or Highway 16, can refer to: International * AH16, Asian Highway 16 * European route E16 * European route E016 Australia  – Thompsons Road (Victoria)     – South Australia Canada ;Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway: *Ye ...
(Old, NH-6)—part of
Golden Quadrilateral The Golden Quadrilateral (; abbreviated GQ) is a network of National Highway (India), national highways connecting major cities of India. It roughly forms a quadrilateral with major cities – Delhi (north), Kolkata (east), Mumbai (west) and ...
—at
Kolaghat Kolaghat is a census town in Kolaghat (community development block), Kolaghat CD Block, Tamluk subdivision of the Purba Medinipur district, East Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Kolaghat is located at ...
, which makes the dock complex accessible to other states of the country including
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
,
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
,
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
.


Waterway

The Haldia Dock Complex is connected to
National Waterway 1 The National Waterway 1 (NW-1) or Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system is located in India and runs from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal via Patna and Bhagalpur in Bihar across the Ganges river. It is long, making it the l ...
, which provides connectivity with
North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
. The Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal has been constructed by the
Inland Waterways Authority of India Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. It was constituted under IWAI Act-1985 by the Parliament of India.http://iwai.nic.in/showfile.php?lid=882 See section 3 of the act Its he ...
on the land of the dock complex, through which cargoes are transported directly from the port to
Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
and
Sahebganj Sahebganj, originally named Kajrotia (also known as Sahibganj) is a scenic town and a port city in the Sahibganj subdivision of the Sahebganj district of Jharkhand state, India. It serves as headquarters for Sahibganj District, Sahibganj subdiv ...
terminals. On the other hand, the port is connected with the riverine ports of
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and Indian state of
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
by National Waterway 97 (Sunderbans Inland Waterways) and Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Waterway.


See also

*
Port of Kolkata The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SPMP or SMP, Kolkata), formerly the Kolkata Port, is the only riverine major port in India, in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the oldest operating port in India and was construc ...
*
Ports in West Bengal Ports collections (or ports trees, or just ports) are the sets of makefiles and patches provided by the BSD-based operating systems, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD, as a simple method of installing software or creating binary packages. They are usual ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{Ports in West Bengal Ports and harbours of West Bengal Transport in Haldia