Visakhapatnam Port Sees Surge in Crude, LPG Tanker Traffic

The Visakhapatnam Port on India’s eastern coast is emerging as a major hub for fuel cargo movement . Over the past few weeks, there has been a significant rise in the arrival of crude oil and LPG vessels .

In February and March combined, the port authorities have successfully handled over 12 large vessels , with another half a dozen ships expected to arrive in the coming days, officials said. The increased inflow of cargo from international markets as well as domestic ports highlights the port’s growing operational capacity .

Crude oil imports are arriving in large quantities from countries such as Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Qatar, and Gabon . In addition to foreign shipments, domestic cargo movement from ports like Kakinada, Mumbai, and Mundra is continuing uninterrupted. In the last week of February, the vessel Lupinus, carrying 22,000 metric tonnes of LPG from Qatar , completed its operations and departed. In March, the vessel Swarna Brahmaputra not only unloaded cargo from Kakinada but also reloaded 64 TMT of crude oil for Mumbai requirements before sailing.

Cargo handling at the port is currently progressing at a rapid pace . Vessels such as Swarna Sindhu, Desh Vishal, and Velora have delivered between 49 and 204 TMT of crude oil from regions like Basra and Novorossiysk. On March 20 , the vessels Swarna Ganga and Swarna Godavari arrived with 79 TMT and 67 TMT of cargo , respectively, and completed operations. Meanwhile, the vessel Centurion I, which arrived from Russia on March 25 carrying one lakh metric tonnes of crude oil , is currently undergoing unloading operations.

Looking ahead, a heavy shipping schedule has already been finalised for April. Vessels such as Jumbo and Fondeya from Russia are expected to bring around one lakh metric tonnes of crude oil . In addition, LPG carriers like BW Birch and Hellas Gladiator are also in the queue. From Mundra Port , the vessel Desh Gaurav is set to transport one lakh metric tonnes of mixed crude .

With the continuous inflow and handling of such large volumes, Visakhapatnam Port is playing a crucial role in meeting the country’s energy requirements efficiently .