Dredging work at Vizhinjam fishing harbour begins
Special Correspondent
Silt and garbage have raised the sea bed by a metre
Special Correspondent
Silt and garbage have raised the sea bed by a metre
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Ports Department on Monday launched a short-term project to deepen the sea bed at the Vizhinjam fishing harbour, to provide safe berthing for cargo ships and tourist liners.
The basin inside the breakwaters is being dredged to its original depth of 5.5 metres. Ports officials said silt and accumulation of the waste dumped by fishing boats had raised the seabed in the harbour by one metre over a period of time. The basin would be dredged along a channel 100 m long and 50 m wide near the wharf for ships to berth safely.
A dredger, TSD Sindhuraj, belonging to the Kerala State Maritime Development Corporation has been pressed into service. It will remove 5,000 cubic metres of clay and sand from the seabed in an operation expected to last a week. The project is estimated to cost Rs.5 lakhs.
The trailer suction dredger is equipped with a tail-end nozzle and a hose to suck up the clay-sand mixture. The mixture is stored in a hopper tank of 200 cubic metre capacity. Once the tank is full, the vessel will head to the open sea to dump the mixture in deep waters.
Ports Officer Hari Achutha Warrier said that during the operation, 25 to 30 loads would be emptied in sea. Dredging would commence on Tuesday after removing fishing boats from the harbour area.
Minister for Ports M. Vijayakumar inaugurated the dredging project at the wharf on Monday morning. Ports Secretary L. Radhakrishnan presided over the inaugural function. District Collector N. Ayyappan, managing director of the Maritime Development Corporation K.K. Rajendran, Vizhinjam gram panchayat president Asuntha Mohan, Matsyafed chairman Pulluvila Stanley, Ports director Captain Vijayan Pillai and Mr. Warrier were present on the occasion.
The Vizhinjam fishing harbour currently handles general cargo ships mostly exporting goods to Maldives. Tourist liners also make an occasional call here.
Mr. Warrier said the reduced draft inside the harbour had made it impossible for bigger ships to approach the wharf, except during high tide.
“Deepening the harbour will make it possible for these vessels to come in any time. Periodic dredging during the post- monsoon period may become necessary,” he added.
The basin inside the breakwaters is being dredged to its original depth of 5.5 metres. Ports officials said silt and accumulation of the waste dumped by fishing boats had raised the seabed in the harbour by one metre over a period of time. The basin would be dredged along a channel 100 m long and 50 m wide near the wharf for ships to berth safely.
A dredger, TSD Sindhuraj, belonging to the Kerala State Maritime Development Corporation has been pressed into service. It will remove 5,000 cubic metres of clay and sand from the seabed in an operation expected to last a week. The project is estimated to cost Rs.5 lakhs.
The trailer suction dredger is equipped with a tail-end nozzle and a hose to suck up the clay-sand mixture. The mixture is stored in a hopper tank of 200 cubic metre capacity. Once the tank is full, the vessel will head to the open sea to dump the mixture in deep waters.
Ports Officer Hari Achutha Warrier said that during the operation, 25 to 30 loads would be emptied in sea. Dredging would commence on Tuesday after removing fishing boats from the harbour area.
Minister for Ports M. Vijayakumar inaugurated the dredging project at the wharf on Monday morning. Ports Secretary L. Radhakrishnan presided over the inaugural function. District Collector N. Ayyappan, managing director of the Maritime Development Corporation K.K. Rajendran, Vizhinjam gram panchayat president Asuntha Mohan, Matsyafed chairman Pulluvila Stanley, Ports director Captain Vijayan Pillai and Mr. Warrier were present on the occasion.
The Vizhinjam fishing harbour currently handles general cargo ships mostly exporting goods to Maldives. Tourist liners also make an occasional call here.
Mr. Warrier said the reduced draft inside the harbour had made it impossible for bigger ships to approach the wharf, except during high tide.
“Deepening the harbour will make it possible for these vessels to come in any time. Periodic dredging during the post- monsoon period may become necessary,” he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment