‘Sagar Shreshtha Samman’ award conferred to New Mangalore Port
Mangaluru, May 11, 2023: The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways has launched the Green Port Guidelines, ‘Harit Sagar’, in New Delhi on 10th May 2023, with the aim of achieving a Zero Carbon Emission Goal.
The launch was officiated by Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal, in the presence of Shripad Y. Naik, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Tourism, along with other senior officials of the Ministry.
As part of the launch event, awards were conferred upon major ports for their exceptional performance on operational and financial parameters during the fiscal year 2022-23. The highest incremental improvements were also acknowledged, and the ports were ranked based on their overall performance during the year, with the aim of fostering fair competition and encouraging continued improvement.
New Mangalore Port was awarded third prize for its overall performance in the fiscal year 2022-23. Dr. A.V. Ramana, Chairman, NMPA, accepted the award from the Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Shripad Y. Naik, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Tourism. The port had handled 41.42 MMT of incremental total traffic at a growth rate of 5.4% compared to 39.30MMT in 2021-22. In addition, the port had handled 1.65 lakhs TEU at a growth rate of 8.55% in 2022-23 compared to 1.50 lakhs TEU in 2021-22. The port was able to reduce its ship TRT to 43.29 HRS in 2022-23 compared to 45.95 HRS in 2021-22, with an average output of 18,489 tonnes of cargo handled per day.
The Harit Sagar Guidelines – 2023 emphasizes the importance of ecosystem dynamics in port development, operation, and maintenance while aligning with the ‘Working with Nature’ concept and minimizing impact on the biotic components of the harbor ecosystem. It promotes the use of Clean/Green energy in port operation and the development of port capabilities for storage, handling, and bunkering of Greener Fuels such as Green Hydrogen, Green Ammonia, Green Methanol/Ethanol, etc.
New Mangalore Port has already initiated various green port initiatives in accordance with the guidelines, such as the transformation from manual cargo handling to mechanized cargo handling systems, 100% solarization, rainwater harvesting, maintaining 33% of total land area as green, commissioning electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions, moving from conventional to LED lighting systems, sewage treatment plants, and vermi-composting units for waste management, among others. These initiatives contribute actively to fulfilling the Ministry’s and Government’s commitment to a greener environment.
