The Hindu Business Line : Cargo handling up at NMPT in April-Aug

New Mangalore Port has witnessed growth in the handling of cargoes such as containers, fertiliser and coal in the first five months of the current fiscal.

A release by Mr S. Gopalakrishna, Traffic Manager of the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), on Monday said that container cargo grew 83 per cent, while cargoes such as fertiliser and coal grew 58 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.

Last week, the port handled 13,000 tones of wheat brought in large parcel size vessels from Russia.

This is the first consignment of wheat handled at the port after a gap of six years.

The newly commissioned Mangalore-Hassan railway line will boost the growth of the port's traffic in the coming months of the current fiscal, the release said.

The Dredging Corporation of India has already begun dredging at the port.

This will further enhance the availability of draught at the port, it added.

CRUISE TRAFFIC

The release said that the cruise vessel, Pacific Princess, with 623 passengers and 384 crew members on board, called at the port on September 3 during her second voyage. As many as 206 passengers opted for ground tour and visited tourist spots in and around Mangalore.

The vessel will be sailing to Phuket in Thailand. This is the second cruise vessel calling at the port during the cruise season of the current fiscal. The release said that cruise vessels are expected again in October.