VPA inks pact with a host of companies

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) inked a pact with a host of companies during the Global Maritime India Summit (GMIS)-2023 held at Mumbai.

The three-day international event that concluded on Thursday was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual mode.

More than 5,000 delegates across the world attended the summit and visited the stall set up by the VPA.

In collaboration with the government of Andhra Pradesh, the VPA organised a special session on AP at the summit in the presence of AP IT Minister Gudivada Amarnath.

VPA Chairperson M Angamuthu and deputy chairperson Durgesh Kumar Dubey exchanged MoUs with the representatives of the Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Sagarmala Development Company Ltd, Indian Maritime University, Centre of Excellence in Maritime and Shipbuilding, AMNS, ICTPL, VMTPL, Dredging Corporation of India Limited, etc.

Meanwhile, Hindustan Shipyard Limited signed four strategic MoUs as a part of its Green Shipping initiative at the GMIS. These MoUs serve as a cornerstone in promoting an e-vessel ecosystem in India, thus marking a significant leap towards a more environmentally friendly maritime industry. HSL’s ambitious objectives include achieving autonomy in designing and building e-tugs by 2026, further aligning with the international standards for build time and condensing the construction period to just 8-12 months.

To accomplish this, HSL is going ahead with modular concepts and developing a family of e-tugs with bollard pull capacity ranging from 40T to 80 T and beyond with a wide range of options. In addition, with a view to build a vibrant ancillary ecosystem centered around Visakhapatnam, HSL is planning to include a few promising industries based in Visakhapatnam and coastal districts, get exposed to new technologies and be part of a thriving ancillary system,which testifies the yard’s commitment towards implementing green technologies in the maritime sector.