JNPT inducts tug-boat to handle large ships safely

The country’s leading container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has inducted Tug-Boat ‘Daisy Star.’ It will help in handling vessel of various sizes thereby providing more safety in handling larger ships. Additionally, during strong tides and severe monsoon conditions, the tug-boat will add to the safety of marine operations.

The tug boat is of azimuth stern drive configuration type based on the Robert Allen design and equipped with latest technology and equipment. It is designated as Agni class for fire-fighting operations and has joined the existing advanced fleet of JNPT. It utilizes two Niigata main engines each developing 1654 kW at 750 rev/min giving a bollard pull of 60 tonnes and a speed ahead of around 12 knots.

The tug has been designed to provide high performance line and ship handling capabilities thereby augmenting the fleet of JNPT informed port officials.

The JNPT at Navi Mumbai is the biggest container handling Port in India accounting for around 52 per cent of the total containerised cargo volume, across the major ports of India. It is the premier container port in the country and operates five container terminals. Additionally the port also has a shallow water berth for general cargo and another liquid cargo terminal which is managed by BPCL-IOCL consortium.