Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has entered talks with the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) about a possible stake in the Vizhinjam Port.
If the deal goes through, the world's largest container carrier stands to gain upto a 49 per cent stake in the Thiruvananthapuram-based deep-water transshipment port, an ET Infra report said, citing multiple sources.
The Gautam Adani-led company's ability to offer a high stake in the port is in line with its concession agreement with the Government of Kerala, which allows it to dilute its own stake to “26 per cent or such lower proportion as may be permitted by the Authority during the remaining Concession Period (after the first year of commercial operation date)".
In that regard, the port is nearing its second year of operations, and has already bagged a record within its first 18 months: it has become the fastest port to cross the two-million-TEU cargo throughput benchmark.
The port had already crossed the one-million-TEU mark in its first year of operation, an indicator of its growing prowess in India's maritime ecosystem, aided by its vital location near vital international shipping routes.
In fact, the port has emerged as one of India's most busiest ports amid the war in the Gulf, which has crossed three months, and has damaged supply chains worldwide.
Back in April, the port had as many as 100 Gulf-bound vessels across eight international operators queue up for a berth due to war-imposed disruptions.
However, the port was unable to make full use of the increased traffic due to a severe shortage of space—the port's container berth, measuring 800m (under phase one), is currently capable of berthing two mother ships—or four feeder vessels—at a time, which, back in April, was almost entirely booked by MSC.
In general, since launching operations, the Vizhinjam Port has handled over 950 vessels, including 67 Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs), each measuring nearly 400m in length.
This includes some of the world’s most iconic container vessels, including the MSC Irina, the world’s largest container ship, and the MSC Verona, one of the deepest-draft container vessels to call at an Indian port.
This shows the significance of the APSEZ-MSC talks—by taking up a stake in the port, the shipping giant would go from being the port's biggest customer to being a shareholder directly involved in the port's operations and development.
Not just Vizhinjam
If the stake deal with MSC goes through, it would be the latest of the port operator's joint venture with global shipping firms to bring in volumes for its facilities.
In fact, a good example of this is Adani Ports' equal joint venture with Terminal Investment Ltd and CMA CGM for the operation of its two separate container terminals at the Mundra Port in Gujarat.
Terminal Investment, a unit of MSC, also holds a 49 per cent stake in an APSEZ-managed container terminal at the Kamarajar Port in Tamil Nadu.
