Kattupalli, a coastal suburb in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district, has made headlines over the past few days for two major maritime developments in container shipping and shipbuilding.
Kattupalli Port on the new RCL service
The first is the introduction of a new international shipping service to the Adani Ports-managed Kattupalli Port, connecting it to the Qinzhou Port in China, as well as the Haiphong and Chu Lai ports in Vietnam.
The only other Indian port on the rotation is the V.O. Chidambaranar Port in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin.
Operated by Thailand-based Regional Container Line (RCL), the new mainline shipping service will operate on a bi-weekly schedule, with plans to scale up to weekly cycles based on market demand.
This is a major boost for the Adani Ports-owned facility, and is expected to boost market access and create additional opportunities for export-import (EXIM) trade in the state and other nearby regions.
The Singapore-flagged container ship Nawata Bhum (IMO: 9365685) on October 18 became the first ship to operate under the new service, calling at the Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal (DBGT) of the VOC Port.
The new service is also extremely significant for the Tuticorin-based port, as it comes amid the ₹517.9 crore onversion of its Berth No.7 into a third container terminal and the approval of the ₹17,167-crore Outer Harbour project last month.
Maersk's first planned drydocking in India
The second major development is coming to the Larsen and Toubro (L&T) shipyard in Kattupalli, located just a short drive away from the port.
It is all set to begin drydocking work on the Singapore-flagged container ship Maersk Chattogram (IMO: 9761023), which reached the Kattupalli Port on October 18, as per AIS data.
Drydocking is a process by which a vessel is taken into a dry dock, from where it can be inspected, repaired, or upgraded in areas that are typically submerged. In this case, even its journey to the dry dock will be special, as it will be moved using India's largest ship lift system.
This will also be Maersk's first planned drydocking in India, and comes a year after it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the privately owned shipyard at the India Maritime Week 2025.
This operation will be a part of the ship's normal life-cycle, and will include its scheduled special survey, maintenance, and overhaul work on the hull, machinery, equipment and propulsion systems.
This is expected to help boost the ship's safety, seaworthiness, operational performance, and reliability for the next five years, and marks Kattupalli's growing role in the state's (and the wider Indian) maritime ecosystem.
