Environment friendly coal yard at Port Pipavav

Port Pipavav has recently commissioned a state-of-the-art environmentally responsive coal handling facility capable of storing nearly 2, 50,000 MT of coal. This unique coal yard with its modern features is one of the few if not the only one of its kind in the Indian sub-continent.

According to Mr. Ashley Dinning, Chief Commercial Officer, Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd, the newly designed coal yard ensures that coal can be handled and stored efficiently and safely, without adverse impact on any other cargo.” At Port Pipavav we handle substantial amounts of fertiliser and cotton" he said. "It is critical to ensure that these and other sensitive cargo types are not contaminated by coal dust at the port.

The new coal facility includes an integrated system of two electric level luffing cranes and a mobile conveyor system leading to the coal yard. The main conveyor system is designed to handle coal to be unloaded from ship and stacked in the coal yard. It is 1.2Km long and divided into three segments with two travelling trippers in stack yard, the conveyor system has a rated handling capacity of 2,000 ton per hour.

"The most striking feature of the facility is a well planned and designed coal yard, which prevents and controls the coal dust from escaping the yard thus avoiding contamination to any other cargo type" Mr. Dinning said.

The coal yard is divided at right angles in plots with the conveyor passing through the middle. A wide peripheral road connected with a huge cross road serves the coal yard. To control and contain coal dust generation, the yard is encircled by three meters high beams with tree plantation at three levels. The windward side of the yard is protected with fabric curtains and leeward side with water curtain dust separation system. For fire protection the yard is equipped with a fire main, ten water monitors and forty five hydrants. A thermal image camera is available for monitoring the temperature of coal heaps. The drain water can be recycled and used as feed for the water curtain.

In other development, two private CFS facilities namely the Box Trans CFS and LCL Logix Park commenced operations in close proximity to the port. The Box Trans CFS offers a total area of 23 acres, warehousing space of 9,000 sq. mts and yard capacity of 3,000 TEU’s. The yard is equipped with 15 reefer plug points to accommodate reefer containers and the CFS also offers trade facilitators an administrative building with 21,000 sq.ft office space available
The LCL Logix Park Facility and is spread over 25 acres of land. It currently offers warehousing space of 6,500 sq. mts and has a yard capacity of 5,000 TEU’s. The yard is equipped with 25 reefer plug points and the CFS also has an administrative building with 15,000 sq.ft office space available for trade facilitators.