Payra Port gets five modern cranes

Five modern cargo- and container-handling machines have been added to the fleet of the first terminal of Payra Port in Kalapara, Patuakhali.

The equipment arrived aboard Fan Zhou-6, a mother vessel, which docked directly at the terminal jetty around 9 am today.

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This marked the resumption of direct mother-vessel operations at the terminal after nearly two years.

Port authorities said the equipment will speed up cargo handling, reduce the time ships spend at the port, and increase the facility's overall capacity.

The new machinery includes two 80-tonne ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, which load and unload containers between a ship and the dock, and two 40-tonne rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, which are mobile cranes that stack and move containers within the port yard.

It also includes one 80-tonne mobile harbour crane (MHC), a flexible wheeled crane that lifts various types of cargo.

The equipment was manufactured by China's Nanjing Port and Harbour Machinery Co (NPHMC) and Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG).

Regarding how the machines will be used, Azizur Rahman, deputy director of the port's traffic department, said the STS cranes will handle containers on mother vessels, while the RTG cranes will move containers to trailers and manage yard storage.

The MHC will assist in unloading bulk cargo and containers, he added.

Turning to the vessel's voyage, Captain SM Sharifur Rahman, harbour master of Payra Port, said the 170-metre-long Fan Zhou-6 departed China's Pingtan Port for Payra on September 18.

The vessel has a draft of about six metres, meaning its hull sits that far below the waterline.

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He added that if the Rabnabad Channel's navigability can be improved through dredging in the future, larger mother vessels with deeper drafts could dock directly at the jetty.

Rear Admiral Syed Saiful Islam, chairman of Payra Port Authority, said the new machines bring the port closer to full operational capacity.

He also said a dedicated yard for imported vehicles is ready and that the new cranes have brought the 650-metre multipurpose berth to full operational capacity.

He stressed the importance of maintaining the channel's navigability. "Maintaining navigability will allow larger mother vessels to berth directly at the jetty," he said.

Before this, two mother vessels had docked at the terminal: MV Zain on May 15, 2024, carrying 50,500 tonnes of stone, and MV Da Hong-16 on November 1, 2024, with 48,511 tonnes of stone.