IN Brief:
- Mechanical thermal-coal handling has resumed at Berth 3 of Haldia Dock Complex.
- The first movement covers approximately 27,100 tonnes for an Andhra Pradesh power utility.
- The operation reconnects Haldia, Paradip, and Krishnapatnam through coastal bulk shipping.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port has restored mechanical thermal-coal handling at Berth 3 of the Haldia Dock Complex after an interruption lasting approximately nine months.
The first resumed movement covers around 27,100 tonnes for Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company. After leaving Haldia, the vessel is scheduled to call at Paradip before carrying the cargo onwards to Krishnapatnam, reopening a coastal route serving power-generation demand on India’s eastern seaboard.
Berth 3’s mechanical installation provides a controlled route between vessel, conveyor, storage, and onward movement. Compared with repeated grab, truck, or mobile-equipment transfers, dedicated bulk handling can raise discharge rates while reducing quayside congestion, material loss, and the time a vessel occupies scarce berth capacity.
Throughput will depend on the entire handling chain rather than the berth alone. Conveyors, transfer points, stockyards, reclaiming equipment, rail paths, road vehicles, and the receiving power station must absorb cargo at compatible rates, because accumulation at one stage can force the vessel or unloading system to slow elsewhere.
Coastal shipping provides an alternative to moving the same heavy volumes over long distances by rail or road. Its advantage is greatest where large consignments can travel between suitable ports and then reach power stations or industrial consumers through reliable inland connections.
India’s thermal-coal imports declined during the first part of 2026 as domestic production increased, but lower import demand does not remove the need for dependable internal movement. Coal-producing regions, ports, stockyards, and power stations remain geographically separated, while seasonal electricity demand can create short periods of intense logistics activity.
Mechanical handling improves the rate at which that activity can be accommodated, although fixed systems bring their own resilience requirements. A warehouse may divert work to another door, aisle, or handling team; a bulk terminal built around dedicated conveyors and berths has fewer immediate substitutes when a critical component fails.
The nine-month interruption places maintenance strategy under scrutiny. Ship unloaders, belt systems, transfer towers, dust controls, drives, bearings, and stockyard machinery operate under abrasive and corrosive conditions, and delayed inspection or unavailable spares can remove a large portion of terminal capacity for an extended period.
Recovery planning needs to include critical-spares holdings, access for specialist maintenance, alternative unloading arrangements, and pre-agreed diversion routes. Redirecting a vessel to another port may protect the cargo movement, but it can also create additional handling, inland transport, and scheduling costs elsewhere in the chain.
Indian ports are managing larger and more varied industrial volumes, increasing pressure on berth productivity and landside evacuation. Deendayal Port recently passed 50 million tonnes earlier than during the previous financial year, with fertilisers, liquids, containers, and other cargoes competing for infrastructure and onward transport capacity.
Haldia serves a different regional market, but the operating discipline is similar. Faster vessel handling has limited value when cargo cannot leave the terminal, while extensive inland capacity is wasted if ship or berth delays interrupt the inbound flow. Port productivity emerges from the coordination of maritime, terminal, storage, and domestic transport operations.
Environmental controls add another constraint around coal and other dry-bulk cargoes. Enclosed transfer points, extraction, water sprays, covered storage, wheel cleaning, and controlled stockpile management reduce dust migration and material loss, particularly where terminals operate near waterways, urban areas, or other port users.
Higher mechanical throughput must be supported by those systems rather than achieved by bypassing them. Dust-control equipment requires its own inspection and maintenance, and stockyard discipline becomes more demanding when larger volumes are discharged over shorter periods.
The longer-term energy mix will shape the facility’s utilisation, although bulk infrastructure cannot be added or removed at the speed of a commodity forecast. Power stations still require predictable fuel delivery, and a shortfall in logistics capacity can affect generation even when sufficient coal exists elsewhere in the country.
Restoring Berth 3 gives Haldia another route for coastal coal movements and reduces reliance on less efficient alternatives. Its contribution will be measured through sustained equipment availability, vessel turnaround, environmental control, and the ability of the wider route to clear cargo without transferring congestion from the quay to the stockyard or inland network.