Krishnapatnam Doubles Up for Efficiency

Adani Ports’ Krishnapatnam Port successfully executes its first double banking operation — a significant step in squeezing more throughput from existing berth infrastructure.

In port management, berth utilisation is everything. Every hour a vessel waits at anchor rather than loading or discharging cargo is money lost — for the shipping line, the cargo owner, and the port. As Indian ports face growing pressure to handle more cargo without always having the luxury of immediate infrastructure expansion, innovative operational techniques are becoming essential.

Krishnapatnam Port, operated by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on India’s east coast in Andhra Pradesh, has taken a meaningful step in that direction by successfully executing a double banking operation — the simultaneous handling of vessels at a single berth arrangement. The operation allows a second vessel to moor alongside a ship that is already berthed, enabling cargo operations on both ships concurrently from a single berth position.

Double banking is considered an advanced marine logistics technique and is practiced at some of the world’s most efficient ports. It is particularly useful in managing peak cargo periods, handling vessels with complementary cargo profiles, or accommodating urgent calls where no spare berth is immediately available. The practice demands precise tug coordination, careful calculation of combined vessel drafts and freeboards, and rigorous safety protocols — making a successful execution a demonstration of operational maturity.

For Krishnapatnam Port, which handles a diverse cargo portfolio including containers, coal, dry bulk, liquid cargo, and agricultural commodities, the operation signals a broader strategic intent: to extract maximum efficiency from existing infrastructure while long-term capacity expansion projects proceed. Port officials confirmed that the initiative reflects the terminal’s focus on enhancing operational productivity.

The east coast of India is seeing intensifying competition among ports for cargo. Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, and the rapidly growing Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports all serve overlapping industrial hinterlands across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and parts of Chhattisgarh. In this competitive environment, operational differentiators — turnaround times, handling rates, draft availability, value-added services — matter enormously in retaining shipping line calls and cargo commitments.

Industry observers noted that shipping lines are increasingly scrutinising port efficiency metrics when allocating vessel calls on their network. A port that can demonstrate faster vessel turnaround through techniques like double banking — without compromising safety — gains a measurable advantage in retaining liner services. For Krishnapatnam, which has been growing steadily since Adani Ports took over management and began investing in mechanisation, technology, and operational systems, this milestone fits within a broader narrative of rising capability.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has identified operational efficiency improvements at Indian ports as a core plank of its competitiveness strategy under the Sagarmala programme. Measures like double banking, 24×7 gate operations, digital truck management systems, and real-time berth allocation tools are being encouraged across major and non-major ports to bring India’s port turnaround times closer to global benchmarks.