Heavy weather damages three cranes at JNPort

Heavy rainfall and strong wind gusts have damaged three cranes at a container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the largest container port in India.

The port authority said the exact damage at the JNPCT terminal was being assessed, and that there were no injuries.

Indian media reported that three rail-mounted quay cranes collapsed, but that there were no casualties and that there were no ships being impacted by the incident.

According to GAC from Mumbai, vessel operations at Mumbai and JNPT were suspended from Wednesday evening, August 5, due to heavy rainfall and rough sea conditions.

“Heavy rain over the last two days has inundated large parts of the city and disrupted businesses and services. 33.2cm of rainfall were recorded in 24 hours through to 08:30 hours local time today (6 August), the highest downpour for a single day,” GAC said.

“More spells of moderate to heavy rainfall are forecast, accompanied by strong winds of up to 80 km per hour.”

The weather department has issued an orange alert for several districts in Maharashtra state.

 APM Terminals Mumbai, also known as Gateway Terminals India (GTI) and one of the three container terminals operating at JNPT, had experienced a power outage as a result of the harsh weather.

The terminal is a joint venture between APM Terminals and the Container Corporation of India.

The latest update from the terminal operator said that the power was restored at the terminal post noon after which the normalisation activities were completed.

The vessel side operations have been resumed as well as regular operation on rail side besides yard and gate which were already under normal operation.

“The rough weather conditions prevail, with heavy rain accompanied with gusts of winds. We are monitoring the weather closely to ensure safe working conditions,” APM Terminals said.

India’s west coast has been exposed to harsh weather conditions since since Monday night, causing flooding and damages across Mumbai.