NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently commended the Chennai Port for successfully executing a float-on-floatoff operation, which involved the transportation of a ship to another country.
The operation, which is being hailed as a recordbreaking achievement, has been praised for its efficiency and technical progress.
The float-on-float-off operation, also known as
FLO-FLO, involves loading and unloading large and heavy cargo vessels by submerging them partially in the water. In this method, the cargo is floated onto the deck of the carrier vessel, and then secured in place before the vessel is partially submerged to allow the cargo to float off. This technique is particularly useful for transporting oversized or heavy cargo, such as ships or offshore drilling rigs, which are too large to be loaded using conventional methods.
The Chennai Port, which is one of the major ports on the eastern coast of India, recently undertook a
FLO-FLO operation to transport a ship to another country. The operation involved the loading of a
285-meter-long, 43-meter-wide, and 14.2-meter-high ship, weighing over 17,000 tonnes, onto a heavy-lift vessel.
The ship was then transported to an undisclosed destination overseas, where it will be put into service.
The FLO-FLO operation was carried out by a team of experts from the Chennai Port Trust, along with the crew of the heavy-lift vessel. The operation required careful planning and execution, as any mistake could have led to damage to the ship or the heavylift vessel. The team used sophisticated equipment, including hydraulic jacks, winches, and ballast pumps, to ensure that the ship was safely and securely loaded and unloaded.