Bentonite: From Mundra to New Mangalore

View from Allcargo Laxmi: Mundra port active and growing

.Soon before iron ore discharging was to complete from Allcargo Laxmi at Kandla, we received instructions to proceed to Mundra, another Gujarat’s upcoming port, for loading Bentonite in bulk. No body was pleased to hear that. But work is work and that is to be done. The reason for the displeasure is the mess; cargo of Bentonite creates on the ship. The entire vessel gets washed in pale yellow fine powder’s coating. The cargo is slippery too and is difficult to be washed away. One whole day is consumed in getting rid of the residue.

Allcargo Laxmi loading Bentonite at Mundra 

                 Bentonite is a kind of weathered volcanic ash or clay with varied industrial uses. The word Bentonite takes its name from a place named Fort Benton in U.S.A., where the clay was first discovered and put to use. The clay comes in variety of forms each with its own unique characteristics.  For examples a type swells on coming in contact with water and is used as a sealant.

Weather was fine on this return voyage

              Anyway, we spent about 16 hours amid a cloud of Bentonite dust and sailed on full tropical marks towards N.Mangalore. The first day was again characterized by moderate winds and swell but a reprieve came on second day and weather continued to be fine and pleasant till arrival New.Mangalore.

Allcargo Laxmi  entering New Mangalore harbour minutes after sun rise

Windmill blades and iron ore pellets offloaded at Kandla

Windmill blades on hatch tops of Allcargo Laxmi

Necessity, we all know, is the mother of all inventions. This principle is as old as the human civilization. Energy has been the continuous need for all of us. Getting carried away with one exciting aspect usually puts other important, but not readily apparent, on the backburner. Industrial revolution brought all the most sought after comforts. In the process health and environment got compromised. Awareness, rising clout of environmentalists has forced scientists, experts and industrialists to explore and harness those sources of energy which are not taxing to ecological balance and not detrimental to human health. Global warming has become the major issue today. Our mother nature is enormously generous to keep forgiving our blunders. But things are indeed getting out of control. In a way human avarice is also to blame.

Two cranes of Allcargo Laxmi discharging a windmill blade

                    Recently I heard doctors say that air pollution is also responsible for the rising instances of diabetes! Why? Because, the pollution level is so high that it blocks the sun’s beneficial rays which are supposed to manufacture vitamin –D on coming in contact with human skin. Among numerous other medical problems, vitamin-D deficiency is also linked to the sweet malady.

Blade being positioned on a special trailer

                    Carrying windmill blades on board the vessel M.V.Allcargo Laxmi brought all these thoughts to my mind and the knowledge that India is also playing its role in keeping the mother earth clean and green. Suzlon has been in the forefront in this venture and Allcargo Logistics is also playing its part, though indirectly by transporting the windmill blades.

Iron ore pellets in hold of Allcargo Laxmi

We are excited by unprecedented growth and prosperity brought about by the concepts of open economy and private enterprise, but it has put tremendous pressure on energy supply as well. Wind energy is another change which is going on silently and largely unknown to common man. Wind energy is not that expensive, as is wrongly assumed, and has already played in impressive role in reducing the harmful green house emissions and meeting the energy needs.

Iron ore being dumped on jetty at Kandla

                     Windmill tower basically consists of a set of three blades, one hub housing generator and other components, and vertical tower. As can be seen in the photo each blade is about 60 m long and it weighs about 8 to 9 metric tonnes. Two cranes are used simultaneously for loading, handling, stowing and discharging. Our ship Allcargo Laxmi, for her size, has the advantage of unobstructed space over the hatch tops as the cranes are mounted on one side of the vessel and not on the centre line.

Crane operator working in environment friendly manner

                So, the 19 blades were discharged at Kandla on 9^th May following which holds were opened to unload the iron ore pellets that were loaded at Goa. These pellets are converted to sponge iron which in turn is used for various purposes including manufacturing of mild steel and stainless steel

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SW monsoon says: "Do not forget me"

SW monsoon told us that it is not very far away and we should be prepared to welcome it, notwithstanding, sailors’ dislike for it. The passage on board Allcargo Laxmi from New Mangalore was marked with the message loud and clear. Though the winds were not strong, the moderate/heavy south westerly swell made its presence felt and demanded the due respect. The last two days to Kandla were not like earlier good weather sailing. Vessel rolled incessantly and persistently enough to annoy. Jasvinder (my wife who is aboard with me) was confined to bed and felt sea sick as usual. The fact that we were sailing after a gap of about 16 months made matters worse. I was content with heaviness in head and a justifiable excuse not to work. The problem with bad weather is that everything goes haywire. It becomes extremely difficult to work, creating a backlog which further compounds the problem.



View of Kandla port - figure 1



                                    Not only the vessel was rolling, she was rolling with a short period, because of the stiff status as a result of full load of iron ore pellets. Southerly current was taking a toll on our speed, making the troublesome passage longer. On top of that our concern was the fate of the 19^th windmill blade that was loaded on 3^rd tier. We were compelled to adjust course to minimize the jerky rolls and keep the blade intact for safe delivery.

View of Kandla port - figure 3

              In Kandla berthing is tide –dependent. We anchored on 7^th afternoon and berthing was fixed for the next day. When the moment arrived, berthing was cancelled. Because the vessel that was to sail and vacate the berth ran into trouble with her engines and we were told to stay put and anchor again. I wish we had berthed. The spring tide gave us its bitter taste. We dragged our anchor and dragged again upon anchoring. Finally I changed the location and went further SW of outer Tuna buoy. But, I noticed something very strange. We did not drag anchor aft, with cable leading right ahead. We were dragging towards port beam at a speed of about 0.5 knots. The cable was leading starboard beam, long stay (starboard anchor was down). I have not seen anything like this before. Wind was blowing from port quarter at about 13 knots. Could it be because of the presence of 19 windmill blades on hatch tops? I have no clue. Ship was heading like all other ships at anchor (tide rode) but dragging laterally towards port beam!

                     



View of Kandla port - figure 3



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