Tuticorin International Container Terminal (TICT) at VOC Port, 100% electrified, declared a 'Green Terminal'
22-10-2026 · English
Topics: Tamil Nadu · 22 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)
News
VOC Port said on 22 Oct 2026 that the Tuticorin International Container Terminal (TICT) at V.O. Chidambaranar Port, Thoothukudi, has been declared a 'Green Terminal' after 100% of its operational equipment was electrified. Union Shipping Secretary Vijay Kumar made the declaration while reviewing projects worth ₹18,000 crore; on 20 Oct he had flagged off 13 electric Internal Transfer Vehicles (E-ITVs). TICT is run by J M Baxi Ports & Logistics.
Key facts
| Terminal | TICT – operator J M Baxi Ports & Logistics; operations from Sep 2024 (PM's video address, 16 Sep 2024) |
| Capacity | 0.6 million TEU a year; 370 m quay, 14.2 m draught |
| Electric kit | 3 rail-mounted quay cranes (RMQC), 9 electric RTG cranes, electric reach stacker, 13 E-ITVs |
| Declared | 22 Oct 2026 – Union Shipping Secretary Vijay Kumar |
| VOC Port | Gulf of Mannar; 82 MTPA capacity; Chairman Sushanta Kumar Purohit; outer harbour project over ₹15,000 crore |
Background
- VOC Port: declared a major port on 11 July 1974; 'Tuticorin Port Trust' renamed 'V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust' in 2011; now a 'Port Authority' under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021. Sheltered by Sri Lanka, it is relatively safe from cyclones.
- Green-port drive: 'Harit Sagar' Green Port Guidelines – 10 May 2023, Minister Sarbananda Sonowal; aims – cutting carbon emissions, 'zero waste discharge', green hydrogen/ammonia/methanol. VOC Port hosts India's first port-based green hydrogen pilot (10 Nm³/hr, ₹3.87 crore, Sep 2025).
- Science: green hydrogen comes from electrolysis of water using renewable power; grey hydrogen from steam reforming of natural gas; blue hydrogen is the same plus carbon capture. TEU – twenty-foot equivalent unit (a 20-ft container).
- V.O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872–1936): born at Ottapidaram; 'Kappalottiya Thamizhan'; founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company at Tuticorin in 1906 (ships S.S. Gallia, S.S. Lawoe) to challenge the British shipping monopoly; arrested in 1908; made to pull an oil press in Coimbatore jail.
Tamil Nadu link: Tamil Nadu has 3 major ports (Chennai, Kamarajar–Ennore, VOC–Thoothukudi) and 17 non-major ports. VOC Port is being developed as a green hydrogen hub and the nodal port for offshore wind energy.
Source: PTI (ThePrint, Deccan Chronicle), GKToday, 22 Oct 2026; Maritime Gateway (2024); pmindia.gov.in (16.09.2024); NBM&CW (Sep 2025); housing.com (Harit Sagar)
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