Kolkata, Sep 14 (IANS): As the ropes grew taut and the 249.9-metre long and 44.05-metre wide behemoth inched closer to Haldia Oil Jetty (HOJ)-3 on Thursday, there was cheer all around. 

This was the largest vessel to have ever berthed at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP), Kolkata in its over 150-year history.

The MT Clearocean Ajax is a Large Crude Carrier with a capacity of 113,252 tonnes.

When she berthed at HOJ-3, she carried 48,111 tonnes of Naptha.

This was also a record. This was the highest ever single parcel load for Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL).

The highest single parcel load of Naptha handled by SMP, Kolkata till now was 44,088 tonnes.

This was in 2017 from the tanker MT Sanmer Sonnet.

The four-year-old MT Clearocean Ajax flies the Monrovian flag and has a crew of 22.

All of them are Georgian, including the Master Mikhail Klimovith.

She set sail from Port Mina al Ahmadia in Kuwait with 82,271 tonnes of Naptha.

Of this, 34,160 tonnes were discharged at Visakhapatnam before she sailed north towards the Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) under SMP, Kolkata.

HDC is located 125 km from the Sandheads where SMP, Kolkata carries out lighterage operations from vessels that are too large or heavy to enter the Hooghly channel that suffers from draught constraints.

"This is certainly a remarkable achievement. The MT Clearocean Ajax reached Haldia at 8.7-metre draught. We manage and maintain one of the longest and unpredictable navigation channels in the world. Despite the draught constraint, SMP, Kolkata has maintained its pivotal position among the major ports in India.

"I congratulate all employees and other stakeholders on this achievement. I am sure that this will pave the way forward for other such vessels to berth at our oil jetties to facilitate easier supply to refineries located at Haldia," Rathendra Raman, chairman, SMP, Kolkata said.