Kamarajar Port Limited says Coal Berth 3 (CB3) was inaugurated on 11 October. A KPL vessel-list snapshot showed a thermal-coal vessel at CB3 from 7 to 10 October, with 73,940 tonnes in the quantity column. The row predates the ceremony. It raises a question the public material does not settle: when did the berth begin operating, and what changed at the formal inauguration?
The distinction matters because the berth and its cargo-handling system were separate scopes. In its FY2024–25 annual report, Kamarajar Port said it had built the berth structure and handed it to Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation Limited (TNPGCL) for top-side equipment, including ship unloaders and conveyor systems. The report gave each of the two coal berths a designed capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum. It expected CB3 mechanisation to be commissioned during FY2025–26. That target period has passed, but the report does not establish the actual commissioning date.
Kamarajar Port’s 11 October update describes CB3 as inaugurated with two ship unloaders and a mechanised conveyor. The vessel-list entry is a different kind of evidence. It names a vessel, berth, cargo category and quantity, but the page is a rolling operational list. It does not say whether the ship used the new unloaders, how much cargo was discharged through them, or when the equipment passed acceptance tests. The earlier row is no longer visible in the live list. It should be read as a dated snapshot, not a cargo audit.
The timeline now has at least three milestones: construction of the marine structure, installation and commissioning of shore-side systems, and the public inauguration. A vessel at the berth may be relevant to operations, but it cannot by itself establish that the mechanised system was in service. Nor does a 9 MTPA design rating show actual throughput.
The next useful records would be the commissioning or acceptance date for the unloaders and conveyor, the first commercial cargo movement through that system, and monthly CB3 tonnage after commissioning. Kamarajar Port and TNPGCL could also clarify how the 7–10 October vessel was handled. Until those records are available, the inauguration is a confirmed public milestone; operating performance remains unreported.
