Clinker loading continues at Karachi Port amid cyclone threat

The Panamanian flag bulk carrier Lowlands Amstel (IMO: 9738947) is loading over 47,000t cement clinker at berth B11/B12 of Karachi Port of Pakistan due for Ghana amid safety measures due to the threat of a strong cyclone, which is likely to landfall/hit some coastlines of Sindh later this week, according to Karachi Port. The vessel has been uploading clinker since 11 June and stays longer to complete the lifting. 

Karachi Port Trust has already made an emergency plan for evacuating vessels if a cyclone may approach the port and impacts ships, cargoes and the port’s infrastructure.

Recall here that Pakistan Metrological Department, in a late-night weather update, says that the Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (ESCS) ‘BIPARJOY’ over the east-central Arabian Sea has moved further northward during the last 12 hours and now lies near latitude 18.7°N and longitude 67.8°E at a distance of about 690km south of Karachi, 670km south of Thatta and 720km southeast of Ormara. Maximum sustained surface winds are 180-200km/h, gusts 220km/h around the system centre, and sea conditions are phenomenal around the system canter with a maximum wave height of 35-40ft. The favourable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 30-32°C, low vertical wind shear and upper-level divergence) support the system’s maintenance of its severity.