Ahmedabad

    Ford Motors India dispatched the first lot of its around 1300 Ford FIGO cars, built at its Sanand plant in Gujarat, for exports through the APM Terminals Pipavav (Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd) and NYK Auto Logistics (India) roll on/roll off (RORO) operations that commenced at Pipavav Port today.

      The first RORO vessel (ship), m.v.Grand Dahlia, berthed at Pipavav yesterday loaded the vehicles while the officials from APM Terminals, NYK Auto Logistics and Ford Motors welcomed the vessel and marked the inauguration of RORO operations with a simple ceremony held on board.

     The vessel departed this morning after successful completion of operations. APM Terminals Pipavav currently has three business verticals under its service portfolio which include container, bulk and liquid cargo. Automotive cargo will be the fourth business unit which will add to both the top line and bottom line and help the business grow in the long run.

    Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter. This is in contrast to lift-on/lift-off (LoLo) vessels, which use a crane to load and unload cargo.

      Strategically located in Gujarat, approximately 160 nautical miles north west from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai, APM Terminals Pipavav, a subsidiary of APM Terminals with a global terminal metwork of 20,300 professionals and 186 port and inland services operations in 63 countries around the globe that designs, builds and operates ports and inland services,is one of the western India’s fastest growing gateway ports and has excellent connectivity to the rich hinterlands in the north and west regions of India. Pipavav Port is the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) Port in India.

    NYK Group, Tokyo, is a global leader in Automotive Ocean transportation and Logistics. NYK Auto Logistics (India) Pvt. Ltd is a subsidiary of NYK Group.  The company provides complete finished vehicles outbound logistics services to customers in Indian market.