Chinese warship Shenzhen to dock at Kochi port on Friday

October 10th, 2009 KOCHI - The Rs.2,118 crore (Rs.21.18 billion) International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) - the country's first global hub terminal, at Vallarpardam near here is nearing completion and will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2010, officials said Saturday. The facility is being developed by Dubai Port World (earlier known as Dubai Port International) and the container berth will be of 1,800m and have a depth of 14.5m.

September 18th, 2009 KOCHI - The Indian Navy today inducted a stealth destroyer of Kolkata class, INS Kochi, to boost its maritime capabilities and safeguard India's interests. Madhulika Verma wife of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma, named the second of the three Project 15-A stealth destroyers on September 18.

August 2nd, 2009 KOCHI - The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is all set to start a major oil drilling off Kochi coast from today. Most of the preliminary exploratory drilling confirmed the presence of hydro-carbon, carbohydrate and other chemicals.

August 2nd, 2009 KOCHI - It will take at least 100 days to confirm whether there is hydrocarbon presence off Kochi coast, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) chairman R.S. Sharma has Sunday.

July 18th, 2009 KOCHI - The country's longest railway bridge, at 4.62 km, is fast nearing completion and will be opened in November, an official said here Saturday. The bridge, to connect the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam with Edapally near here, has been constructed in the Kochi backwaters.

May 15th, 2009 KOCHI - German luxury car maker Audi Friday opened its flagship terminal showroom in Kochi. 'Audi Kochi', the company's first terminal showroom in the country that exemplifies the latest and exclusive terminal architecture of Audi will increase the visibility of the brand, the company said in a statement.

April 4th, 2009 KOCHI - The Cochin Port handled 15.23 million tonnes of cargo in 2008-09 as against 15.75 million tonnes the year ago - a fall of 3.34 percent, it was announced Saturday. The fall in cargo handling is mainly because of a drop in the uptake of crude oil by Kochi Refinery, which imported 8.21 million tonnes of crude last fiscal as against 8.75 million tonnes in 2007-08, the port said in a statement.

March 31st, 2009 KOCHI - Emirates Airlines Tuesday announced a 'companion offer' that extends a complimentary return ticket in the same class for a companion for a passenger travelling from here to Dubai. In a press statement, the airlines said the offer was valid on flights EK533 departing from Kochi 4.20 a.m.

March 30th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kochi, Kerala's commercial hub, was on alert after intelligence reports indicated that a terror gang was possibly heading towards the city, a police official said Monday. Inspector General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha, however, denied media reports that it was a gang of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and that they had arrived on the coast near Shertallai, near Alappuzha, and were heading towards Kochi.

March 25th, 2009 KOCHI - ICICI Securities Wednesday launched active trader service (ATS), an offline trading platform, in Kochi. The ATS offers specialised research and personalised services with the aid of latest technology and infrastructure to active traders.

March 20th, 2009 KOCHI - Queen Mary II, world's largest ocean liner, reached Kerala's Kochi coast on Wednesday. The liner is proving to be a visual-treat for the residents.

March 19th, 2009 KOLKATA - The famed swing bascule bridge at Kidderpore Port in Kolkata was extensively damaged after an empty cargo ship towed by a tug crashed against the guard wall of the bridge on Wednesday. This swing bascule bridge, Nazrul Setu named after rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, across an inlet of River Hooghly in the dock area has been a unique landmark of Kolkata.

March 18th, 2009 KOCHI - Queen Mary 2, billed as the grandest and most magnificent ocean liner ever built, came calling at the port here Wednesday. This is its second voyage to this port city.

March 14th, 2009 KOCHI - Despite the global slowdown, the current fiscal is another good business season for the Cochin Port, which would host 36 cruise ships by March-end, an official statement said Friday. 'By the end of this fiscal, the port would host about 22,000 cruise tourists and about 10,000 crew members.

January 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Russian Navy's nuclear-powered heavy missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) has arrived at the port of Mormugao in Goa after participating in a two-day naval exercise with the Indian Navy, an official said Thursday. Pyotr Veliky, known as the 'killer of aircraft carriers', was in the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean for the biennial Indra exercise with the Indian Navy.