With Thrissur native Captain Willy Antony at the helm, the MSC Irina, the largest container ship in the world, is scheduled to make its first port call at Vizhinjam. Since this is the ship’s maiden port call in South India, the crowd is excited as it has arrived at the outer anchorage.
Captain Willy, 47, from Puranattukara, is excited to deliver the enormous ship, which is as long as four football fields and can transport goods as high as a 22-story skyscraper, to his home state.
“I am proud to be in charge of a ship this size,” Captain Willy remarked. “I hold Vizhinjam and this vessel in high regard. “It doubles the joy to bring the ship to my own land,” he remarked.
However, with seven vessels already scheduled to dock, the vessel, which can accommodate 24,346 TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), would have to wait for its time to berth at the crowded port. According to port sources, berthing may be moved from the original June 5 docking date to June 7 or 8.
Due to its massive size, the Mediterranean Shipping Company-owned ship, which is flying the Liberian flag, will need four tugs to help moor, instead of the customary two. During its time in Vizhinjam, an estimated 4,000 containers will be processed.
An accomplished sailor with 29 years of experience who has traveled to 120 nations, Captain
Since the MSC Irina was put into service in March 2023, Willy Antony has served as its commander. Before heading back to Singapore, the ship made stops in China, South Korea, and Singapore. He was joined on the first part of the voyage by his wife, Hilda, and son, Benhail, who disembarked in Singapore.
“With the monsoon conditions, bedding will be difficult.” However, the port has seasoned personnel to manage it, including two of my old coworkers,” he stated. “Vizhinjam’s natural depth gives it a georgaphical advantage,” Willy stated.
Captain Willy was disappointed that he and his crew would not be allowed to go ashore, even though they were excited to be getting closer to home.
Because Vizhinjam’s crew change and shore leave facilities are still prohibited, the 35-member crew—among them Abhinandan, a trainee from Kasaragod—cannot currently disembark. Although crew changes were temporarily permitted by the port, those services have not yet been restored. “We should all work to establish Vizhinjam as the premier port in the world. We should help sailors in the same way that we provide first-rate facilities for ships. He stated, “My crew and I are still unable to set foot on our own soil.”
A personalized gift, akin to the one given to the captain of San Fernando, the first mother vessel to arrive in Vizhinjam in July of last year, is part of the special welcome that the port officials are planning for Captain Willy.
With the arrival of some of the largest ships, such the MSC Claude Girardet in September 2024 and the MSC Turkiye in April 2025, Vizhinjam has gradually risen in prominence on the world nautical map.
Irina will proceed to Spain following a two-day stay.