Global · Case study

Mormugao Port (India), Wind-Triggered Limits on Coal Handling

Vasco da Gama, Goa, India2019 to present (suspension order February 2019; weather station reported 2021; consent conditions confirmed 2025)

Mormugao Port handles coal and coke through two terminals operated by private operators under public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements: South West Port Limited (JSW) and Adani Mormugao Port Terminal Pvt Ltd (AMPTPL). Between them they handled more than 2.5 million tonnes of coal in the first quarter of 2024-25 (The Goan EveryDay, 2025). The port is next to the town of Vasco. In February 2019, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) temporarily suspended coking coal handling after residents complained about deteriorating air quality. The suspension order cited "windy conditions, which leads to soot being transported into residential areas" (The Quint, 2019).

Approach

Set a wind speed trigger. GSPCB consent conditions require cargo operations to stop if wind speed exceeds 8 meters per second (The Goan EveryDay, 2025).

Adjust handling by season. Coal and coke handling quantities are restricted during the monsoon (The Goan EveryDay, 2025).

Measure weather on site. AMPTPL installed an automatic weather station that measures temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, rainfall and air pressure in real time. The wind data helps the terminal decide when to run its coal handling facilities, including conveyor transfers during adverse weather (Oizom, 2021).

Combine weather triggers with physical controls. AMPTPL has the following in place (AMPTPL, 2020):

a 2,700 meter covered conveyor from the jetty to the silo, with 11 closed transfer points;
224 dry fog dust suppression units on the conveyors and transfer points;
43 automatic water sprinklers at the coal stockyard;
a 15 meter wind screen.

Consent conditions also require a minimum of 10 percent moisture in the cargo and a 12 meter windbreak wall near the fishing jetty (The Goan EveryDay, 2025).

Share monitoring data with the regulator. The continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations are connected to GSPCB's server, and GSPCB inspects at regular intervals to check compliance (The Goan EveryDay, 2025).

Results

Ambient PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring at Sada village was within acceptable limits from October 2019 to March 2020 (AMPTPL, 2020). The weather station supplier reports that the system led to significantly lower dust levels in surrounding areas (Oizom, 2021). This is a supplier claim and no figures are published. A health study of communities in Vasco by the Indian Council of Medical Research is underway, funded by the PPP operators (The Goan EveryDay, 2025).

Transferability:

DMC ports that handle coal or other dusty bulk cargo near towns can copy the simplest part of this model at low cost: an on-site weather station and a clear wind speed threshold for stopping or slowing handling. Seasonal limits and air quality monitoring linked to the regulator add accountability.

Mormugao also shows the risk of acting late: weather-triggered controls are cheaper than a regulator-ordered suspension after community complaints.

Sources

All information used for this case study was based on publicly available resources.