The Hindu Business Line : Curde operations at Sandheads — IOC decision dashes Kolkata port hopes

THE Kolkata Port Trust's (KoPT) hope of handling large crude carriers throughout the year at the Sandheads, the mouth of the Hooghly river, has been dashed following the Indian Oil Corporation's decision to lay a 350-km-long crude pipeline between Paradip port and Haldia dock.

"IOC is not yet convinced that the cost of crude transportation by way of the Sandhead operation will be cheaper than the pipeline transportation of crude,'' said Dr A.K. Chanda, Chairman of KoPT.

Earlier, KoPT was prepared to offer substantial reduction in rates, both in terms of wharfage and vessel-related charges, to promote floating storage operation (FSO), or its alternative, tandem mooring operation, at the Sandheads as the lowest cost means of transporting crude to IOC's refineries at Haldia (West Bengal) and Barauni (Bihar) and also to Bongaingaon Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (Assam), now under IOC fold.

He indicated that the scheme of having FSO at the Sandheads had been virtually abandoned and the prospect of tandem mooring operation at the Sandheads, too, did not appear to be bright.

Right now, KoPT does undertake crude unloading operation at the Sandheads by way of lighterage (ship-to-ship discharge) but only for a limited period of the year, from October/November to March. The creation of tandem mooring/FSO facility, it is felt, would have helped the port authorities undertake the operation at the Sandheads throughout the year.

Defending IOC's decision to lay Paradip-Haldia crude pipeline, Mr D.T. Joseph, Shipping Secretary, expressed the view that the pipeline technology is the technology of the future for transportation of crude and therefore there is no point opposing it even if it means the loss of cargo to the port. "We do not want to be seen as opposing the frontier technology," he said.

Mr Joseph conceded that the proposed pipeline might entail loss of a sizeable chunk of cargo for Haldia dock, which, he emphasised, must step up marketing to attract other types of cargoes to compensate the loss.

Dr Chanda, however, observed that the probable loss of cargo as a sequel to the construction of the pipeline was yet to be estimated as much would depend on the oil company's overall crude transportation policy.

"IOC has not yet officially rejected the proposal for tandem mooring operation,'' he said.

While the prospect of crude unloading at the Sandheads appeared to be dim, that of handling dry bulk cargo such as iron ore and coal by way of transloading operation at the same place was not so bleak, Dr Chanda said, adding, "We have received several inquiries in regard to transloading operation and we are pursuing them actively."