The Hindu Business Line : Vizag courts oil cos to nominate VLCCs

BELEAGUERED by uncertainty over getting very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for undertaking transshipment operation, Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) has started courting various oil companies for nominating the vessels, emphasising its capability to handle VLCCs by way of ship-to-ship discharge. However, the move is yet to yield results.

VPT's anxiety is understandable. Two million tonnes of transshipment crude traffic, which it lost to neighbouring Kakinada port a couple of years ago, is still to return. Worse, this season's first VLCC brought by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) was handled by Kakinada port a few days ago.

It may be noted that the oil companies prefer the Sandheads, the mouth of the Hooghly River, for transshipment operation during the dry season, i.e from October to March every year, thus benefiting Kolkata port. The operation shifts to Visakahaptnam/Kakinada ports in the monsoon months when the sea becomes murky and the Sandheads becomes unsuitable.

"I've taken up the matter with the HPCL authorities promising them all kinds of facilities, including those for installing single buoy mooring (SBM) close to our port," Mr K. Ratnakishore, Chairman of VPT, told Business Line. "HPCL wants about 70 acres of land for setting up a tankage with capacity of 500,000 tonnes and we have agreed to it," he said. The VPT Chairman, it was indicated, has also urged the Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation to nominate VLCCs for Visakhapatnam port to enable the port authorities undertake transshipment operation.

"I've taken up the matter with several top people in the oil industry," Mr Ratnakishore said. "If Kakinada port can handled VLCCs, we can do it even better," he said. HPCL, it was learnt, might nominate a VLCC (2.7 lakh tonnes) for the port next month.