The Hindu Business Line : Shippers bid to ease congestion at Kochi Port

THE shipping community at Kochi Port has come out with certain suggestions to ease the present congestion prevailing in the port and to enable it for smooth cargo operations in the container terminal.

The increasing movement of cargo and lack of adequate infrastructure has led to congestion since September 1 resulting in the piling up of cargoes. Sources in the port pointed out that the container yard is presently overcrowded and exceeded the limit of 3,000 teus. The absence of new equipments as well as lack of maintenance in the existing ones had further aggravated the problems in the terminal.

The shippers, as per their suggestions to the port management, have offered to provide a private reach stacker within 30 days and another one in 60 days subject to a written permission from the management. The shipping fraternity also demanded continuation of the existing window berthing scheme on the condition that not more than three container vessels should be berthed at a time.

When there is a window vessel at berth using two gantry cranes, there could be two vessels at the conventional berths. When there are two vessels at the gantry, there could be one vessel at the conventional berth, the shippers said.

The Association also suggested that adequate port equipments to be made available at any given time and no stack amendment charges should be levied for containers shut out in the absence of port equipments.