The Hindu Business Line : PSA-SICAL procures cranes to handle more cargo

PSA-SICAL Terminals Ltd, which runs a container terminal at Tuticorin Port, is inducting four second-hand Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGCs) and one quay crane to handle additional box volumes at the terminal.

"We have procured four RTGCs from Malaysia which will reach Tuticorin in the third week of November and the equipments will be commissioned by the first/second week of December. The quay crane will be pressed into service some time in the first quarter of 2005," a company official said.

The private terminal operator has handled 2,44,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) since January as against a target of 2,80,000 TEUs for the current calendar year.

"We are averaging 27,000 TEUs every month for the last couple of months. At this rate, we will exceed the assessed capacity of 3,00,00 TEUs this year itself," he said.

The private operator is also in the process of developing five additional blocks for stacking containers to accommodate the additional volumes that the terminal foresee in the next year. The terminal currently operates five blocks.

PSA-SICAL had guaranteed a traffic volume of 3,00,000 TEUs from the sixth year of operating the facility till the 30th year of operations.

Though it had succeeded in bringing the guaranteed traffic level within the stipulated period mentioned in the Concession Agreement, the private operator says that a restrictive draft at the port and the absence of a good hinterland for cargo was impeding its efforts. "Mainline vessels are skipping Tuticorin due to lack of adequate draft at the port. Policy makers are missing this problem. The draft restriction is a major set back that we are facing," he said.

"Ships exceeding 10.7 metre draft and 244 metre cannot call at the terminal. They have to skip Tuticorin and collect all the containers from Colombo," he added.

Though, the Shipping Ministry had directed Tuticorin Port Trust to cut its vessel-related charges and bring it on a par with Colombo, the conditions attached to such a reduction in marine charges will discourage lines from calling, he noted. "The high marine charges at the port will have to be competitively priced to ensure that the marketing activities of the operator are not compromised. The special dredging levy collected by the Port Trust from shipping lines also acts as a deterrent," he stated.

The terminal is also hampered by the absence of an exclusive hinterland, which will feed the terminal as Tuticorin shares the same hinterland with Chennai and Kochi.

PSA Corporation Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Temasek Holdings Pvt Ltd, the investment arm of Singapore Government, owns 57.5 per cent stake in the Tuticorin container terminal while South India Corporation (Agencies) Ltd (SICAL) and Mr S. Chandra Das of Singapore owns 37.5 per cent and 5 per cent stakes respectively.

Since it started operations, Tuticorin containers transhipped from Colombo has come down from 100 per cent to less than 70 per cent, the official said.