Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 |
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Logistics
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Shipping Industry & Economy - Petroleum River route passes through Bangladesh — Numaligarh Refinery evacuating petro products through barges Our Bureau
Kolkata , July 11 NUMALIGARH Refinery Ltd in Assam has started evacuating petroleum products by the river route that passes through Bangladesh. The first consignment of 1,450 tonnes of diesel by barge arrived a few days ago at the Budge Budge oil jetty of the Kolkata Dock System. Vivada, the local barge operator, transported the consignment from Silghat on the bank of the Brhamaputra River to Budge Budge. Silghat is about 100 km from the refinery and the distance was covered by road. As early as 1996, the State-owned river transport company, Central Inland Water Transport Corporation (CIWTC), too had tried to undertake a similar movement on the route on an experimental basis. But it did not succeed. It is hoped that Vivada will be able to run the service on a regular basis. Its maiden voyage has been without a hitch. Vivada, according to sources, has taken on charter two of CIWTC barges, "Naharkatiya" (1,800-tonne capacity) and "Barauni" (1,200 tonnes). Right now, "Naharkatiya" is in operation while "Barauni" is undergoing repairs. Once the two vessels start operation on regular basis, it should be possible to offer two sailings a month totalling 3,000 tonnes. But, Numaligarh wants to evacuate by barges a much large volume, as much as 10,000 tonnes a month on a average or an estimated 1.2 lakh tonnes a year. Vivada, as it is pointed out, has no immediate plans to step up its carrying capacity. First, the large capacity barges are not easily available. Some Bangladeshi operators are believed to be ready to offer their vessels of the capacity of 2,000 tonnes each. But Vivada is yet to decide whether to hire those vessels or not. As per the protocol signed between the two countries, Bangladesh flag barges are not required to take fitness and other certificates from the Mercantile Marine Department of the Indian Government. Second, the present transportation agreement between Vivada and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd is valid for only two years. After two years, the refinery authorities feel, the pipeline network, now under construction, will be ready for operation thus rendering barge movement redundant. Unless there is a long-term agreement on barge movement, no barge operator will be interested in adding to its capacity. The turnaround time of the first voyage by Vivada was 42 days. Vivada wants to bring it down to a month or so. A faster turnaround time will ensure movement of a larger volume. Meanwhile, Numaligarh Refinery is believed to be also exploring the possibility of exporting petroleum products by barge to Bangladesh.
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