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Our Bureau

The inclement weather in the past few weeks in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have dealt a severe blow to the organisations who import coal by the coastal route.

Kolkata , Oct. 31

PARADIP port is holding more than three lakh tonnes of thermal coal as ground stock - an estimated 2.6 lakh tonnes on account of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and another 50,000 tonnes on account of Karnataka Thermal Power Corporation Ltd - in its mechanical coal handling plant. The importers of the coal have failed to nominate vessels on time.

The inclement weather in the past few weeks in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have dealt a severe blow to these organisations coal import plan by the coastal route. Now that the weather has improved, the port is hopeful of receiving a coal vessel shortly.

The port authorities have urged the TNEB to nominate suitable vessels for full loading to clear the ground stocks. Full loading means loading of nearly 70,000 tonnes in a single vessel. On many occasions, the TNEB nominates vessels for partial loading at Paradip, i.e., vessels come to Paradip for topping up after completing loading around 30,000 tonnes at Haldia.

However, despite bad weather hitting the operation of Paradip port since September - there were as many as eight low pressure situations at least one of them attracting No. Sixth signal which was a major cyclone warning and heavy rains lashing the port for several days at a time in past two months — the traffic throughput in October was close to three million tonnes or roughly 100,000 tonnes a day on an average. Barring unforeseen developments, the port authorities are hopeful of scaling greater heights in coming months.

In October, there was no traffic on account of the Oswals whose fertiliser factory at Paradip, after having remained closed for a long time, has just been acquired by IFFCO and it will be a couple of months more before IFFCO starts normal operation and importing raw materials.

However, the import of fertiliser raw materials on Paradeep Phosphates account was about three lakh tonnes.

Nearly one million tonnes of iron ore for exports were handled by the port while the throughput of imported coal, both coking and non-coking, was around another five lakh tonnes and that of Talcher coal for coastal shipment another seven lakh tonnes.

During the month under review, the throughput of petroleum products was negligible at around one lakh tonnes.

"Perhaps, we have to wait till March-April next year, when the single point mooring is due for commissioning, for oil traffic to grow," observe PPT sources.

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