The Hindu Business Line : Steamer agents body bid to bring back ICD cargo to Kochi

The Cochin Steamer Agents Association has called upon the India Gateway Terminal to organise trade meets at Bangalore to bring back the ICD cargo to Kochi Port.

The ICD cargo has been diverted to Chennai following the discontinuation of train service from ICD Bangalore to Kochi due to the damage of Venduruthy bridge and the time is ripe for the terminal operator to lure those cargo from there, Mr Ivor Gonzaga, President of the Association, has said.

Addressing the 27th annual general meeting of the association, he pointed out that the because of the stoppage of ICD movement from Bangalore, the port expects to achieve only a 5 per cent increase in throughput this year compared with previous year, even though there has been a considerable increase in the sailings of container vessels this year.

He said that the tethering problems in the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal have considerably improved following the take over of the terminal by DP World and there is still scope for improvement. He expressed the hope that all the issues taken up by the association with the IGT would be amicably settled soon.

The President also complimented the port management in offering special wharfage rates to the trade to attract non-traditional cargoes such as timber and granite to the port. The Kochi Port, he said is on the right path of achieving the targeted growth with the dream of transhipment terminal becoming true.

Referring to the current developments in the international shipping market, he said that the last two years have been record breaking for the industry and the container rates have been given a boost by the impact of preparations for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The tanker market also performed strongly despite a steep increase in crude prices. This buoyancy in the market has resulted in yards across East Asia stretching from Japan to India having full order books with sky-high contract rates.

However, there could be down turn in the industry and the resulting slaughter in the market place could see many bankruptcies unless there is a growth in demand in excess of 14 per cent sustained, he added.