The Hindu Business Line : Chennai container terminal stir withdrawn

Normal operations at the Chennai Container Terminal (CCT), which was hit by a three-day strike by trailer operators, is likely to be restored by Tuesday evening, according to its CEO, Mr Ennarasu Karunesan.

This follows the withdrawal of the strike by trailer operators on Friday night.

Since Wednesday morning there has been no movement of boxes from the terminal to various off-dock container freight stations.

The operators were demanding a 100 per cent hike in freight rates, which ranges between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,500.

The hike followed restriction by officials of the State Transport Department in not permitting vehicles to be overloaded.

In a meeting convened by the Chennai Port Trust Chairman and CCT on Friday it was agreed that the operators would get an increase of Rs 400 per box.

The members of the National Association of Container Freight Stations (NACFS) agreed to pay Rs 250 and steamer agents would pay Rs 150, Mr Karunesan told Business Line.

It was also agreed that there would not be any increase for a year, he said.

According to Mr Karunesan, the CCT has formed a taskforce for speedy evacuation of boxes from the terminal. The members include representatives from CCT, NACFS and trailer operators' association.

As on Saturday evening, there were about 8,500 boxes, mostly imports, waiting to be cleared from the terminal. In the last 24 hours, about 1,200 boxes were evacuated and sent to various container freight stations. During normal operations, the terminal has an inventory of about 6,000 containers at its yard, he said.

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