The Hindu Business Line : Hooghly draft problems pushing up cost for users

Troubled waters
Poor navigability means loss of traffic, revenues for Haldia.
Carriers finding ship-to-ship discharge difficult.
Experts from Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical call for improving draft.

A view of Haldia Dock

Our Bureau

Kolkata, Oct. 23 The critical draft situation in the Hooghly river near Haldia dock, entailing lower average parcel load each vessel, is costing the users of the dock dear.

“Dubai Titan”, a huge crude carrier with about three lakh tonnes of crude, is awaiting at the Sandheads, the mouth of the Hooghly river, since October 19, as it is finding it difficult to undertake lighter age operation, i.e., ship-to-ship discharge of crude into smaller daughter vessels, which in turn will call at Haldia for a second round of discharge.

One reason for this, according to port sources, is that support services to facilitate such operation are not ready yet. Also, the average parcel load of daughter vessels having declined to around 30,000 tonnes each vessel from the earlier 35,000 tonnes, to complete discharge of crude from the mother vessel (i.e, “Dubai Titan”), more daughter vessels may have to be deployed.

This will prove too much for the importer of the crude as well as the arranger of the operation. At the same time, the detention of the mother vessel will attract demurrage, which is substantial for such a huge tanker.

Navigability issue

In another development, “Blue Diamond”, the bulk carrier carrying 49,000 tonnes of limestone for Tata Steel, discharged only 19,000 tonnes at Haldia after unloading 30,000 tonnes at Paradip port. Earlier, any such vessel used to unload about 19,000/20,000 tonnes at Paradip and the balance 29,000 to 30,000 tonnes at Haldia. But that is not possible any more, thanks to the poor navigability of the river near the dock. It has two implications.

First, the loss of traffic for Haldia and the consequent revenue loss, which in this case is estimated at more than Rs 12 lakh. Second, the additional transportation cost for Tata Steel. According to one estimate, the private sector steel giant would be required to cough up an additional Rs 33 lakh by way of rail freight for unloading an additional 11,000 tonnes at Paradip and transporting the volume to the Jamshedpur plant.

Meanwhile, a team of experts from Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) visited Haldia to assess the gravity of the situation. MCC’s PTA plant at Haldia is now undergoing expansion, to be completed in phases in 2009, and with this there will be need for larger imports of raw materials and exports of the finished products.

The local management of MCC, it is learnt, has already communicated its concern to the West Bengal Government, pointing out that the draft in the river must improve not only to facilitate the future expansion but also to maintain the current operation.

Loads down

Inquiries reveal that between April and September this year, the average parcel load of ships carrying both dry and liquid bulk items to Haldia dropped vis-À-vis that in the same period of the previous year. Thus, in the first six months of 2008, the average parcel load of crude carriers calling at Haldia dropped to 30,726 tonnes as compared to 36,716 tonnes in the same period last year.

For the coking coal vessels, the corresponding figures are 24,441 tonnes (26,605 tonnes), for thermal coal vessels 24,431 tonnes (27,465 tonnes), for non-coking coal vessels 20,451 tonnes (25,929 tonnes) and for limestone vessels 16,877 tonnes (27,118 tonnes). The situation has worsened in the current month, it is learnt.