The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic adversely impacted movement of goods at ports with cargo traffic at the 12 major ports in the country declined by 5 per cent year-on-year in FY21. The total traffic handled at the ports in the last financial year fell to 672.68 million tonnes (MT) as compared to 704.927 MT in FY20.

The pandemic’s impact at major ports started from March 2020. During the last financial year (FY21), Kandla handled the highest cargo at 117.56 MT. It was followed by Paradip (114.55 MT), Visakhapatnam (69.84 MT), JNPT (64.81 MT) and the Mumbai port (53.32 MT).

However, the traffic handled during April-October 2021 increased by 15 per cent as compared to the same period over the previous year. During this the major ports handled total traffic of around 406.9 MT against 355.16 MT handled for the same period in 2020, the data from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways showed.

The ministry said that it took various efforts and initiatives to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and ensure smooth functioning of supply chains. The ministry and its associated bodies issued various advisories/circulars to provide relief to the trade in terms of non-charging of demurrage and other penalties/charges.

Major ports ensured storage space for cargo and accommodation and food for migrant labourers working in their premises. They also remitted VRC charges for quarantined vessels various technological initiatives were expedited during the pandemic to maintain smooth functioning without human interference such as e-invoice, e-payment, utility for sign-on and sign-off, utility for data verification of seafarers from chartered flights, online ship registrations and online charter licensing.

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