Kochi Port gets ready to receive cars from Gujarat thru sea route

In line with the Shipping Ministry’s move to promote coastal shipping, Cochin Port Trust is toying with the idea of offering facilities for passenger car movement by Ro-Ro service.

Leading logistics players focussing on passenger car movement from Gujarat production units are in touch with the port management to use the facilities in Willingdon Island. These companies intend to move vehicles from Gujarat to dealers in Kerala using the coastal route to reduce the cost. At present, these vehicles are moved in non-standardised vehicles through highways.

The port authorities have offered discounts in vessel related charges, wharfages and longer storage period as part of its efforts to enlarge the cargo profile and generate additional revenue.

“We are expecting a favourable decision from one operator within two weeks, as they have promised to launch the business in the next two months,” highly placed sources in the port said.

The port has already set apart adequate storage yard for car movement. As per rough estimates, there would be a 30 per cent reduction in logistics cost by utilising the coastal format for cargo movement. This will be a major boost to the Centre’s initiative to promote coastal shipping to reduce carbon footprint and congestion on the road.

Meanwhile, the ICTT at Vallarpadam has registered a 14 per cent growth in the current fiscal when the container throughput crossed the 4-lakh Teu mark. The terminal handled 400,996 Teus by middle of March against 352,628 TEUs in the previous fiscal.

The terminal also made an operational surplus for Kochi Port for the first time. After the commissioning of ICTT, the port was in a disadvantageous position since the revenue accrued from the terminal was much less than the expenditure incurred by the port to maintain depth in the terminal basin.

This trend was reversed in this fiscal because of the increase in container volume. Against an expenditure of ₹107 crore for dredging for ICTT, the revenue for the port from vessel related charges on the ships called and revenue share has crossed the figure, the sources said.

The growth in throughput in the terminal assumes significance at a time when the shipping industry is passing through a sluggish demand on account of a global slowdown. According to sources, the newly set up Green Channel at Walayar has also enabled the terminal to grow especially with the flow of containers from hinterland centres of Coimbatore and Pollachi.

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