Kochi Port has started offering 50 per cent concession in vessel-related charges to ships on direct sails to West Asia destinations.

The proposed move has been initiated in order to attract more container cargo from places such as Bangalore, Coimbatore, Pollachi and Tirupur.

Sources in the port said though there is great potential for attracting containers for direct sails to destinations such as Jebel Ali, non-competitive rates tend to keep away export-import business from Kochi.

There is already substantial volume for sails to Jebel Ali from Kochi, Chennai and Tuticorin and offer of less transit time would attract cargo from Kochi’s own hinterland.

Sources in the shipping fraternity said that the shipping operators offering direct sails to Jebel Ali were ready to use Kochi provided vessel-related charges were more competitive.

According to estimates, export-import cargo to and from Jebel Ali totalled more than one lakh TEUs a year. This has prompted the port authority to consider offering concessions

And the present offer will be up to September this year.

With competitive rates, Kochi will be able to attract enough containerised cargo to make up for the sacrifice of revenue from vessel-related charges.

Till Sept end

It has, therefore, been decided that the concession will be offered till the end of September on an experimental basis, sources said. The concession is being offered concurrently with the prevailing mainline and foreign feeder vessel concessions.

The concession is being offered considering that Kochi rates are at present higher than the rates prevailing in Tuticorin, Chennai and JNPT. With the concession coming into force, mainline sails to West Asia will be a new situation to be taken advantage of by the exim trade as it offers savings in transit time for cargo moving between West Asia ports and South India.

sajeevkumar@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW