The Kochi Port will float a new global tender to complete the capital dredging work in its channel following the sudden stoppage of work by the contractor Jaisu Shipping Company.

Official sources in the port told Business Line that the new global tender would also include maintenance dredging in the channel for the year 2011-12, which has to commence at the earliest before the onset of monsoon. The tender formalities would be completed soon and the port would be able to award the work to start the dredging operations shortly, he said.

The sources said that Jaisu Shipping has so far not been able to achieve the targeted 14.5-metre draught in the ICTT berth basin and the port, as per contractual agreement with the DP World, had to provide that draught to enable mother vessels to anchor at the Vallarpadam Terminal. The Shipping Ministry has been informed about the developments in Kochi Port, he said.

Blacklisting Jaisu

The port management has given several extensions to Jaisu Shipping at various stages to achieve the required draught before March 31 and the company could not fulfil its promise according to the capital dredging contract. The port is also exploring options to move against the company, including blacklisting Jaisu from carrying out any work in any of the major ports in future, he said.

Referring to the remaining dredging work, he said the job is little but difficult considering the materials found under the berth basin. The port had also detained four dredgers belonging to the company after the Indian Coast Guard seized the dredgers on Saturday when the company had taken them out of the port area without completing the dredging operations.

Mr C.D.Nandakumar, one of the Trustees in the Port Trust Board representing Labour, pointed out that non-completion of dredging operations is a blatant violation of contract agreement and the dredging contractor was continuously violating the terms and stopped the work from the very beginning of the execution of the project. According to the contract, he said the company should have completed work by January 31, 2010. However, they could not provide 14.5 metre in any stretch of the berth basin even after a 15-month lapse. The dredging was carried out only in 315 quay length whereas the remaining 250 metre quay length left unattended, he said.

To overcome the present crisis, he suggested that Dredging Corporation of India should be nominated by the Government to complete the remaining dredging work. Besides, the Government should bear the dredging cost considering the financial crisis being faced by the port. The burden on account of dredging is expected to shoot up Rs 120 crore an annum following the commissioning of Vallarpadam Terminal. Of this, Rs 70 crore is exclusively to maintain the depth of ICTT, he said.

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