Kolkata Port is looking at transloading as a long-term solution to its low-river draft issues. The port will start round-the-clock transloading of bulk cargo from large vessels from early next year.

“We will sign the concession agreement with Jindal ITF, for conducting all weather transloading from Kanika Sands and Sand heads in the high sea, on September 21. They will take three months to start the operations,” RPS Kahlon, Chairman of Kolkata Port Trust, told newspersons on Friday.

Operational advantage

Kahlon was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Once operational, large Panamax or Capesize vessels can anchor at the high sea for unloading of cargo to smaller vessels.

Currently, Jindal carries out such transloading operations for fuel imported by NTPC.

The upcoming facility will be unload up to 26,000 tonne of bulk cargo a day (which means a panax vessel can be unloaded in three days).

There will be two transloaders that can store 7,000 tonne of cargo each and three daughter vessels of 20,000 tonne capacity will be deployed to ferry the cargo to Haldia port.

Transloading charges

Keeping in tune with the low handling charges of neighbouring ports at Dhamra and Paradip, the transloading charges are pegged at ₹1,000 a tonne. The cargo will attract another ₹350 a tonne port charges that will be reduced to ₹250 tonne over the next year through mechanisation.

“Legacy issues, huge number of pensioners, long navigation channel and a host of other factors make Kolkata and Haldia expensive but the proximity to the consumption centres in Bengal and Jharkhand and, rain and road connectivity will work in our favour,” Kahlon said.

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