Congestion-wary terminal turns down coastal cargo

Nhava Shiva International Container Terminal (NSICT), owned and operated by DP World, currently running at full capacity, has turned down pleas from transshipment container operators to handle transshipment boxes at a discount.

"NSICT today handles almost 1.4 million TEUs from a very limited 25 hectares of back-up yard where containers are stored. In this rather small facility, it is pushing the limits of terminal operational efficiency, where factors of dwell time and each yard slot utilisation come under scrutiny. This when compared to adjacent terminals that handle similar traffic level from back-up yards in excess of 55 hectares is a clear indicator of disparity," said Ganesh Raj of DP World.

"At NSICT, we are unable to push further throughput in form of transshipment through the restricted infrastructure. That is a fact. The rest are only aspersions," he added.

A leading transshipment operator said NSICT is insisting on charging a single rate for discharging containers from mother vessel and again single rate for loading containers on the coastal vessel.

This amounts to charging double rate (Rs 5,200 per TEU as against Rs 3,000 per TEU) for same containers if the container is moved within the Indian coast, said SK Shahi of SKS Logistics. As a result, some transshipment operators have stopped operations since August 1, he added.

The transshipment cargo forms a small portion of the over 1.3 million TEUs handled by the NSICT.