Internet to link up major Indian ports
The government is planning a major modernisation drive in the maritime sector by providing inter-connectivity for all the 12 major ports in the country through a Port Community System (PCS).
By Priyanka Talwar, TNN |
NEW DELHI The government is planning a major modernisation drive in the maritime sector by providing inter-connectivity for all the 12 major ports in the country through a Port Community System (PCS). The system will link various stakeholders, such as shipping agents, exporters, importers, banks and terminal operators, through the centralised web-enabled PCS.
“The aim is to facilitate paperless transactions through e-filing of all applications or electronic data interchange,” a government official said, adding the new system would be in place by December this year. With this system, time-consuming procedures related to booking of cargo and getting clearances would be done online, making the process much faster. Information on shipments and delays in arrival and departure of shipping lines would be available on a real-time basis. Timely availability of data would translate into improved efficiency of India’s maritime trade, both domestically and globally.
PCS, which is being pioneered by the Indian Ports Association (IPA), is likely to be implemented in Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in the first phase.
Port community systems are common in many countries. The port of Rotterdam, for instance, processed about one million electronic messages in December 2006 through its port community system.
Though a number of ports in the country have switched over to computerisation of some transactions, the centralised PCS will link all ports and provide customers with continuously updated data. Port users would have to register on the PCS site to obtain data or file an application.
The government is hoping to improve efficiency and make the country competitive in the maritime sector. At present, the port sector is lagging behind globally competitive ports in countries such as China, both in terms of cargo handling capacity and turnaround time of vessels. The average turnaround time at ports in India is about 3.5 days compared to just 10 hours in Hong Kong. PCS could help improve port efficiency.
“The aim is to facilitate paperless transactions through e-filing of all applications or electronic data interchange,” a government official said, adding the new system would be in place by December this year. With this system, time-consuming procedures related to booking of cargo and getting clearances would be done online, making the process much faster. Information on shipments and delays in arrival and departure of shipping lines would be available on a real-time basis. Timely availability of data would translate into improved efficiency of India’s maritime trade, both domestically and globally.
PCS, which is being pioneered by the Indian Ports Association (IPA), is likely to be implemented in Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in the first phase.
Port community systems are common in many countries. The port of Rotterdam, for instance, processed about one million electronic messages in December 2006 through its port community system.
Though a number of ports in the country have switched over to computerisation of some transactions, the centralised PCS will link all ports and provide customers with continuously updated data. Port users would have to register on the PCS site to obtain data or file an application.
The government is hoping to improve efficiency and make the country competitive in the maritime sector. At present, the port sector is lagging behind globally competitive ports in countries such as China, both in terms of cargo handling capacity and turnaround time of vessels. The average turnaround time at ports in India is about 3.5 days compared to just 10 hours in Hong Kong. PCS could help improve port efficiency.
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