Middle East conflict: Jawaharlal Nehru Port announces 100% ground rent waiver for stranded containers

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority on Tuesday announced the waiver of ground rent charges for Middle East-bound export shipments stranded due to geopolitical disturbances.

The port authority has instructed the container terminal operators to give 100% rebate on ground rent charges up to 15 days till March 14 for those Middle East-bound export-laden containers that were lying in the premises from February 28, or those that had gated in till March 8 morning 7 AM only.

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The global shipping industry is facing major constraints as ships are avoiding the Strait of Hormuz and Suez Canal, fearing attacks from Iran and other non-state actors in West Asia. Indian flagged vessels have not been targeted so far, but they are stranded in the region. In view of this situation, many exporters have held their Middle East-bound cargoes on Indian ports.

JNPA has also instructed the operators to waive 80% of the reefer plugin charges for 15 days, starting February 28, for those containers that were lying inside the terminals during the same timeline.

Officials said that the waiver has been extended after consultation with private port players. The port authority has directed its terminals (which are all run by private players - DP World, APM Terminals, PSA (Singapore), to extend waivers for stranded containers.

In a notice issued on March 9, JNPA noted that the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has issued a directive for major ports to mitigate hardships faced by the exporters due to the ongoing geopolitical disturbances in the Middle East.

In line with the SOP, "the port authority is committed to extending all possible assistance to the EXIM community to tide over the crisis."

As a measure, the JNPA has taken multiple decisions to mitigate the difficulty for exporters. It is facilitating the storage of stranded containers in the port premises till the cargo is shipped out. The step is being carried out in coordination with Container Terminal operators.

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The Navi Mumbai-based port is constantly consulting Customs authorities and facilitating storage of export containers from other locations to the Middle East at JNPA terminals as temporary transshipment cargo.

Amid Strait of Hormuz blockage, it is also providing an additional storage area to the Terminals for stacking such additional cargo.

JNPA trusts that Shipping Lines, being an important partner to the port ecosystem, will ensure that these benefits are passed on to the end customer.