State government administered ports to mirror concessions offered by centre: Shipping Ministry

State maritime boards have been asked to mirror centre’s concessions and pass them through to ports under their administrative control, Mandeep Randhawa, Director, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said Monday. Addressing journalists during an inter ministerial briefing on West Asia issues, he said a foreign flagged vessel with Indian seafarers faced warning shots from Iranian authorities but no injuries were reported.

“The ministry is coordinating with states…concessions on storage charges for containers, or reefer plug-in charges are being passed on by state government administered ports as well,” Randhawa told ET.

Control of India’s ports is divided among the centre (major) and state (non-major). The large private sector owned ports in India are also categorised under the non-major category, allowing them greater leeway.





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“While major ports were quick to give concessions to stranded cargo, private sector controlled non-major ones have not been as supportive,” an industry representative said, flagging this concern during a recent inter-ministerial consultation on measures to mitigate the impact of the Iran crisis.

Non-major ports handle roughly half of India’s export-import (EXIM) trade according to official estimates.

Global energy trade has gone haywire with key West Asian ports out of bounds as Iran and the United States announced separate blockades of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation to attacks. This has stranded multiple vessels, including Indian-flagged ones which face threats of attacks.

Randhawa said a Togo-flagged chemical tanker was navigating near ships intercepted by the Iranian Coast Guard, during which warning shots were fired. He said all 17 Indian seafarers onboard are safe.