Transhipment aims still at anchor in Vallarpadam

Earlier this week, the country's first International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, Kochi berthed Singaporean flagged vessel Maersk Sembawang originally bound to dock at Colombo. Even though it was an odd call by the vessel, Maersk hopefully has set in a trend that other shipping lines are going to follow.

The terminal, which was inaugurated six months back in February by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, so far is only reaping the benefit of a congested Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Chennai Port Trust. It has not, however, been able to serve the main purpose of facilitating of mother container vessles. Six months later transhipment activity at the port has been nil.

The port operator says this is because cabotage rules do not allow foreign flagged vessels to ply coastal waters though the capacity of Indian vessels is limited and their charges are high. Apart from Dubai Port World, the company which operates the transhipment terminal, shipping companies including MSC, Zim Integrated Shipping Services, CMA CGM have written to the Shipping Ministry asking for cabotage relaxation even as the Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) is opposing such a step.

"Shipping companies have said that they have container cargo in Kochi but there is no Indian tonnage available to take it to other ports on the coastline. The transhipment activity cannot start till cabotage rules are relaxed," said Anil Singh, managing director (subcontinent), DP World. The government is yet to take a formal decision on this matter.

The challenge for the port does not end just there. Dredging continues to be an issue of concern. The ministry has given the contract from Jaisu Shipping to Mercator as the former did not deliver. The task of capital dredging as well as maintenance dredging is going to be completed by Mercator by September 2011.

The ICTT is going to see several ships coming for trial runs in the month of August following Maersk which is being said to be the largest container vessel to call a south Indian port with a capacity of 6,478 twenty equivalent units (TEUs). The terminal is pegging itself on a good handling rate-40 moves per crane per hour, and a competitive tariff. This year so far, the terminal has handled 1.9 lakh TEUs of cargo till July 2011 and it plans to reach 350-320 TEUs by December-end. 

"The marine cost in Cochin is in line with other international transshipment ports like Colombo, which is at least 3-5 times lower than any other Indian port. While at Cochin the cost is about $13,000 the cost of similar calls in other Indian ports would range between $40,000 and $70,000,” Singh said.

The overall capacity of the terminal is over 1 million TEUs which is expected to go up to 4 million TEUs by 2016. The transhipment hub has seen an investment of over Rs 3,000 crore through public private partnership in the first phase which will go up to Rs 6,200 crore by the end of third phase in 2016.