Shipping lines may move away if port tariffs too high: Secy Vijay Kumar

Asks stakeholders to develop a model in which security does not affect KPIs

With the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS) set to be established, India will undertake comprehensive security reforms at its ports. The government now faces the challenge of strengthening security while keeping port operations lean, with a senior government official warning that shipping lines could move away from India if its ports become uncompetitive.

 

“Security is not only physical. Ports also contribute to economic and energy security. Shipping is a global industry. While we focus on security, which is non-negotiable, we have to ensure that our ports remain globally competitive. Shipping lines have alternatives. If they find our ports uncompetitive, if our key performance indicators (KPIs) do not match the world’s best, and if our tariffs are high, they will shift,” Shipping Secretary Vijay Kumar said at the Port Security Conference here.

 

The government, during internal reviews, found that security personnel at some ports outnumber on-ground port employees, adding to operational costs. “We are competing with Colombo and Singapore for some of the mainline traffic,” Kumar said, adding that any security-related costs incurred by ports are ultimately reflected in tariffs.

 

The secretary asked stakeholders to develop a model in which security does not affect KPIs, observing that ports such as the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority in Maharashtra handle 20,000 containers a day, and that even a delay of a few minutes can cause severe congestion.

 

The government is considering a hybrid security model on the advice of the home ministry, Kumar said. Under this model, core functions would be handled by security forces, while non-core functions would be outsourced to trained private security personnel.

 

The government aims to achieve 100 per cent compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code across eligible ports, strengthen periodic reviews and compliance monitoring of port facility security plans, upgrade security infrastructure, surveillance systems and access control measures, and adopt advanced technologies.

 

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the bureau will be responsible for regulatory and oversight functions related to the security of ships and port facilities. It is being modelled on the lines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and Director General of Maritime Administration Shyam Jagannathan has been appointed to oversee its functions.

 

“As we further develop the BoPS, it will enhance capacity. There is also a need to infuse technology into our coastal security architecture, including at ports, to strengthen surveillance and generate data that can be used in real time to respond to threats or mount countermeasures,” said Rajendra Kumar, secretary, border management, MHA.

 

“This will also help optimise the need for manpower and infrastructure at ports, ensuring that our broader objective of economic development through maritime trade is not lost sight of,” he added.

 

Rajendra Kumar said low-cost warfare could easily be mounted by inimical forces. “Cybersecurity threats are growing rapidly, and the latest artificial intelligence models can autonomously pose major risks to digital and cyber infrastructure anywhere in the world,” he added.