Coal and iron ore ban teach the port how to run a tight ship

The Madras High Court?s restraining order had come as a blessing in disguise for the Chennai Port. When the court banned the port last year from handling iron ore and coal?10 million tonne and 8 million tonne each?it turned to clean cargo like fertilisers and cars to compensate for the loss of its mainstream income.

Even as the ban is being challenged in the Supreme Court, Atulya Misra, chairman, Chennai Port Trust, is faced with a three-way challenge. First, how to redeploy the 7,000 employees who lost their jobs due to the court?s decree. Second, how to shore up revenues through clean cargo to offset the projected losses of R226 crore from the ban. Third, getting the ban lifted by insisting on differentiating cargo and pollution.

?The empowered committee of the Supreme Court is reviewing the cargo ban issue. As Capt PVK Mohan committee recommended, our long-term vision is to augment the port infrastructure by setting up railway sidings, container freight station, multilevel car park and dry dock facilities?, Misra said.

In 2011-12, the Chennai Port Trust achieved a throughput of 55.71 mt by handling 2,043 vessels. Though there is an overall 9.63% decline of cargo throughput over the previous year, mainly on the stoppage of iron ore and coal, there is a sustained growth in containers, cars and other cargoes like project cargoes, dolomite, steel coil & plates, etc. Container traffic grew by 2.22%.

Car throughput rose 7.62% to 2.52 lakh units last fiscal against 2.3 lakh in 2010-11. Other cargoes like project, dumpers, steel coil & plates registered a growth of 13.06% at 84.14 lakh tonnes. Thus, excluding iron ore and coal, there has been an increase in traffic by 0.79 mt, or 52.42 mt during 2011-2012 against 51.63 mt the year before.

Despite losing two major cargoes, the port has not incurred a heavy financial loss. It generated an operating income of R620 crore for 2011-12 against R683.91 crore in the previous year.

Though the cargo losses have dented the capacity ranking of the port, it still ranks No. 2, next to JNPT by handling a total volume of 55.71 million tonnes. Also, the port could handle a record 1,55,833 TEUs last year, and rank 91 among the top 100 container ports in the world.

The port chairman pins his hopes on the empowered committee of secretaries constituted by the Supreme Court to look into the issue of handling dusty cargo by the Chennai Port. The committee will submit its report before July. The committee?s terms of reference include assessment of the impact and extent of pollution from handling coal and iron ore at Chennai and to suggest remedial measures, besides assessing the facilities available at Ennore port to handle such cargo.

The port has two container terminals, one operated by DP World and other by PSA Singapore with a total combined capacity of 3.5 million TEUs. It has started receiving mainline vessels in these terminals. The container terminal CITPL, operated by PSA Singapore, had added four quay cranes and eight RTGs (rubber tyred gantry cranes) to its fleet of equipment, which will reduce the turnaround time of vessels and improve productivity.

With the proposed deepening in front of the second container terminal at Dr. Ambedkar dock to a depth of 15.50 metre, the port shall scale new heights in container handling,with mainline vessels calling on the port.

Concession for the mega container terminal, planned north of the Bharathi dock at an estimated cost of R3,686 crore, is expected to be awarded shortly. The port has re-invited the ?request for proposals? in March and received two bids in response. The bids shall be opened once security clearance is received from the government. The mega terminal will add 4 million TEUs to the container handling capacity of the port.

Chennai Port, an all weather port, is capable of handling all types of cargo throughout the year on 24×7 basis.