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Import cargo piling up at ports on the rake shortage
Imported cargo has piled up at some of the major ports as seasonal and monsoon-related delays have affected the availability of rail wagons. Thus, Haldia is holding about three lakh tonnes of coal imported by Tata Steel, NTPC and SAIL. “Our requirement is 10-12 rakes a day, but the availability does not exceed eight,”
said a spokesman for Haldia Docks.
When contacted, the South Eastern Railway that serves Haldia Docks
conceded that it was unable to supply more than eight rakes a day. Of
these, four are empties and the other four that bring iron ore and coal
to the port for export. Since the number of export rakes cannot be
increased at will, making available more trains to clear the
accumulation would mean moving additional empties to the dock. This
would entail additional cost to the Railways and therefore unwelcome.
PARADIP: The Paradip port is holding about two million tonnes of
imported cargo, mostly coal. The evacuation has become a problem due to
non-availability of enough rakes. The requirement is 11-12 rakes a day,
but the availability is no more than seven-eight.
Normally, the rakes arriving at the port with export goods are used for
loading import cargo. Earlier, seven- eight iron ore rakes would arrive
at the port daily. The number has now dropped to four, partly due to the
slump in overseas demand for ore and largely due to the Orissa
Government’s restriction on loading of iron ore rakes following
complaints of illegal mining. Though the Railways often places empty
rakes to facilitate evacuation, it does represent a cost.
KANDLA: The Kandla port is holding about five lakh tonnes of
fertilisers. Against the daily requirement of 8-10 rakes, the
availability is five. “This has been the situation for the past 10 days
or so,” according to a spokesman for the port. The problem, it is
feared, will worsen in the coming months when more fertiliser shipments
arrive at the port. Fertiliser evacuation is an annual problem for the
port authorities.
There is another problem. Imported fertilisers arrive in bulk, and are
are bagged and then loaded in railway rakes. The bagging and loading
process is done by labourers from other States, mostly Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar. An ecent acute shortage of labourers has delayed the process and
worsened the accumulation problem.
JNPT: According to the authorities of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust,
which handles almost 60 per cent the country’s container traffic, the
pendency is within manageable limit. JNPT, popularly known as Nhava
Sheva port, has three terminals: JNP container terminal operated by
JNPT, Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal, or NSICT, run by DP
World, and Gateway Terminals of India Pvt. Ltd, or GTI, run by Maersk
India and Container Corporation of India Ltd. In June, JNPT faced a
congestion problem with a backlog of over 20,000 TEUs (twenty-foot
equivalent units) containers.
“The condition is under control,” said Mr S. K. Kaul, Secretary, JNPT.
An NSICT executive also said the backlog “has drastically come down
now.”
MUMBAI: Mr Rahul Asthana, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust, told Business
Line there were no issues pertaining to congestion at the port.
KOCHI: The Kochi port does not face any problem of rake shortage. The
port receives two trains week from Coimbatore and Bangalore carrying
mainly export cargo such as granite and machinery. Besides, the bulk of
the imports through the port are evacuated by road.
However, the officials said that with the commissioning of the ICTT at
Vallarpadam, the terminal could face problem of rake shortage. Mainline
vessels would bring import containers to the port directly for onward
movement to the hinterland.
Leased storage space
While availability of rakes is a reason for accumulation of cargo at
ports, some of it also happens by choice — of importers. Major importers
of bulk items such as coal usually take on lease space within the port
premises for storing their cargo. They pay a lease rent to the port. The
lease period varies from three months to one year. For instance, Haldia
Docks leases out storage space for a maximum of 11 months. During the
lease period, the importer can store any quantity without paying
anything beyond the lease rent. However, if the storage period exceeds
the lease period, penal rent is slapped. Paradip, for example, charges
double the rent if the storage period exceeds the lease time. However,
such penalties may be waived depending on the exigencies.
Source: Hindu Business Line
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