Visakhapatnam Port handled 5.5 million tonnes of cargo during November, as against 4.6 million tonnes in the same period last year.
Stating that there was no impact of the strike called by the cargo handling workers, KSD Dattu Raju, traffic manager, Vizag port, said the number of ships waiting for a berth had come down from 40 to 12 as on date.
Cargo handling and private pool workers at the port are on strike since November 19 demanding implementation of manning scales.
On the other hand, the strike has led to a reduction in cargo handling expenses by 15-20 per, Krishna Kumar, president, Visakhapatnam Stevedores Association, said. Normally, the port uses about 3,000 workers for cargo handling, but due to the strike, shipping companies are carrying out their operations with just 200-250 workers. “This has resulted in lower expenses,” he added.