Since the authority set floor rates for services rendered by these ports, they could not compete with the lower rates offered to shipping lines by the private ports. The new ports are outside the ambit of the Tariff Authority for Major Ports.
According to an official, the shipping ministry is trying to convince the port tariff authority to set ceiling rates instead of floor rates.
This comes in the wake of shipping companies planning to shift to the P&O-owned Mundra International Container Terminal in Gujarat.
This terminal is proposing to offer lower rates than the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which cannot reduce tariff below the floor set by the authority.
JNPT, which till now had to contend only with the P&O-operated Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal, will now have to brace for tough competition from the Mundra port too.
The Tariff Authority for Major Ports regulates tariffs for ports in Chennai, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Haldia and Kandla among others.
Officials said the ministry had already advised some of the major ports to resort to tariff reduction irrespective of the authority
