JNPT to lift container cargo from K'taka

To start feeder service between Mangalore and Mumbai ports

The commissioning of the new broad gauge railway line between Bangalore and Mangalore early this month is likely to herald a new beginning for the commodity exporters in Karnataka.

The New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), which till now did not receive sufficient number of containers, is now gearing up to handle container cargo in a big way.

Till now, the exporters of major commodities like coffee, spices and granite from Karnataka depended on ports like Tuticorin, Chennai and Kochi due to the absence of a broadgauge link between Bangalore and Mangalore and non-availability of container vessels at the Mangalore port.

Karnataka exports about 2 lakh tonnes of coffee annually, of which only 10 per cent is shipped out of Mangalore port. While the balance is exported from Tuticorin, Chennai and Kochi at higher charges.

At present, only one container line (Bengal Tiger Line) operates three times a month from the Mangalore port. It carries containers from Mangalore and takes them to Colombo, where they are loaded onto the mother vessel and exported to their various destinations in the world.

At a meeting held between the NMPT, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai and the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in Bangalore recently, the JNPT officials have agreed to operate a feeder line between Mangalore and Mumbai ports to enable exporters from Karnataka to ship their commodity from Mangalore port, NMPT chairman P Tamilvanan said.

"It is a very unique situation at Mangalore. The exporters are blaming that there is no availability of container vessels at the port, while the container lines are saying that they don't get sufficient number of containers to call at the port. So, we approached the JNPT, which has excess capacity to handle container cargo, to operate a feeder service between the two ports. They have agreed to do so," Tamilvanan told Business Standard.

A feeder ship will carry containers from Mangalore and take them to Mumbai, where they will be loaded onto the mother vessel for export to various destinations instead of going to Colombo.

FKCCI president S Babu said that the exporters will save a lot of money by sending their containers to Mumbai port instead of Colombo. The exact details of the cost and logistics support for exporting commodities from Mangalore Port are presently being worked out.

The date of launching the feeder service will be announced at a meeting to be held on June 3 with NMPT and JNPT officials, he said.

Three more container lines have already shown interest in calling at Mangalore port. Presently, the New Mangalore Port is handling 9,700 containers per year, which are sent to Colombo for loading into the container vessel, whereas the JNPT handles 2.6 million containers annually.

This will also help the new Mangalore port to increase the cargo traffic. Last year the port handled 34.5 million tonnes of cargo. This year it aims to handle 35 million tonnes. The port has lost a sizeable portion of cargo last year following the closure of iron ore mining by the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited.