30-35 ships waiting to enter the complex, dredging firm says it can’t do much.
The functioning of the already-limping Haldia Dock Complex, West Bengal’s only port capable of handling large vessels, is likely to remain handicapped for another three weeks due to unavailability of dredgers.
The operations have been significantly affected due to loss of depth in critical navigational channels, including Auckland Bar and Jellingham, forcing many large vessels to wait at the Sandheads, the mouth of the Hooghly river. Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) said more dredgers were not available.
Apart from servicing large swathes of Eastern India, Haldia dock is also the preferred maritime trade route for land-locked countries such as Nepal and Bhutan.
Officials of the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), which administers the Haldia port, said the dock complex was not on the verge of closure but the need for additional dredgers from DCI was dire.
“DCI will have to give us more dredgers and we have asked for dredgers 12 and 15 to be brought to Haldia. We are pressing them on the matter and will need both these vessels immediately. Without these, the situation will continue to be like this and no short-term solution will be possible,” said KoPT Deputy Chairman A Majumdar.
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Currently, there are 30-35 ships waiting to enter the dock complex which, an official explained, was not an unusual number. KoPT sources said that as an immediate fallout of the reducing draught, the vessel load of ships had to come down to allow them to navigate the channels. “If a 27,000-tonne ship could enter the dock a few months back, the weight now has to be reduced to 20,000 tonnes,” said an official.
As for the monetary impact of the situation, the damage to the port would be limited, Majumdar said. But industry representatives said the companies using the port would have to bear the brunt.
“Firms, in any case, have to use Supramax vessels as nothing larger can be used by ports in this region, almost doubling the cost as compared to using the larger Capesize ships. Moreover, only about half their parcel load can be brought into Haldia, which is not economical, and other ports such as Vizag or Paradip are used for partial unloading or propping,” Visa Steel Chairman and Indian Chamber of Commerce President Vishambar Saran said.
“On top of that, if ships have to wait outside the port and can’t load or unload quickly, the cost to importers/exporters can be trebled as the shipping companies need to be paid waiting charges,” Saran added.
“All our dredgers are either at Haldia or are undergoing repairs. We chartered a dredger but it has some mechanical problems. As a contractor, we have to remove a fixed quantity of silt, which we have been doing. If despite this, the situation is not improving, the problem is elsewhere. There is nothing more than we can do,” DCI Deputy General Manager (Marketing) MS Rao said.
However, a DCI official said KoPT's request for allocation of dredgers 12 and 15 was being considered but these would not be ready to sail for Haldia before at least another two weeks.
“We had to go to the original equipment manufacturers for repairs as a result of which the process has been delayed. It is unlikely that these dredgers will be ready before October 20. Till then, Haldia Port will have to function with what is available,” the official said.