Vizag port seeks revision of cargo handing targets

Visakhapatnam Port is understood to have requested the Union shipping ministry to revise its cargo handing targets for the current fiscal.

The port, which has been handling the highest cargo volumes among all the major ports in the country for the last four consecutive years, is now struggling to reach the shipping ministry's cargo handling target in the current fiscal.

In the current year's first quarter, Vizag port has not even touched the last fiscal's first quarter cargo handling figures.

During the last fiscal the port handled 477.3 lakh tonnes of cargo and occupied the top slot in cargo handling among the 12 major ports in the country. The ministry of shipping has fixed this year's cargo-handling target at 495 lakh tonnes.

Even though the iron ore exports have increased by around 12 lakh tonnes, the port has registered a shortfall of six lakh tonnes of cargo during the first quarter of the current fiscal as compared to the first quarter of the last fiscal. The shortfall is basically due to the transfer of transshipment cargo to the Kakinada deepwater port.

During the first quarter of the current fiscal, the port has handled 110.05 lakh tonnes (34.27 lakh tonnes of iron ore, 30.66 lakh tonnes of petroleum products and 45.12 lakh tonnes of other cargo) of cargo as against 116.28 lakh tonnes (22.57 lakh tonnes of iron ore, 48.3 lakh tonnes of petroleum products and 45.41 lakh tonnes of other cargo) of cargo handled during the first quarter of the last fiscal.

The port has achieved remarkable growth in iron ore exports during this fiscal due to the surge in exports to China. In transshipment cargo though the port performance has suffered.

During the first quarter of last year, the port handled 23 lakh tonnes of transshipment cargo, whereas this year it has handled only 7.61 lakh tonnes in the same period, posting a shortfall of close to 15.4 lakh tonnes.

"We have reduced the handling and other charges of crude transporting very large crude carriers (VLCCs) significantly. Despite this, a majority of VLCCs still prefer the Kakinada port. Therefore, it may not be possible to reach the ministry's target in cargo handling. We would have to work very hard in achieving the volumes that we did last year. We have, therefore, asked the Union shipping ministry to revise the cargo handling targets," a senior official of Vizag port told Business Standard.