Strike may divert cargo vessels from Vizag port

The cargo owners at Visakhapatnam port are planning to divert their cargo vessels to other ports to avoid demurrages due to the continuing strike, which was called by the Visakhapatnam Dock Labour Board (VDLB) to protest against private labourers being engaged at the newly constructed EQ-8 and EQ-9 berths.

The strike has hit hard eight berths where manual loading and unloading operations have come to a halt, and this has resulted in the port losing around 90,000 tonnes of cargo everyday in the last three days.

The operations are, however, going on normally at the remaining four berths "� iron ore berth, fertiliser berth, EQ-8 berth and container berth "� where there are mechanical handling facilities.

At present, around 12 vessels are anchored at the port's berths while around 10 vessels are waiting to be anchored. This number is expected to go up in the next three to four days if the strike prolongs.

"If the strike continues further, there is no alternative but to divert the cargo vessels to other nearby ports. For the principals (cargo owners), the charges work out to about Rs 2-5 lakh a day depending on the vessel size and age. We also pay the daily port charges even though the ships are lying idle at the port. In order to reduce losses and avoid huge demurrages, the cargo owners prefer to divert their vessels to other ports," G Samba Siva Rao, managing director of Sravan Shipping Services, said.

"Several projects were taken up on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis at many major ports in the country. As per a BOT agreement on EQ-8 and EQ-9 berths at Vizag port, the operators have the option to deploy manpower at their discretion. The union leaders are well aware of this condition. If they had any objection, they should have raised it at the time of the construction of the berth itself. The operator concerned has invested around Rs 160 crore. If the unions continue their protest on this issue, it will only damage the image of the port and the port workers," said Krishna Kumar, joint secretary of Visakhapatnam Stevedores Association.

"Port chairman K Ratna Kishore personally initiated talks with the union leaders and he is trying to convince the labourers and is explaining the conditions agreed to by the port board and the ministry of shipping on the BOT. We expect the union to call off the strike within a day or two. If the strike continues further, cargo owners may consider diverting the ships to other ports," K Nageswara Rao, president of Esskay Shipping Limited, said.