Vizag port plans to offer lower handling charges to Reliance

Port mulls reduction of about 15% in port handling charges

To make up the shortfall in crude oil transshipment, Visakhapatnam Port is planning to offer special handling charges to the Reliance group to attract its petroleum products for transshipment.

The port is considering a reduction of about 15% in port handling charges, if the petroleum major uses its facilities for transshipment on a regular basis.

During the current fiscal up to the end of December, the crude oil transshipment in Vizag port was only 24.82 lakh tonnes when compared to 55.86 lakh tonnes during the last fiscal's corresponding period, thus registering a shortfall of about 66 per cent.

One of the major factors for this shortfall has been Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) diverting its VLCCs (very large crude carriers) to Kakinada port for crude transshipment. This was despite the port slashing, a few months back, the overall port charges for crude oil transshipment by about 20%.

Reliance group has been transporting its petroleum products through coastal shipping from Jamnagar to the eastern parts of the country.

With the Vizag port officials having taken the initiative to woo Reliance, the company sent its first shipment containing 60,000 tonnes of diesel to the Vizag port on 27 December. From the port, two smaller vessels took the products to other ports like Kakinada and Paradip.

"We collected the existing port charges from Reliance for transshipment of their first consignment. If Reliance continues to use this port regularly, we will offer them reduced rates," Dattu Raju, traffic manager at Visakhapatnam Port, told Business Standard.

Upbeat on more consignments coming from Reliance, he said that Vizag port is very convenient for the handling of transshipment cargo, as location wise it has several advantages for the movement of petroleum products from Vizag to the other ports in the eastern coast.