Iron ore shipments zoom 163% through major ports in FY17

Surge comes even as coal and fertiliser shipments show a decline

Iron ore cargo shipped by major ports surged 163 per cent in 2016-17 even as other key commodities like coal and fertilisers saw a decline and container shipments had to contend with tepid growth.

The last financial year has proved to be a major comeback for iron ore. Cargo volumes of the key steel-making ingredient moved up from 1.89 million tonne (mt) to 4.9 mt. This surge was largely on the strength of the iron ore traffic from that Mormugao port, which registered the highest growth at 59.7 per cent among all major ports in FY17. Waiver of 30 per