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A. J. Vinayak

After witnessing good growth in the handling of iron ore cargo for four to five years now, the New Mangalore Port has registered a decline in ore handling in recent months of the current financial year.

The ban in Dakshina Kannada district on the movement of trucks carrying iron ore, insufficient allocation of rail wagons for the movement of ore from the mines, and the reduction in handling of iron ore cargo by KIOCL Ltd (one of the port’s captive users of iron ore cargo) are seen as some of the reasons for this fall.

The port witnessed a decline of nearly one million tonnes of iron ore cargo till the mid-October compared to the previous fiscal. The port handled 4.39 million tonnes of iron ore cargo till mid-October in the current fiscal, against 5.41 million tonnes in the corresponding period previous fiscal. Of this, the share of KIOCL Ltd stood at 4.36 lakh tonnes (13.48 lakh tonnes) and other users at 3.95 million tonnes (4.06 million tonnes).

Mr P. Tamilvanan, Chairman of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), told Business Line that there is a shortfall of around 9.11 lakh tonnes in the handling of iron ore by KIOCL Ltd alone. At one point of time, around 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore cargo was stacked at the port. That number is hardly two-three lakh tonnes now.

While the ban on movement of trucks carrying iron ore has reduced the road transportation of the ore to the port, the lower allocation of railway wagons has affected the movement of the cargo through the rail network.

The rail network has been contributing a good share in the total handling of the iron ore cargo since the commissioning of Hassan-Mangalore railway line for freight traffic in 2006. In 2007-08, the share of rail movement of iron ore increased to 3.03 million tonnes, with trucks from the mines carrying 4.03 million tonnes to the port that year. In 2008-09, the rail network carried 2.8 million tonnes of iron ore to the port and trucks carried 5.4 million tonnes.

Of the 4.39 million tonnes of iron ore cargo handled by the port till mid-October in the current fiscal, the rail network transported 1.53 million tonnes. The number of wagons carrying iron ore was 23,549 till mid-October, against 35,773 in the corresponding previous period. Seeking an increase in allotment of wagons and removal of the ban on movement of iron ore by road, the port users say the bulk of iron ore cargo is being diverted to the neighbouring ports in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr Shekar Pujari, President of the Association of New Mangalore Port Stevedores, said that though New Mangalore is Karnataka’s gateway port, most of the iron ore cargo meant for New Mangalore is being diverted to other ports. This impacted the movement of coal and fertiliser cargoes to the hinterland. Normally, wagons and trucks bringing iron ore cargo to the port take back coal and fertiliser from New Mangalore to the hinterland. The fall in iron ore cargo has meant fewer coal and fertiliser vessels, he said.

Mr Tamilvanan said that he is interacting with the Railway authorities, asking for more wagons to be made available for the exporters to move cargoes to New Mangalore Port.

More Stories on : Shipping/Ports | Minerals

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