Is relaxation of cabotage really necessary to ensure cargo for the starved Vallarpadam transhipment terminal at Kochi? No, say some experts, who feel that the same objective can be achieved by forceful enforcement of cabotage on the carriage of goods by sea between India and Sri Lanka. No amount of cabotage relaxation, it is felt, will help Vallarpadam as long as Colombo remains the profitable option for transhipment to foreign lines, which now access Indian ports through their feeder vessels. That profitable option will not be there if the Union Government decides to treat the movement of goods between Indian and Sri Lankan ports as coastal movement by invoking the relevant provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act. Once this is done, cabotage can be enforced on India-Sri Lanka coastal trade also, taking away the advantages the foreign flag carriers are now reaping. Whether this would be possible or not is for the policymakers to examine. But one thing is certain: Indian cabotage is lax. Ships built and registered abroad and manned by foreign crew could operate along the country's coast, subject to certain not-so-rigid conditions.

Ports see volume growth

The country's 13 major ports experienced container growth of 4 per cent in the first seven months of 2011-2012 at 4.55 million TEUs, and a cargo tonnage increase of 5 million tonnes year on year. From April to October, ports registered containerised volume increase of 8 per cent to 69 million tonnes from 64 million tonnes, according to the Indian Ports Association. In 2010-2011, the cargo tonnage growth was 1.5 per cent to 570 million tonnes (mt) from 561 mt, and container increase of 10 per cent to 7.54 million TEUs. In the first seven months of the current fiscal, Kandla port posted highest tonnage growth (46.6 mt), followed by Visakhapatnam (42.4 mt), Jawaharlal Nehru Port (38 mt), and Chennai (33.3 mt). During the period under review, Chennai experienced 3 per cent of container growth — to 914,000 TEUs from 891,000 TEUs — while the biggest container-handling port, Jawaharlal Nehru, posted almost flat figures at 2.52 million TEUs largely due to the problems of congestion. Other container ports had moderate growth with Kolkata up to 316,000 TEUs from 307,000 TEUs and Tuticorin up to 279,000 TEUs from 268,000 TEUs. Cochin increased to 208,000 TEUs from 197,000 TEUs. Mumbai was the only port to see drop volumes from 44,000 TEUs to 36,000 TEU.

BHP to fund reef protection

BHP Billiton has promised to provide millions of dollars for protection of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, as tensions mount over the expansion of the resources industry along the Queensland coast. The donation — the amount will be finalised shortly — has been announced after the United Nations expressed concerns about Australia's plans to increase port and shipping activity close to the famous reef. UNESCO recently ordered Australia to review developments that could affect the reef, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981. The directive followed the rapid development of ports, shipping lanes and other infrastructure along the coast to service Queensland's booming resource sector — particularly the new LNG export hub at Gladstone. BHP is seeking to build a coal terminal, jetties and berths at Abbot Point port, which despite operating since 1984 lies within the area protected by Unesco. A fellow coalminer, Westfarmers, too is planning to expand its business in Queensland. The construction is slated to begin in 2013 with commissioning targeted in 2016 at the latest.

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