The stalemate over cargo handling at Haldia port led to the diversion of “at least six cargo vessels” in September.
According to sources, the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has lost nearly 1.5-lakh tonnes of dry bulk cargo to Visakhapatnam and Paradip ports.
“Six Haldia-bound vessels may have been diverted to other ports last month,” Gurpreet Malhi, Chief Executive Officer of Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT), a private cargo handler run by ABG-LDA, told
At a press conference on Sunday, KoPT officials, however, claimed that Haldia lost one vessel containing 25,000 tonnes of cargo in September due to the stalemate.
The ABG-LDA joint venture operating the two mechanised berths in Haldia had indicated suspension of operations on the grounds of “low cargo offering” and prevailing “lawlessness.”
50% less cargo
According to Malhi, in September, the two mechanised berths received about half the cargo they had got in the previous months.
“Usually, these berths get 18-20 vessels a month. We received only nine in September. Operations were completely stopped since September 23 at our berths. Some vessels off-loaded their cargoes at the non-mechanised berths,” he said. “HBT has incurred a total loss of Rs 3.5 crore due to decline in cargo following the unrest at Haldia dock,” he added.
Stakeholders meet
KoPT has called a stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday 4 at its Kolkata headquarters to end this impasse.
HBT skipped a previous meeting called by KoPT on the same agenda on September 27 at Haldia. ayan.