Cochin Port Trust is betting big on wooing transshipment business from Colombo Port in view of the economic and political uncertainties in Sri Lanka that has led to congestion and delays in shipping schedules in that port.
“We will soon initiate discussions with major shipping lines on additional calls at ICTT Vallarpadam so as to maintain the growth trajectory in transhipment business volumes, which has been on the rise since 2020,” said M. Beena, Chairperson, Cochin Port Trust.
She pointed out that transshipment volumes in the International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam is on the rise; it handled 1,56,159 TEUs by the end of March 31, which was up 80 per cent on the 86,761 TEUs handled in the previous fiscal.
Beena was speaking to BusinessLine on the sidelines of a function to announce completed projects in the port under Sagarmala.
There are reports of vessels skipping Colombo due to delays in shipping schedules and Kochi is a natural alternative. According to shipping sources, the current issues at Sri Lanka that led to power cuts and fuel shortage are reported to have slowed down port operations, prompting shipping lines to skip Colombo. The ports in the South will be the major beneficiaries of the current developments in Colombo.
Kerala exporters – mainly seafood, coir, spices – have also urged the Shipping Ministry to take measures to start mainline shipping services from Indian ports to meet their business commitments to overseas buyers. Colombo Port handles 40 per cent of India’s transshipment business and any delays in the business will hit the container trade from the region, the sources added.
Meanwhile, Cochin Port has completed 8 projects under the Sagarmala scheme at a cost of Rs 160 crore, including the international cruise terminal; refurbishment of the South Tanker Berth: refurbishment and capacity enhancement of the Coastal Liquid Terminal – COT and NTB; Commissioning of the RFID-based gate access system for vehicle entry; Construction of a Rail Over Bridge at Vallarpadam; Reconstruction of the Q1 berth at Mattanchery wharf, etc.
According to Beena, establishing a roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) handling facility between the Q1 berth and SCB is among the two major projects being taken up in the current fiscal under the Sagarmala project. The upgrading and modernisation of the Fisheries Harbour at Thoppumpady is another major project being undertaken by the port this fiscal.