Kamarajar Port: Ship turnaround time rises in first three quarters

Ship turnaround time in Kamarajar Port has gone up significantly during the first three quarters of 2015-16, as compared to 2014-15, according to data by the Shipping Ministry.

The average ship turnaround time, an important benchmark of a port’s efficiency, increased significantly to 1.80 days during April to December 2015 as against 0.08 days in 2014-15 at the Kamarajar Port to the North of Chennai, according to the Ministry.

The steep increase in the turnaround time – the total time a vessel spends at a port right from entry to exit – is due to improper scheduling by importers, leading to bunching of ships. Low productivity of ships and idle time due to crane or conveyor stoppages are the other key reasons, according to MA Bhaskarachar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Kamarajar Port Ltd.

However, there has been improvement in the timing in the last two months as compared to the previous months, he told BusinessLine . The port mainly handles coal for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, and also for private power plants and cement factories. It also handles petroleum, oil and lubricants and automobiles.

Captive users have been asked to schedule their vessels as per need and not cause bunching of ships. They have also been asked to bring efficient vessels and discharge cargo quickly by fixing crane and conveyor problems, he said.

Boston Consulting Group has developed a mechanism to measure and monitor productivity, which is now being reviewed by the Shipping Ministry on a daily basis at all the ports, he said.

The capacity of Kamarajar Port is being utilised almost to the full due to rapid growth in cargo in the last three years.

Capacity augmentation is the key to reducing turnaround time, which is under way, said K Ravichandran, Senior Vice-President and co-Head (Corporate Ratings), ICRA Ltd. Longer waiting period for ships than assumed as part of ship charter agreement could lead to demurrages, which will lead to higher logistics cost. It will be difficult to attribute a number as there are too many variables, which impact the same, he said.

At Kamarajar Port, there is no demurrage charge for automobiles for up to 15 days. From 16 to 20 days, it is ₹24 per vehicle per day and from 21-25 days, it is ₹48.

In the case of timber logs, the demurrage charge payable per wharfage unit (per cubic meter) per day is free up to seven days. From 8-15 days, it is ₹13 and for 16-26 days, it is ₹26, according to information in the KPL website.