Aimed at improving cargo throughput and share of revenue, the Kochi port has decided to mechanise timber handling as prevalent in neighbouring ports. 

It is pointed out that the mechanised handling of timber will significantly improve the productivity, which is today a meagre 900 tonnes per day (tpd). This is expected to touch 2,500 tpd by deploying two grabs a shift, senior port officials said. 

According to officials, mechanisation has the potential of bringing in new efficiencies which is a potent marketing tool to attract more cargo to the port. The timber log import in the first half of 2013-14 was 56,554 tonnes. In FY’13, the port had handled 94,792 tonnes and generated a substantial income by way of wharfages and vessel-related charges, besides license fee of storage yards from timber storage. At the present scale, Kerala is using around five lakh tonnes of import timber. As is evident, 80 per cent is routed through neighbouring ports which have resorted to mechanisation earlier, the officials said.

The timber log importers in Kerala also responded positively to the proposal of the management in mechanising the handling and has requested for certain facilitative measures to switch over to mechanised discharge of logs from ships. The agents also requested for reduced manning in handling operations. The mechanised handling of timber logs would also ensure accident-free handling.In an encouraging move to support the high initial investment of importers, the officials said that the port will also give longer free period of 15 days for storage for the timber logs discharge from ships using mechanised grabs as evacuation could take a little longer for sorting and despatch.

sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in

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