Following disruptions in the movement of container trailers for the last ten days, the trade using the Adani Kattupalli and Ennore Port Container Terminals is facing issues related to delays in the scanning of boxes. A company source attributed the new Terminal Operating System (TOS) and the bunching of container vessels as reasons for the delays.

The issues have been sorted out and operations are back to normal, the source said.

While the issue with the TOS has been addressed, the trailers are still facing delays in the scanning centre, said an official of a large container freight station.

Extended delays

Currently, trailers carrying scanning containers are experiencing wait times exceeding 24 hours. Since March 2024, the percentage of import container scanning has increased from 7 per cent to 22 per cent. However, the staffing of Customs officers at the Adani Terminals is restricted to operational hours of 10 am to 8 pm, during which only 120 trailers can be scanned, the National Container Freight Station Association (Chennai Chapter) noted in a communication to the private terminal operator.

“Daily, we are witnessing a backlog of 300 to 400 trailers awaiting scanning, many of which are not processed on the same day. This situation is causing considerable losses for the trade sector, including increased transport costs owing to a huge waiting period in the terminal, triggering challenges for drivers, delayed evacuation, accumulation of trailers creating congestion on the road and the gates, late arrival at CFS disrupting delivery schedule, causing production losses, increased port storage and detention charges, for end users and increased costs of logistics to the import trade. Finally, importers penalise the increased costs to the CFS for no fault of the CFSs,” the letter said.

“During our visit to the Adani Terminals office in April 2024, we requested additional postings to address this pressing issue. We have not yet observed any improvements. Furthermore, we met with the Customs Officials in the Scanning Department on April 29, 2024, to discuss the delays,” the letter said.

For the past ten days, the movement of trucks to and from the terminal has faced waiting times of 10-12 hours for trucks to enter and exit the ports, affecting the movement of goods. This was again due to the new system, said company sources.

The Chennai Customs Brokers’ Association said that the new TOS implemented at Kattupalli and Ennore port is yet to be streamlined and also delays in terminal operations added further congestion and increased logistics cost. The dwell time of import deliveries has been drastically increased to more than five days resulting in additional costs such as storage, container detention & vehicle detention.

A parallel run would have helped identify and iron out the glitches and a full migration would have been a trade-friendly measure, said an official of a large freight forwarding company.

In 2023-24, the Kattupalli port handled 11.93 million tonnes (MT) while the Ennore Terminal handled 12.95 MT, according to the annual report of APSEZ.