Some shipping lines are starting to skip or cut back on the amount of trips into Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, India, because cargo handling operations at the country’s largest container port have been plagued by the prolonged labor trouble at the port’s private terminals.
In an article from the Hindu Business Line, Captain Deepak Tiwari of the Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA), said that many shipping lines have been losing revenue as they are unable to load export containers. Workers of transport contractors at Gateway Terminals India (GTI), one of the two private terminals that handle 40 percent of the JN Port’s cargo, have slowed down their crane productivity in recent weeks, dropping down to 20-25 moves per hour, and the move counts allocated for each vessel have been reduced.? In most cases, ships are forced to sail out after unloading imports without picking up export cargo, as the loading takes more than double the normal time.
“We have met GTI officials but they appear helpless in resolving the issue,” said Tiwari. Ships cannot wait at the port for days or operate without cargo.
According to exporters, their containers, including reefers loaded with perishable cargoes, have started piling up. About 2,000-3,000 export containers have been held up for over two weeks, said R. Venkatesh, Vice-President, Western India Shippers Association (WISA). To read more, click HERE.
