Ship-to-ship operations at Kochi — New channel for cargo transfer

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

18 Mar 2008

Continuing its efforts to diversify and attract new businesses, the Cochin Port Trust is promoting an entirely new venture — ship-to-ship transfer operations of various types of liquid cargo, such as crude, POL products, LPG, and chemicals for Indian and international destinations. An area of 1 nautical mile diameter in the outer harbour has been earmarked for STS operations and the same has been notified by the Customs Authorities as a designated area for such processes.Capt Subhash Kumar, Deputy Chairman of the port, told Business Line that the STS lighterage operation basically involves a mother tanker anchored at the designated area, alongside which smaller tankers as daughter vessels are double-banked using Yokohama Pneumatic Fenders. These fenders are time-tested the world over and are ideal for open-sea operations. The cargo manifolds of both vessels are connected through flexible cargo hoses and the liquid cargo is transferred from the mother vessel to the daughter vessel using the ship’s own pumps. These operations are carried out by a highly skilled and trained team of personnel, strictly following the guidelines set up by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) and International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). All safety precautions, including anti-pollution measures, are strictly adhered to as per international guidelines. The mooring masters, who undertake berthing / un-berthing procedures and continuous supervision, are trained as per OCIMF guidelines. STS operation, Capt Subhash Kumar said, is a safe method to transfer liquid cargo from one tanker to another and is at present being carried out in the UK, Baltic, North-West Europe, West Asia, South-East Asia, Mediterranean, Caribbean Islands and Africa. In India, Kochi is the second port after Mundra in Gujarat to carry out this type of operation. For other ports too Although similar lighterage of liquid cargo is carried out at Mumbai outer harbour and at Vadinar/Sikka area of Gujarat, that is exclusively for lighterage of cargo for that particular port. Whereas, the STS operation at Kochi anchorage is not only for Kochi Port but also for other destination ports — domestic as well as international, said the Deputy Chairman. Among all major ports in India, Kochi is the only port closest to the main international sea routes, such as Gulf to Far East and Europe/US East Coast via Mediterranean through Suez Canal to the Far East. The strategic location of Kochi augurs well for the conduct of STS operations, in order to cushion the market fluctuations and to trade cargo when the prices are favourable.STS activity requires minimum manpower and infrastructure; therefore, it would increase the volume of oil traffic and associated revenue growth in a cost-effective manner.The Kochi Port had already received the first mother vessel and successfully offloaded part cargo of propane and butane to two daughter vessels. The expected traffic volume could be at least about 5 lakh tonnes per year, as per the indication from the prospective users, the Deputy Chairman said.It is a known fact that the cargo carried on a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) is commercially preferred to cargo carried on smaller tankers because of the freight advantage. Various ports in India and neighbouring countries do not have suitable infrastructure and draft availability to handle VLCCs. For such ports, the crude could be first brought to the Kochi STS operation area and, after lighterage, sent to various other ports. This would reduce the freight cost if it had to be brought on to smaller tankers directly. LPG cargo handling Similarly, as far as LPG cargo is concerned, the major and minor ports on the Indian coast require LPG but are not geared to handle very large LPG carriers. STS operations for LPG cargo could also bring down the freight rate and, ultimately, the cost of LPG to consumers, said Capt Subhash Kumar. Industry sources pointed out that STS operations of LPG cargo in Kochi would help the public sector oil companies in Kerala to reduce the transportation cost, as they are now importing LPG through Mangalore and transporting bulk LPG by road to various bottling plants in the State, incurring huge costs. The LPG demand in the State is expected to grow by about three to five per cent per annum for the next five years, as more and more domestic consumers are switching over to LPG and auto gas use goes up.