Maersk resumes port Nehru calls

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

31 Aug 2010

Maersk Line on Friday said it resumed bookings of all cargo for direct loading via the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva), India's busiest container gateway. The Danish carrier was forced to temporarily suspend export bookings for nearly three weeks when operations at Nehru came to a virtual standstill following the MSC Chitra-Khalijia-3 collision in the Mumbai harbor channel Aug. 7.
"Operations at Nhava Sheva have stabilized to a large extent over the past few days, even though the port is open only for daylight navigation and certain draft restrictions still remain in place as recovery operations are being carried out. Our services were heavily affected during this period, but are back to becoming reliable again," Maersk said.
The company said bookings from inland depots in the northwestern hinterland region are also open without any restrictions.
Maersk, the largest liner operator to and from India, said the ad-hoc relaxation of cabotage restrictions for foreign-flagged vessels, allowed until Aug. 31, will help deliver diverted export-import shipments to originally-manifested destinations.
Almost 65 percent of India's total exports and imports of containerized cargo move through Nehru, and the unprecedented turmoil at the west coast hub - severe operational delays in recent months coupled with the five-day shutdown -- will have a serious adverse impact on government efforts to boost the country's global trade, targeted at $200 billion for fiscal 2010-11 ending March 31.
At a recent operational review meeting, the Nehru management expressed concern over the implications of "unjustifiable" congestion surcharges being applied by some major carriers. "Reports about alleged congestion and emergency surcharges at Jawaharlal Nehru are tarnishing the image of the port amongst not only domestic customers but worldwide trade community as well," a senior official told user representatives.

Source: Journal of Commerce Online