Kerala - Kochi   

Strike may affect fortunes of Kochi port

K.A. Martin

Operation of container terminal hit; export, import consignments stranded

KOCHI: The indefinite strike by lorry owners in the State that entered the fourth day on Thursday is a double blow to the fortunes of the Kochi Port that has, of late, displayed a new resolve to woo fresh cargo and mainline vessels using cost and infrastructure incentives.

In the short-term, the strike has hit cargo operations.

Export and import consignments are stranded at both ends of the business. Cargo unloading operations are on. Operation of the container terminal too has been affected as cargo arrivals have stopped since the midnight of Sunday.

The strike will affect the customers' view of the port in the long term.

It will be difficult for the customers to build a long-term view of their relation with the port, said a stakeholder.

He said with the strike having passed the second day on Tuesday, cargo consignments were being diverted to Mangalore and Tuticorin ports.

While this was certainly bad phase for Kochi, a long-term view must be taken of the strike, he felt. "The strike comes at a time when the Cochin Port Trust is trying to woo more cargo by offering special incentives to vessels calling at the port. The port authorities are also trying to eliminate illegal payment systems in cargo handling."

Fifty per cent concession was being offered to mainline vessels calling at the port in September. The concessions were applicable to mainline vessels of gross registered tonnage (GRT) of 25,000 and above having capacity of 2,500 TEUs or more. The step was meant to achieve direct connectivity between Kochi and the ports in Europe, the U.S. and the Far East.

The first such vessel, a container carrier flying the Panamanian flag, arrived at the Kochi Port on September 15 directly from the Bandar Abbas port in Iran and left for Port Kelang in Malaysia and was considered a major achievement.

Meanwhile, the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry appealed to Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas to intervene and "restore normality at the earliest".

Chamber's appeal

The chamber's appeal said frequent strikes brought container movements to and from the port to a halt. While normal life was hit and offices and other establishments virtually stopped functioning because of the strike, the strike would have long-term consequences on the port, said the appeal.

"Frequent strikes/ hartals such as these seriously undermine the efforts being made by the port to project itself as the premier port of Southern India," said chamber secretary Eapen Kalappurakkal.

"The unfortunate outcome of the strike is that shipping agents are planning to divert consignments to neighbouring ports and this is a matter that will have serious repercussions ."

The chamber, therefore, appealed to the Minister to take appropriate steps to end the strike.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Steps taken to counter strike
Strike may affect fortunes of Kochi port
Reprieve for under-trial prisoners
New lives bloom in Rajamala
Three arrested on charges of murdering autorickshaw driver
Proposals for waste treatment units sought
Loving one's language
`Youngsters coming up with better short stories'
Literary workshop
Organic farming
Around the City
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu