A raft of infrastructure issues is affecting the growth and prospects of our ports. In the face of capacity constraints, lack of connectivity and inadequate mechanization, ports are burdened with excess traffic they can’t handle
The total available capacity at Indian ports during FY2012 was 1,172.93 MT while the total projected traffic for the same period is expected to reach 876.7 MT as per the National Maritime Development Programme. This translates into a Berth Occupancy Factor (BOF) of 74.7%. Going by the recommendations of the Major Port Development Plan prepared by the Port of Rotterdam, this is more than the acceptable berth congestion level. Against the ideal BOF of 60-70%, as recommended in the Plan, a majority of Indian ports operate with wavering BOFs. In 2010-11, while ports at Haldia, Vishakapattnam, Paradip and JNPT had an average BOF higher than the prescribed 70%, those at Cochin, Chennai, Goa, New Mangalore and Mumbai fell below the 60% threshold. Only Kandla port fell into the perfect mix of occupancy with an average BOF of 69.95%.
Non-adherence to the prescribed BOF levels directly impacts the efficiency of ports, something that Indian ports seem to be deeply plagued with. Another indicator of inefficiency is the cumulative average turnaround time for ships entering major ports of India, which aggregates 4.67 days. This is phenomenally high when compared to the turnaround time at the Singapore port, which is less than a day. While the delay in turnaround time can still be explained away as a result of large vessels needing more evacuation time, the tardiness in the matter of pre-berthing directly points to shoddy infrastructure and lack of ample berthing space at the ports. The fact that such pre-berthing delays were a regular feature throughout the year shows that there is an urgent need to undertake capacity expansion at the earliest. In order to quicken turnaround time as well, there is a need to have greater use of mechanization in the evacuation process rather than relying on conventional methods.
The practice and prevalence of conventional methods for port operations have been the bane at most Indian ports. In the case of Paradip port, it’s the inability to adopt modernisation that has bestowed on it the dubious distinction of having the longest turnaround time amongst Indian ports. Between FY2009-10 and FY2010-11, while the availability of modern wharf cranes at Paradip port increased from 75.3% to 95.23% during the period, its utilization rate increased by a meagre 0.3% from 20.85% to 21.15%. The situation was no different in the case of forklift trucks - while being available for use 97.21% of the time during the year, they were used only for 3.69% of the time that they were available. This sorry plight of low utilisation of modern machinery goes to show that Indian ports, instead of moving forward towards modernization, are still stuck on using tedious and slow conventional methods.
Even the Ministry of Shipping, which is the nodal agency for framing the policy agenda for port development, has not been able to spur port operators to adopt greater levels of efficiency and productivity. Its lackadaisical attitude towards port management is reflected in the fact that the MoS accepted less than appropriate target levels for performance improvement of ports. The only port to show some performance worth speaking of has been the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which reported utilization rates above 60% and availability above 90% in 2009-10. No wonder that amongst all Indian ports, JNPT is India’s busiest container port, accounting for over 55% all Indian containerised cargo traffic.
The total available capacity at Indian ports during FY2012 was 1,172.93 MT while the total projected traffic for the same period is expected to reach 876.7 MT as per the National Maritime Development Programme. This translates into a Berth Occupancy Factor (BOF) of 74.7%. Going by the recommendations of the Major Port Development Plan prepared by the Port of Rotterdam, this is more than the acceptable berth congestion level. Against the ideal BOF of 60-70%, as recommended in the Plan, a majority of Indian ports operate with wavering BOFs. In 2010-11, while ports at Haldia, Vishakapattnam, Paradip and JNPT had an average BOF higher than the prescribed 70%, those at Cochin, Chennai, Goa, New Mangalore and Mumbai fell below the 60% threshold. Only Kandla port fell into the perfect mix of occupancy with an average BOF of 69.95%.
Non-adherence to the prescribed BOF levels directly impacts the efficiency of ports, something that Indian ports seem to be deeply plagued with. Another indicator of inefficiency is the cumulative average turnaround time for ships entering major ports of India, which aggregates 4.67 days. This is phenomenally high when compared to the turnaround time at the Singapore port, which is less than a day. While the delay in turnaround time can still be explained away as a result of large vessels needing more evacuation time, the tardiness in the matter of pre-berthing directly points to shoddy infrastructure and lack of ample berthing space at the ports. The fact that such pre-berthing delays were a regular feature throughout the year shows that there is an urgent need to undertake capacity expansion at the earliest. In order to quicken turnaround time as well, there is a need to have greater use of mechanization in the evacuation process rather than relying on conventional methods.
The practice and prevalence of conventional methods for port operations have been the bane at most Indian ports. In the case of Paradip port, it’s the inability to adopt modernisation that has bestowed on it the dubious distinction of having the longest turnaround time amongst Indian ports. Between FY2009-10 and FY2010-11, while the availability of modern wharf cranes at Paradip port increased from 75.3% to 95.23% during the period, its utilization rate increased by a meagre 0.3% from 20.85% to 21.15%. The situation was no different in the case of forklift trucks - while being available for use 97.21% of the time during the year, they were used only for 3.69% of the time that they were available. This sorry plight of low utilisation of modern machinery goes to show that Indian ports, instead of moving forward towards modernization, are still stuck on using tedious and slow conventional methods.
Even the Ministry of Shipping, which is the nodal agency for framing the policy agenda for port development, has not been able to spur port operators to adopt greater levels of efficiency and productivity. Its lackadaisical attitude towards port management is reflected in the fact that the MoS accepted less than appropriate target levels for performance improvement of ports. The only port to show some performance worth speaking of has been the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which reported utilization rates above 60% and availability above 90% in 2009-10. No wonder that amongst all Indian ports, JNPT is India’s busiest container port, accounting for over 55% all Indian containerised cargo traffic.
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