India's port regulator, the Tariff Authority for Major Ports, has asked the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru to investigate a move by its private terminal, Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal, to suspend handling of transhipment containers.
The directive follows a petition by the local Container Shipping Lines' Association, protesting terminal operator DP World's recent advice to lines that it would not provide transhipment services at current tariffs.
The association said it is the understanding of the lines that a terminal cannot act in this manner and that it is obliged to perform those services, which are specified in its concession agreement and at the mandated rates.
The Dubai company earlier said transhipment traffic was leading to congestion, increasing operational and cost issues at the terminal.
Carriers, however, said the decision to bar transhipment boxes stemmed from the terminal management's reluctance to handle them at current tariffs, which are 50 percent lower compared with rates applicable for normal traffic, particularly at a time when its export and import volumes are rising.
The terminal, the largest Indian container facility, handled 1.36 million TEUs in fiscal 2006-07. Volume in the April-September period totalled 729,104 TEUs.
|
