The development of the maritime sector in Karnataka is mainly dependent on a major port-New Mangalore Port in Dakshina Kannada district-and other minor ports in coastal districts such as Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada.

Though the pace of development in minor ports is yet to gain momentum, New Mangalore Port has shown a remarkable growth in capacity addition in the past 9-10 years.
Three new berths

New Mangalore Port, which is the only major port in Karnataka, added three new berths with a total installed capacity of more than 18 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and another facility (in the form of a single point mooring) of the same capacity 16 km away from the shore. This makes an addition of more than 36 mtpa in the last one decade.

In an interview with Business Line in January 2005, P. Tamilvanan, Chairman of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), had stated that he wanted to provide more facilities to his users.

Tamilvanan took charge as Chairman of NMPT in December 2004.

It may be mentioned here that the capacity addition at the port gained momentum in 2004 with the port authorities granting work order for constructing a deep-draught multipurpose berth (Berth No. 14) at New Mangalore Port. The berth, with an installed capacity of 6 mtpa, was commissioned in 2006. A draught of 14 metres helped the port bring bigger vessels to handle general cargo, as there was no general cargo berth with deep draught till then.

The deep draught in that berth helped port attract more cargo. According to Tamilvanan, Berth No. 14 recorded an occupancy rate of more than 75 per cent for several years. At one stage, the occupancy rate was nearly 90 per cent.

In fact, the deep-draught berth helped the port attract more cargo, as evident during the iron ore export boom a few years ago.

In 2008-09, the port handled 8.1 million tonnes of iron ore fines with the deep-draught berth playing a major role in the handling of the cargo. Post the ban on export of iron ore, the berth was used for handling other cargoes such as coal and containers.
Another addition to the infrastructure at the port was Berth No. 15 to handle coal for a thermal power plant. Udupi Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL), which operates a 1200-MW thermal power plant, has set up a captive bulk cargo berth (Berth No. 15) in the port to meet its needs. With an installed capacity of 5.40 mtpa, Berth No. 15 was commissioned in 2011.
PETROLEUM

However, the chunk of the capacity addition came from the petroleum sector in the past decade. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), which is one of the major users of the port, contributes more than 50 per cent to the total cargo handled at the port. The company increased its refining capacity from 11.82 mtpa to 15 mtpa in March 2012.

To meet the demands of its refinery, the infrastructure at the port level was also improved. The company has commissioned an SPM (single point mooring) in the sea 16 km from the port. This is the latest addition to the capacity of the port.

Set up by MRPL, the SPM has the capacity to handle 18 mtpa of crude oil and has a draught of 30 metres for handling very large crude carriers.

Commissioned on August 30, the SPM is a loading buoy anchored offshore, and serves as a mooring point and as an interconnecting facility for ships offloading crude oil.

Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily, who inaugurated this facility, said that this Rs 1,000-crore infrastructure would enable MRPL to ship in crude parcels on very large crude carriers (VLCC), providing freight economies and optimising on logistics. The SPM facility with a coastal booster pumping station will help MRPL source West African and Latin American crude oil providing cost advantages to the company.

Considering the demand for a liquid cargo berth from other users, the port has constructed a facility (Berth No. 13) with an installed capacity of 7.5 mtpa. Anticipating demands from the proposed petrochemical units in the Mangalore Special Economic Zone, the port has made provisions to make use of the facility at Berth No. 13.

The port also planned to set up a container terminal under the public-private partnership mode two years ago. This did not materialise, as no one came forward when the port put out 'request for proposal'.

The reason for that was the rates quoted for container handling by TAMP (Tariff Authority on Major Ports) were on par with other ports such as JNPT, Chennai and Kolkata. Compared to the other two ports, the quantity of container handling in NMPT is only in thousands of TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). This made private players stay away from the process of constructing it.

However, the meeting of the board of trustees of NMPT in September 2013 finalised the bids for constructing Berth No. 18. The new berth, which will be constructed from the internal resources of NMPT, will handle bulk and container cargo. Port authorities expect the work on civil structures to be completed in 20 months. The proposed Berth No. 18 is likely to add a capacity of 5 mtpa at the port.

Observers in the shipping sector feel that going by the increasing trend in container handling at the Mangalore port over the past few years, some operator may come forward to set up a container terminal. In such a situation, the civil structure would be an added advantage for them.

The railway infrastructure development inside the port and in its hinterland has contributed significantly to the growth in railway-bound cargoes over the years.
RAILWAY

In another interview to Business Line, Tamilvanan had stated that the number of railway lines inside the port premises was five when he joined NMPT in 2004-05.

He had stated that 11 railway lines were added in the port premises in the last one decade. Because of this, the railway-bound cargo is also witnessing a rapid growth over the past few years.

The port, which handled 5.67 lakh tonnes of railway-bound cargo in 2004-05, was able to handle 6.03 million tonnes in 2012-13. The railway-bound cargo contributes a chunk of total cargo handled at the port. Railway-bound traffic, which was not on the radar of the port a decade ago, is emerging a major traffic now.