New berthing policy for dry bulk cargo at major ports

The Ministry of Shipping has formulated a new berthing policy for dry bulk cargo for all 12 major ports in order to provide a standardised framework for calculation of norms, specific to the commodity handled and the infrastructure available on the berth.

The new berthing policy will come into effect from 20 August 2016.

It aims to drive higher productivity and achieve near-design capacity of the available equipments/infrastructure in order to:

• Reduce berthing time and overall turn-around time of ships.
• Drive higher cargo throughput using the available infrastructure in the major ports.
• Improve use of port assets and create additional capacity without any significant capital investment.
• Increase competitiveness of the major port by creating value for the trade through reduced logistics cost.
• Reassess the capacity of the berths based on the expected performance of the berth equipments and vessels derived from performance norms.
• Standardise anchorage charges across major ports to reduce turnaround time.

All the major ports will be holding trade meetings between 1 July to 18 July 2016 to sensitise the norms, incentives, penalties and charges to be implemented. The policy will be implemented by all major ports by 20 August 2016.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Shipping, dry bulk cargo currently accounts for over 26% of the cargo handled at the 12 major ports. Furthermore, growth in coastal shipping is expected to add ~100 – 150 million tpy of additional dry bulk cargo at ports by 2020 – 2025.

Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/22062016/new-berthing-policy-for-dry-bulk-cargo-at-major-ports-1010/