Shippers and ocean carriers in the trades to and from the Indian subcontinent are bracing for difficult times as congestion cripples operations at some of the busiest container ports in the region.
While the situation at India’s Port of Nhava Sheva, which has been confronted with serious yard congestion and rail delays in recent months, is gradually returning to normal traffic levels, severe terminal congestion at Sri Lanka’s Port of Colombo and Bangladesh’s Chittagong is wreaking havoc on normal cargo flow and vessel sailing schedules.
A shipping line agent reported that all mainline and feeder vessels calling at Colombo are experiencing delays due to increased berthing times. The congestion is affecting transshipment cargo from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan as it is largely routed through Colombo.
Persistent delays recently forced Zim Integrated Shipping Services to suspend calling Colombo on its independently operated Asia Mediterranean Europe Service until further notice, in a bid to maintain its fixed day berthing window at Nehru.
A senior Shipping Corporation of India official said that Colombo Port has bitten off more than it can chew. More services at the port are creating a mess. We have written to the Sri Lankan Port Authority to clear the backlog. They are creating more space for idling containers.
According to local shipping circles, the situation is aggravated by a chronic shortage of handling equipment, and recent problems in inter terminal trucking after the authority appointed a new private contractor for such operations, leading to legal disputes and work-to-rule slowdowns.
A leading feeder operator said that in a nutshell, feeder vessels are being delayed in berthing, and containers are then getting delayed in transfer between feeders and connecting mother vessels. Colombo’s box traffic for the January to May period rose 27% to 1.68 million 20 foot equivalent units from 1.32 million TEUs on YoY basis. To alleviate congestion problems, SLPA is developing a 22 acre logistics park around the port area and expanding terminal capacity with the proposed South Harbor and Hambantota port projects. The congestion at Chittagong, Bangladesh’s main gateway port is mounting so rapidly that shippers are in a quandary over contractual commitments.
Freight forwarder Milgram & Company said that the congestion is so severe that not a single vessel has been able to maintain its originally planned schedule in recent weeks. Ocean carriers are also experiencing severe space and equipment shortages adding to the already extreme situation.
(Sourced from Journal of Commerce)
