Everybody learns through experience. So, container shipping lines are no exceptions. There was a time when every shipping operator would take pride in showing his ability to move all kinds of goods from any place in the world to any location on the earth. So, it would never come as a surprise if single pieces weighing hundreds of tonnes would be seen trudging along on the roads heading towards remote locations in the interiors of the country. With the passage of time the infrastructure improved and with that everybody would have expected the movements of cargo to be faster. Regrettably that has not happened. A closer look at the problem showed that while the infrastructure outside the ports and Inland Container Depots (ICDs) had improved considerably, it was the "clearance procedures" inside the ports and ICDs that were causing a bottle-neck. What are the reasons for this?  To go to the root of the problem, an analysis of containers lying in the ports and awaiting clearances was carried out. A quick look brought out the fact that cargo that were new and unused were cleared through quickly without much delays. However, when it came to ‘second-hand’ or ‘used’ or ‘re-conditioned goods’ there were considerable delays. In Kolkata Port, for example, containers with old battery scrap were lying since 2002. In New Delhi ICDs containers had items like ‘old woolen’, and ‘battery scrap’. Nhava Sheva had a wide variety of goods ranging from ‘heavy metal scrap’, ‘old woolens’, ‘furniture’, ‘old reconditioned machinery’, paper, and ‘returned cargoes’ etc. Chennai has a long list of ‘relief goods and donated items’, ‘metal scrap’, ‘carbonized pitch scrap", "reconditioned engines", "crude glycerine, ‘used rails’, "heavy melting scrap" etc. Places like Kochi and Bangalore were also facing the same problems Tuticorin Port had its usual share of ‘used spinning machinery’ and electronic items. The port of Kandla had containers stuffed with aluminum scrap, logs and unpolished marbles.  The problem of such containers lying with cargo is compounded due to the fact that some of them are lying, not for weeks or months but for years. At Chennai, some of the uncleared containers have completed 5500 days or about 15 years! And this is not an exception - but a common feature in Indian ports.  What should be done? The government of India should now look at this problem with a little more focus. It is a known fact that the value of goods inside these containers has practically reduced to zero and it would not make sense in following the typical routine of going through 3 or 4 auctions in the hope that some revenue will be generated. As in some foreign countries, the cargo should be destuffed in a particular "common location" for such abandoned goods and sold off without going through the typical bureaucratic processes. If there are goods that the government wishes to detain to investigate as required under the Custom rules the destuffed goods may be kept in that particular "common location" till such time the investigations are over. By so doing, it will help all the parties involved: ICDs and ports will be happy because these abandoned goods are taking a lot of space, the container shipping lines will be happy because they will have their empty boxes back, and the Customs will have the time and space to complete the procedures for the goods that need investigation. It would be a win-win situation for all. Capt Gautama, Consultant - Projects and Legal" for Sea Consortium Shipping India, is perhaps the most qualified shipping executive in India. The string of qualifications to his credit are: MA(AU), MA(BU), M Sc, LLB (Bom), LLM (Bom), Dip TD, DEM, FIISA, FICA, FNMIS, FIII, MIMarTech., MIMA., etc. He is also a faculty with many management institutes. (The views expressed are purely personal) |
