Containers falling off from MSC Chitra have blocked main channels leading to Jawaharlal Nehru and Mumbai ports, thereby hurting traffic  At a time, when the Indian shipping industry is striving to march ahead, here is a dampener. The collision that happened between container vessels MSC Chitra and Khalijia 3 on August 7, is not only polluting the environment, but the same is hurting traffic at two of India’s major ports, Jawaharlal Nehru port and Mumbai port. In all probability operations at Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) are likely to remain shut for at least a week as containers falling from MSC Chitra have caused a blockade of the main channels.Expressing his views on the tragedy, N N Kumar, chairman of JNPT, over a telephonic conversation with a ShippingBiz360 correspondent, said, “Closure of traffic is definitely going to hurt export and import of goods. However, it is difficult at this stage to gauge the exact amount of loss to trade.” Closure of these two ports will disrupt movement of petroleum products, grains etc. As per a press release issued by the Ministry of Shipping, 17 vessels—9 at Jawaharlal Nehru port and 8 at Mumbai port—could not be sailed out, while 15 vessels—9 at the former and 6 at the latter—were unable to berth.
Loss in revenues
According to P K Janadhanan, managing director of Anushree Enterprises, a mid-sized freight forwarding company in Mumbai, “The government must take steps to clear the containers as soon as possible as inability of vessels to sail from these ports has resulted in cancelling of bookings, affecting several freight forwarding and logistics firms operating within the hinterland of these ports, thereby causing huge revenue losses.” It is expected that it will take 5-6 more days to clear containers carrying hazardous material and chemicals.
Meanwhile, one respite is that oil that had been leaking from ruptured tanks of MSC Chitra has stopped on its own, and coast guard helicopters are spraying anti-dispersants and trying their best to prevent further spillage.
Arup Choudhury |
