Due to shutdown of operations at Mumbai port, M V Umlma carrying 73,000 tonnes of crude called at Kochi port on Wednesday afternoon  Mumbai’s loss could be Kochi’s gain, if not fully then certainly to some extent. Vessel M V Umlma, which was due to call at Mumbai port, anchored at Kochi port on Wednesday as the former has been shut down due to blockade of channels by containers falling from MSC Chitra after it’s collision with Khalijia 3 on August 7. The vessel carrying 73,000 tonnes of crude earlier slated to be discharged at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited’s (BPCL) Mumbai refinery unit will now be discharged at BPCL’s Kochi refinery unit.Too early to predict
In this context, Jijo Thomas, public relations officer at Cochin Port Trust, while speaking to a ShippingBiz360 correspondent, said, “Well it is too early to say how much Kochi Port will gain from the closure of the Mumbai port. Till now just one ship has been diverted because of the tragedy.”
On being asked about the performance of the port in the coming months, Mr Thomas said that crude and container cargo are the major cargo handled by the port and Kochi port is anticipating the share of these cargoes to rise with demand coming from Kochi Refineries Limited. In fact during the April-June quarter, Kochi port registered a growth rate of little over 23% in cargo handling with increase in imports of products like cement.
According to Joy Jacob, executive director of Century Shipyard Pvt Ltd, a mid-sized manufacturer of ship parts in Kochi, “It is vital for Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru ports to commence operation as a significant share of exports and imports (EXIM) trade is conducted via these two ports. If a large number of ships are diverted to Kochi port, the same might lead to congestion.” Notably, Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru ports account for 40% of the country’s sea-borne traffic.
Meanwhile, it is anticipated that another ship carrying 6,000 tonnes of furnace oil from Mumbai might call at Kochi port on Saturday.
Arup Choudhury
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