December 4, 2020: Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor) has said it is ready to provide rakes and run services “at short notice” to evacuate India-destined and originating transshipment containers from ports in and around Chennai as acute congestion in Colombo port force container lines to look for alternative gateways.
“In view of the acute congestion at Colombo port, ports in Chennai can become an alternative for transshipment of export-import containers,” Concor said.
‘Will provide rakes’
“Concor will provide rakes and organise movements at short notice. Shipping lines may take notice and start calling at Chennai for maintaining continuity of EXIM trade and commerce,” Concor said.
A large portion of India’s EXIM containers are transshipped through Colombo. Carriers have already made a few ad-hoc calls at Cochin and Kattupalli ports to drop India-bound boxes due to the logjam in Colombo.
“Instead of Colombo, lines can utilise terminals in Chennai to discharge or load Indian containers. It will give a relief, instead of choking Colombo port further,” said GR Seshagiri Rao, Group General Manager at Concor’s inland container depot (ICD) in Chennai.
‘Why clog Colombo?’
“It is in nobody’s interest; the container gets landed there and remains there and waits for feeder ships to connect to Chennai ports or to Tuticorin port,” Rao said.
Concor, in association with Railways, will provide connectivity from Chennai and Kamarajar port (Ennore) to various hinterland inland container depots and container freight stations and other ports such as ICDs in Whitefield, Hyderabad and Nagpur, and ex-Chennai to Tughlaqabad, New Delhi, Ludhiana, Tuticorin, Coimbatore, Cochin, Mangalore, Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Raipur and Aurangabad.
Export containers meant for loading at Nhava Sheva will be accepted at ICD Tondiarpet and will be moved by rail up to JNPT.
Rail linkage to Kattupalli port for inbound and outbound containers would also be provided by Concor through ICD Tondiarpet.
Source: Business Line
