The Board of Trustees of Cochin Port Trust has approved a proposal to extend a three-tier concession on vessel-related charges for ships calling at the International Container Transshipment Terminal on Vallarpadam island.
The concessions, which expired in September, have been renewed and will be on till the end of September next year.
The concessions being extended include a special tariff in vessel-related charges matching that of Colombo port for mainline vessels with international ports of call in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia and any port of China.
The concession extended is up to 86 per cent of the prescribed tariff for a mainline vessel of 60,000 GRT with 12 hours of stay at the port.
Attractive rate
This is an attractive rate to make Kochi a transshipmet hub in South Asia, said the proposal by the Port Trust.
There will also be a 30 per cent concession on vessel-related charges for feeder vessels because of the high rates in Kochi compared to even the neighbouring ports in the country.
There will also be 50 per cent concession in vessel-related charges for container vessel services with a minimum of two sailings from Kochi to the Middle East and South East Asia in a period of 30 days, subject to the condition that not more than 20 per cent of the cargo loaded from ICTT was headed for Colombo.
This initiative to draw cargo to Kochi from its primary and secondary hinterland, cargo from where is now is diverted to neighbouring ports. The port’s assessment is that the concessions extended to the vessels have helped in attracting more mainline vessels to Kochi during the past year.
The port said that the number of mainline vessels calling at Kochi had increased to 72 during 2011-12 accounting for nearly 50,000 TEUs as against 60 vessels during the previous financial year.
During April-August this year, the number of mainline vessel calls has been 61 with a total of 40,859 TEUs.
Big boost
Together with the recent relaxation in Cabotage law granted by the Union shipping ministry, the rate concessions is expected to give a big boost to mainline sails calling at the ICTT.
