Shipping agents have approached New Mangalore Port to start sailing of a mainline vessel providing direct link from here to Karachi, said P. Tamilvanan, Chairman, New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT).
Announcing the port’s performance in 2012-13 in the city on Thursday, he said the vessel, “Kota Anggarik”, would follow a route from Mangalore, sailing through Karachi, Jebel Ali (Dubai) and Mombasa (Kenya).
He told presspersons that the mainline would be useful for those who want to move cargo from Kerala to Dubai. “There is a lot of demand for a direct link to Dubai from places such as Kannur,” he said. “So far, no vessel has taken such a route. It happens to stop by in Karachi en route, which must have been on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis. For me, it is useful that a vessel is going to Dubai,” he said.
New berths
Mr. Tamilvanan said the port is getting a new berth (Number 13), to handle petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL). It has a capacity of handling 7.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) and has been set up with an investment of Rs.79 crore. Currently, the minor work of dredging is going on and a vessel has been anchored at the berth for trial. Otherwise, “it’s ready,” he said.
The Ministry of Shipping has approved the setting up of another new berth on which the port will invest Rs.137 crore raised from internal resources, he said. Called berth Number 18 (though it is actually the 17th), it will be able to receive large vessels. Berth numbers 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 18 have a draft of 14 m, allowing larger vessels to sail in, he said.
Rs.100 crore surplus
Mr. Tamilvanan said that for the year 2012-2013, the port’s net surplus is likely to cross Rs.100 crore. In 2012-13, the port handled 37.04 MT of cargo as against 32.94 MT in 2011-12, a growth of 12.43 per cent and the highest quantity of traffic ever handled at the port, he said. Last year, the port handled 20.75 MT.
The port saw 2.88 per cent growth in traffic over the target fixed by the Ministry of Shipping.
The growth is due to an increase in handling coal, POL crude, coal, maize and containerised cargo (4.84 MT in 2012-13 and 4.50 MT in 2011-12). It handled 60 MT in 2012-13 and 3.9 MT in 2011-12 of railway traffic.
Some of the LPG handled at the port had shifted to Ennore, about which he was “a little worried”. However, good demand for LPG could counter the diversion, he said. NMPT handled 14 per cent less LPG this year (2.07 MT in 2012-13 and 20.75 MT in 2011-12).
The port handled 14 gearless vessels (without cranes) and 15 cruise vessels with 10,196 passengers in 2012-13.
