With just two container terminals, one gate and limited infrastructure, Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) is struggling to cope with the 15 to 20 per cent annual growth in container volume in the harbour.
The inventory of export and import containers at the terminals has shot up to 18,500 as of Sunday, with excess capacity of 6,000 containers. Since September, vessels are forced to wait in the outer anchorage for 36 to 48 hours now, whereas some months ago, berthing was available on arrival. As a result, exim trade has suffered much in the last two months due the difficulties in evacuating containers or exporting them on time. On top of it, importers are asked to pay congestion surcharges.
According to traders, exporters used to bring in their containers two days before the arrival of vessels. But today, they are not able to do so as the vehicles are stranded on the road.
Even, if they reach the port, they do not have adequate place to park their containers as import containers are still waiting to be cleared. The situation would have turned worse, but for the opening of gate 2A, thanks to the intervention of speaker D. Jayakumar.
“The piling of containers at the first terminal has turned the situation at the ChPT from bad to worse. Given the current situation, we are forced to look at other ports to fulfil our obligations. Some of the shipping lines have started looking at other ports,” said port users on Sunday.
Talking to The Hindu , the port users blamed the ChPT for the current crisis and said, “In the last 10 years, the volumes have grown manifold, but the number of gates has decreased. They have not shown any sense of urgency to solve the problem. The approach road to the main gate is in bad shape and has not been repaired. Though ChPT promised to open more lanes on the lines of toll plaza at zero gate, it is yet to do so.”
A ChPT top official admitted that the volumes had indeed grown several times and they were making efforts to open parking yards at Tiruvottiyur and Sriperumbudur. Encroachment in front of zero gate up to 500 metres was cleared on Saturday morning to commence the widening of 1.6 km road till Kasimedu Police Station.
“We have sought the permission of Southern Railway authorities to open gate no. 5 (opposite Customs House). The gate has to be widened further and it can be used by empty car carriers to exit at least during night times,” he added.
On Sunday, the trailers were stranded on two lanes for nearly 16 km on North Chennai Beach Road, paralysing normal movement. Going by the trend, it would take months to clear the backlog and the only solution was to open more gates.
Metro Rail work
There was also a danger of gate 10 being closed soon to pave way for Metro Rail work. It was high time that port authorities took steps to avoid diversion of vessels and salvage port's image at the earliest, Port users said.
