The Hindu Business Line : Cabotage law to be relaxed till Aug 31 for diversion of cargo

According to shipping industry officials, around 8,800 twenty-ft containers were diverted to Pipavav Port and 7,000 containers to Mundra. These cargoes are waiting to be cleared.

Varada Bhat

Mumbai, Aug.16

As part of its efforts to restore operations at Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Mumbai Port after the collision of two ships on August 7, the Directorate-General of Shipping has decided to relax the Cabotage Law for two weeks for diversion of cargo to other ports.

According to DG Shipping officials, the relaxation will be given only to shipping lines that were forced to divert their cargo to other ports due to the closure of both the ports last week. The Cabotage law restricts movement of foreign-flagged vessels between Indian ports.

Currently, India's domestic coastal trade is reserved for Indian-registered ships; foreign ships can be hired only if Indian ships are not available and only after taking the permission of DG Shipping.

“Over a dozen ships were forced to divert to Pipavav and Mundra as the main channel of the ports were closed for operations. Now these vessels on their scheduled service with unused capacity can transport the cargo,” a DG shipping official told Business Line. The exemption will be given only till August 31.

Oil spill clean-up

According to shipping industry officials, around 8,800 twenty-ft containers were diverted to Pipavav Port and 7,000 containers to Mundra. These cargoes are waiting to be cleared. JNPT and MbPT account for over 60 per cent of the country's container traffic.

The Coast Guard is still cleaning up nearly 2,000 tonnes of oil that spilled across a 100-km coastline from the collision between the MSC Chitra, a container ship owned by Mediterranean Shipping Co SA and break bulk carrier MV Khalijia 3. The accident led to direct and indirect losses of nearly Rs 100 crore a day.