A recent container crane collapse at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Container Terminal (Nhava Sheva Port) is wreaking havoc on berthing schedules of vessels calling at the country’s top box gateway.
“The terminal is running behind schedule by more than five days,” a senior OOCL India official said.
A recent container crane collapse at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Container Terminal (Nhava Sheva Port) is wreaking havoc on berthing schedules of vessels calling at the country’s top box gateway.
“The terminal is running behind schedule by more than five days,” a senior OOCL India official said.
The Hong Kong-based liner company, which operates the Indamex Service connecting Nhava Sheva and key ports on the U.S. East Coast, said vessels under the fixed-day berthing window scheme are severely affected because of extended port stays and low productivity.
The Indamex service, which offers weekly calls at JNCT, is a vessel-sharing agreement among five major carriers, including Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, APL and NYK Line.
“The consortium members have been in touch with port officials to know their actions aimed at restoring normalcy at the terminal. There is, however, no positive outcome yet,” the official said.
An APL India official said frequent equipment breakdowns, coupled with other chronic infrastructure issues, are putting extreme pressure on vessels to maintain their onward sailing schedules.
Local shipping sources said several vessels were stranded at the outer anchorage, and many more were scheduled to arrive.
The port-run JNCT is one of three container-handling facilities in Nhava Sheva Port, which moves nearly 60 percent of India’s containerized traffic.
Nhava Sheva handled a record 4.32 million 20-foot-equivalent units in fiscal 2011-12, which ended March 31, compared with 4.27 million TEUs the previous year.
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