Turnaround time for ships at India's ports cut by 48.65 pc

New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) The average turnaround time for ships at India’s major ports has come down by as much as 48.65 per cent from 93.59 hours in 2013-14 to 48.06 hours in 2023-24, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

This reflects the increased efficiency at Indian ports in handling ships and cargo which is being cleared at a much faster pace, resulting in a reduction of logistics costs.

“The government has taken various steps to improve the turnaround time such as the construction of new berths, terminals, and parking plazas, modernisation of existing berths and terminals, streamlining of processes through digitalisation and expansion of hinterland connectivity through rail and road,” the minister said in a written reply.

The average turnaround time for ships at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Port near Mumbai has been reduced to a mere 26 hours. At the other major ports, the turnaround times are: Chennai 44.92 hours, Deendayal Port (Kadla) 54.24 hours Paradip port is 41.61 hours, Cochin 33.4 hours, New Mangalore port 40.44 hours, Visakhapatnam 65.86 hours, Mumbai 62.97 hours, Kamarajar Port (Tamil Nadu) 44.37 hours Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (Kolkata) 60.85 hours.

“Berth allocation and vessel sequencing in major ports is done as per the Berthing Policy issued by the Ministry. Infrastructure development and capacity augmentation of Major Ports is a continuous process. It involves the construction of new berths and terminals, mechanisation of existing berths and terminals, capital dredging for deepening of drafts for attracting larger vessels, development of road and rail connectivity,” the minister said.

In a significant boost to India’s port development programme, as many as nine ports of India made it to the Global Top 100 in the latest edition of Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), 2023, a report prepared by the World Bank and S&P Global Marketing Intelligence stated earlier this year.

Sonowal gave credit to the ambitious Sagarmala programme, envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for modernisation of the ports and improving their efficiency.

“This is a tremendous achievement for the Indian ports and is a testament to the efforts made by the Narendra Modi Government to modernise, mechanise and make them technologically savvy to improve performance and enhance efficiency. There has been a significant improvement via operational efficiency and service delivery in the efficient handling of ships and cargo,” the minister stated.