News Content
Shippers in southwest India turn to Cochin for transshipment
DP World-operated International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), or Vallarpadam Terminal, at India's Port of Cochin is looking to cement its position as a transshipment gateway for southwestern hinterland shippers on the back of its ample feeder connectivity to ports on both coasts.
This follows the move by the government to encourage coastal shipping through lifting of cabotage restrictions to allow foreign-flag ships to transport domestic cargo. This would help generate more gateway traffic for Indian major ports and, in turn, lower logistics costs for shippers as the need to transship containers over foreign hub ports is avoided, IHS Media reported.
"ICTT is directly connected to other ports at Mundra, Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust), Goa, Mangalore, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kattupalli, Krishnapatnam, and Tuticorin through an array of feeder services offered at the terminal," DP World Cochin said.
The company said adequate feeder links coupled with strong intermodal rail connections make ICTT "the natural gateway to the vast industrial and agricultural produce markets of South and West India."
The Vallarpadam terminal is India's only full-fledged transshipment facility at present. Volumes at the private terminal have been on the upswing in recent years, with fiscal year 2016/17 throughput up 17.2 per cent year over year to 491,000 TEU from 419,000 TEU previously, according to port data.
That momentum has continued into the current year, with volume reaching a new monthly high of 47,000 TEU in May, a 19 per cent increase over the same month last year.
Enhancing productivity has been a major priority for DP World Cochin. According to its CEO Jibu Kurien: "We aim to continuously deliver high productivity at the terminal and ensure our customers witness a cohesive experience while working with us."
In a presentation to the Ministry of Shipping, the Cochin Port Trust has set a throughput target of 555,000 TEU in fiscal 2017/18, a near 13 per cent jump from the prior year for Vallarpadam. That seems easily attainable given the current volume trends.
This follows the move by the government to encourage coastal shipping through lifting of cabotage restrictions to allow foreign-flag ships to transport domestic cargo. This would help generate more gateway traffic for Indian major ports and, in turn, lower logistics costs for shippers as the need to transship containers over foreign hub ports is avoided, IHS Media reported.
"ICTT is directly connected to other ports at Mundra, Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust), Goa, Mangalore, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kattupalli, Krishnapatnam, and Tuticorin through an array of feeder services offered at the terminal," DP World Cochin said.
The company said adequate feeder links coupled with strong intermodal rail connections make ICTT "the natural gateway to the vast industrial and agricultural produce markets of South and West India."
The Vallarpadam terminal is India's only full-fledged transshipment facility at present. Volumes at the private terminal have been on the upswing in recent years, with fiscal year 2016/17 throughput up 17.2 per cent year over year to 491,000 TEU from 419,000 TEU previously, according to port data.
That momentum has continued into the current year, with volume reaching a new monthly high of 47,000 TEU in May, a 19 per cent increase over the same month last year.
Enhancing productivity has been a major priority for DP World Cochin. According to its CEO Jibu Kurien: "We aim to continuously deliver high productivity at the terminal and ensure our customers witness a cohesive experience while working with us."
In a presentation to the Ministry of Shipping, the Cochin Port Trust has set a throughput target of 555,000 TEU in fiscal 2017/18, a near 13 per cent jump from the prior year for Vallarpadam. That seems easily attainable given the current volume trends.
Latest News
- For the first time, tianjin Port realized the whole process of dock operati...
- From January to August, piracy incidents in Asia increased by 38%!The situa...
- Quasi-conference TSA closes as role redundant in mega merger world
- Singapore says TPP, born again as CPTPP, is now headed for adoption
- Antwerp posts 5th record year with boxes up 4.3pc to 10 million TEU
- Savannah lifts record 4 million TEU in '17 as it deepens port
