Thoothukudi: Import and export volume through V O Chidambaranar port in Thoothukudi slipped by 6.52 per cent and 0.51 per cent in the just concluded financial year (2017-2018).
The port also failed to maintain its previous year’s (2016-2017) achievement of handling 384.63 lakh tonne in 2017-2018, when the port was able to handle 365.83 lakh tonne, which is 4.98 per cent below the total cargo handled in the previous year. The number of ship calls in V O Chidambaranar port in the financial year 2017-2018 too was not appreciable as around 1,482 ships calls in the port when compared to the 1,662 ship calls during the financial year 2016-2017.
The reason for the reduced number of ship calls in the port, according to V O Chidambaranar port trust chairman, I Jeyakumar, was arrival of cargo into the port by larger vessels. Contributing further to the decreased volume of cargo handled in the port in the just concluded financial year is the decline in coal import by private power plants, Jeyakumar said.
Containerized cargo handled in the port increased considerably in 2017-2018. “Handling of containerized cargo went up by 8.65 per cent when compared to the previous financial year, he said adding that the operational performance of the port has shown a positive sign for future growth. The average pre-berthing time in V O Chidambaranar port decreased considerably from 1.98 days in 2016-2017 to 1.27 days during 2017-2018. Moreover the average turnaround of ships too has come down from 4.40 days to 2.69 days in 2017-2018.
This enhanced the ship berth day output from 10,456 tonne to 11,961 tonne, Jeyakumar said. The port’s operating income in 2017-2018 was Rs 622.75 crore against the previous year’s Rs 597.93 crore. The net surplus income of the port after tax payment was Rs 117.88 crore and the operating ratio of 440.17 per cent of Thoothukudi port, which according to Jeyakumar, was one of the best among the major ports in India.
