NEW DELHI: India’s major ports controlled by the union government recorded a 3 percent year-over-year increase in container throughput in fiscal year 2015-16, which ended March 31, according to the newest provisional port statistics collected by JOC.com.
The country’s 12 public port trusts cumulatively handled 8.2 million 20-foot-equivalent units, compared with 7.96 million TEUs in fiscal 2014-15. Containerized tonnage was also up 3 percent to 123 million tons.
Of that, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust accounted for 4.49 million TEUs in 2015-16, up about 0.5 percent year-over-year, surpassing its previous yearly high of 4.47 million TEUs recorded the prior fiscal year, even as congestion and other challenges, especially labor troubles, took a hit on the growth rate at India’s busiest container handler.
By terminal, APM Terminals-operated Gateway Terminals India moved 1.86 million TEUs, down about 8 percent from 2.01 million TEUs, while DP World’s flagship Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal saw volume tumble roughly 14 percent from 1.16 million TEUs to 1 million TEUs. The Dubai-headquartered company’s new second facility in the harbor, named Nhava Sheva (India) Gateway Terminal, handled 202,328 TEUs in fiscal 2015-16 after opening in September.
State-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Container Terminal did exceedingly well last year, handling 11 percent more volume than the previous year, reaching 1.43 million TEUs, thanks to equipment upgrades and new service additions.
After posting record volume last year, the top port started fiscal 2016-17 off in the throes of congestion and service disruptions brought on by labor problems tied to rubber-tire gantry crane operations at APM Terminals-operated Gateway Terminals India. The four-day strike was resolved late April 4 when RTG operators returned to their posts.
The latest annual data shows throughput at Chennai Port edged up 1 percent from fiscal 2014-15 to 1.56 million TEUs. Truck bottlenecks have been a big drag on capacity utilization at Chennai, according to recent studies by global port consultants.
