The 12 major ports of India have seen a 9 per cent increase in traffic handled, y-o-y, for the April – December period. The total cargo handled include 576.63 million tonnes for the period under review.
As per data from the Indian Ports Association, cargo handling in the year ago period stood at 529 mt.
Increase in traffic came on the back of a 35 per cent rise in thermal coal handling, which stood at 98 mt as against 72 mt in the year-ago period, followed by an increase in coking coal handling, which increased by over 16 per cent y-o-y to 43.25 mt (against 37.2 mt).
Kolkata and Haldia Dock Systems (together known as Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port), Paradip, Vishakhapatnam, Kamarajar (or Ennore), Chennai, VO Chidambaranar, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and Deendayal are the twelve major ports of India.
The largest commodity handled across the 12 major ports in terms of volume were Petroleum and other crude products like LPG/LNG. Around 176 mt of POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) was handled during the period under review, up 8 per cent y-o-y when 163 mt was handled.
As shown by the data from the association iron-ore (including pellet) handling saw an over 20 per cent decline for the nine-month-period (9MFY23), to 29.7 mt. During the same period last year, Iron ore shipments handled 37.2 mt.
Raw fertilisers was another item which saw a fall in cargo handling, bringing it down by 5 per cent-odd to 6.3 mt (apprx).
Paradip Port
Paradip Port, handled the highest traffic among the major ports, at 96.7 mt, up 16 per cent y-o-y . Pradip accounted for 17 per cent of the total traffic. Nearly, 12.6 mt was thorough-put for December only — the highest ever for the year.
The port saw an increase in thermal coal handling by 15 mt, or by 71 per cent y-o-y, to 36 mt. Coking coal handling, however, declined by 4 per cent to 10.2 mt, data from Indian Ports Association showed.
Other ports which saw significant increase in coking coal handling were Syama Prasad Mookherjee (SMP Kolkata), Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, New Mangalore and Chidambarabar. In fact, SMP- Kolkata reported the highest coking coal handling at 17.2 mt, up 58 per cent, y-o-y.
Chennai, Cochin, SMP-Kolkata and JNPA did not see any thermal or steam coal handling during the period, while others like Vishakhapatnam, Ennore, Deendayal were amongst those that saw an increase in coal cargo.
