Chennai port has appealed against a Madras high court order that asked it to stop handling so-called dirty cargo such as coal and iron ore from 1 October, Live Mint reports.
In its 11 May order, the high court said such cargo should be shifted to the nearby Ennore port to prevent pollution in north Chennai.
The order came on a public interest litigation filed by a residents’ welfare association in north Chennai nine years earlier.
“We have filed a review petition in the Madras high court,” said Atulya Misra, chairman of the Union government controlled Chennai port.
The harbour is seeking a review of the order arguing that the operative part of the verdict cannot be implemented.
For instance, the court has directed Chennai port to shift some 1,500 employees involved in handling coal and iron ore to Ennore port.
“This is not possible,” Misra said.
Another port official said the court order, if implemented, will deeply hit the port’s financials. “We will lose as much as 18 million tonnes of cargo a year, resulting in a revenue loss of some Rs.240 crore because of the order,” he said on condition of anonymity.
The order cannot be implemented because commodity traders and buyers decide the choice of ports to send or receive cargo, the official said. “These are not government canalized products or commodities; hence, government has no role to play in shifting the cargo from one port to another,” he said. “That is decided by the exporters and importers.”
“Commodity buyers decide the choice of ports,” said an executive at Rudhra Commodities and Energy Trades Pvt. Ltd, the commodity-trading unit of the Siva group owned by entrepreneur C. Sivasankaran.
“They will use the port that offers them the lowest rates. Ennore port is frightfully expensive so people are extremely reluctant to go there,” he said, also asking not to be identified because of his company’s policy on speaking to the media.
The Chennai port official mentioned earlier said some customers who were using the port to ship coal and iron ore cargo were switching to Krishnapatnam port, a privately run port in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
Krishnapatnam port is more viable than Ennore port for transporting cargo, said the executive at Rudhra Commodities. Besides, it can handle large vessels known as capesize ships, offering significant reductions in transportation costs to exporters and importers because such ships can load larger quantities of cargo at a time.
Ennore port can handle only smaller panamax ships and that too not fully loaded because of depth restrictions at the port, he said, adding that Chennai port offered the lowest rates.
Capesize ships are the largest of the dry bulk cargo carriers; panamax ships are those that can transit the Panama Canal fully laden.
The Chennai port official said the harbour may approach the Supreme Court with a special leave petition depending on the outcome of the review petition in the Madras high court.
In July, shipping minister G.K. Vasan reviewed the impact of the judgement on the future of Chennai port. He advised evolving a suitable strategy, including potential for alternative cargo, for countering competition from neighbouring government and private ports, the ministry said in a statement on 27 July after a meeting.
In its 11 May order, the high court said such cargo should be shifted to the nearby Ennore port to prevent pollution in north Chennai.
The order came on a public interest litigation filed by a residents’ welfare association in north Chennai nine years earlier.
“We have filed a review petition in the Madras high court,” said Atulya Misra, chairman of the Union government controlled Chennai port.
The harbour is seeking a review of the order arguing that the operative part of the verdict cannot be implemented.
For instance, the court has directed Chennai port to shift some 1,500 employees involved in handling coal and iron ore to Ennore port.
“This is not possible,” Misra said.
Another port official said the court order, if implemented, will deeply hit the port’s financials. “We will lose as much as 18 million tonnes of cargo a year, resulting in a revenue loss of some Rs.240 crore because of the order,” he said on condition of anonymity.
The order cannot be implemented because commodity traders and buyers decide the choice of ports to send or receive cargo, the official said. “These are not government canalized products or commodities; hence, government has no role to play in shifting the cargo from one port to another,” he said. “That is decided by the exporters and importers.”
“Commodity buyers decide the choice of ports,” said an executive at Rudhra Commodities and Energy Trades Pvt. Ltd, the commodity-trading unit of the Siva group owned by entrepreneur C. Sivasankaran.
“They will use the port that offers them the lowest rates. Ennore port is frightfully expensive so people are extremely reluctant to go there,” he said, also asking not to be identified because of his company’s policy on speaking to the media.
The Chennai port official mentioned earlier said some customers who were using the port to ship coal and iron ore cargo were switching to Krishnapatnam port, a privately run port in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
Krishnapatnam port is more viable than Ennore port for transporting cargo, said the executive at Rudhra Commodities. Besides, it can handle large vessels known as capesize ships, offering significant reductions in transportation costs to exporters and importers because such ships can load larger quantities of cargo at a time.
Ennore port can handle only smaller panamax ships and that too not fully loaded because of depth restrictions at the port, he said, adding that Chennai port offered the lowest rates.
Capesize ships are the largest of the dry bulk cargo carriers; panamax ships are those that can transit the Panama Canal fully laden.
The Chennai port official said the harbour may approach the Supreme Court with a special leave petition depending on the outcome of the review petition in the Madras high court.
In July, shipping minister G.K. Vasan reviewed the impact of the judgement on the future of Chennai port. He advised evolving a suitable strategy, including potential for alternative cargo, for countering competition from neighbouring government and private ports, the ministry said in a statement on 27 July after a meeting.