A strike by unionized workers at India’s Port of Jawaharlal Nehru disrupted container movements to and from the state-owned terminal.
The sudden action that began Monday morning followed a dockside accident that resulted in serious injuries to a crane operator. The port administration ordered an investigation into the mishap.
Reports said union leaders turned down an initial financial compensation offered by the port authority, and further negotiations were underway to resolve the impasse.
At a review meeting held today, representatives of shipping lines and agents called on port management to take immediate steps to restore normal operations at the terminal.
The disruption comes at a critical time when the slump in trade is affecting traffic growth at India’s largest container gateway. In fiscal 2008-09 ended March 31, total traffic dropped to 3.95 million TEUs from a record 4.06 million TEUs the previous year.
Amid the slowdown in traffic, the port authority is going ahead with its capacity expansion plans covering a 4-million-TEU fourth container terminal and 330-meter berth extension projects.
The west coast hub currently has three terminals; the port-managed terminal and the two private facilities operated by DP World and A.P. Moller-Maersk, providing a combined capacity of 4.17 million TEUs.
The sudden action that began Monday morning followed a dockside accident that resulted in serious injuries to a crane operator. The port administration ordered an investigation into the mishap.
Reports said union leaders turned down an initial financial compensation offered by the port authority, and further negotiations were underway to resolve the impasse.
At a review meeting held today, representatives of shipping lines and agents called on port management to take immediate steps to restore normal operations at the terminal.
The disruption comes at a critical time when the slump in trade is affecting traffic growth at India’s largest container gateway. In fiscal 2008-09 ended March 31, total traffic dropped to 3.95 million TEUs from a record 4.06 million TEUs the previous year.
Amid the slowdown in traffic, the port authority is going ahead with its capacity expansion plans covering a 4-million-TEU fourth container terminal and 330-meter berth extension projects.
The west coast hub currently has three terminals; the port-managed terminal and the two private facilities operated by DP World and A.P. Moller-Maersk, providing a combined capacity of 4.17 million TEUs.