Exporters, importers and large sections of the shipping industry have opposed a proposed 10 per cent increase in the container handling rate at Chennai Container Terminal Ltd (CCTL).
The terminal operator, DP World, had approached the Tariff Authority of Major Ports (TAMP) for effecting a 14 per cent hike in the rate. The present charge is US$58 per TEU. However, the TAMP approved only a 10 per cent increase. The revision is expected to come into effect from August 1 and will be valid till December 31, 2009. While the operator said the hike in the rate was based on the return on capital employed, inflation, efficiency gains and prepayments, users termed the hike “unjustified”. Ship operators said since CCTL’s traffic had grown by nearly 30 per cent every year for the last two-three years, the handling charge ought to go down. The Chennai and Ennore Ports Steamer Agents Association (CEPSAA) at CCTL was facing constraints in handling more volumes due to lack of additional equipment and yard space. CEPSAA members said the rate-hike proposal was an admission of having reached the saturation level and the only way to increase profitability for the company was by enhancing the tariff, which he said was unjustified. The Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) said the rate for coastal containers at CCTL would rise by 33 per cent.
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