Vaeshnavi Kasthuril & S.K Lakshan Karthik

4 October , Chennai

Chennai port and Kamarajar port are facing delays and congestion after the Red sea crisis, said Sunil Paliwal, Chairman of Chennai Port Authorities.

Multiple ships have different schedules at the port causing slot availability issues, said Paliwal in an interview. “Different carriers arrive on set days like Maersk on Sundays and Tuesdays, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) fleets on Mondays and Saturdays, and CMA CGM fleets on Thursdays. With one free day, the Red Sea crisis contributes to disrupt these schedules and leading to congestion at the ports,” said Paliwal.

The Red Sea conflict has led to “vessel bunching,” where multiple ships arrive at once, disrupting the port’s berthing capacities,” said Paliwal. The ongoing global conflicts like attacks by Houthi rebels disrupted major shipping routes leading to delays and bottlenecks.

Large cargo vessels arrivals at Chennai port doubled in the past five months, from 38 to 76 ships. Kamarajar Port exports dwell time rose from 96.2 hours to 104.7 hours, while import dwell time rose from 46 to 47.3 hours, according to National Logistics Data Services(NLDS). Both ports have brought extra equipment like reach stackers to speed up the handling of empty containers and make more room for the ones that are full. “This move helped in cutting down on the crowding at the docks, where space has been tight for a while now,” said Paliwal.

Reach stackers are machines built to handle all sorts of containers, despitethe size or weight.

Cargo vessels with cranes which were earlier directed to main berths have now moved to terminals without berths, freeing up previous congestion, said Paliwal. The ports have also partnered with terminal operators to bring in more skilled labour, improving their container handling capabilities to increase productivity, he said.

Both ports handle a combined 87.3 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo annually with Chennai port handling 48.56 MMT and Kamarajar Port 38.74MMT. The ports crossed Rs1,000 crore each in operating income in the financial year in 2023-24.