The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has resorted to an alternative plan of action to have its coal unloaded from ships at the Sandheads on barges for its power plants at Farakka and Kahalgaon . The barges will sail to Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), unload the thermal coal to be transported to their power plants. The MV Stx Mutiara arrived at the Sandheads with about 74,000 tonnes of thermal coal for the power plants. Under normal circumstances, the berths 2 and 8 would have been used to unload the coal and the task would have been over long ago by now. In fact, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) tried its best to have the berths of 2 and 8 in operation but its efforts failed. “Under the circumstances”, according to a port official, “there was not any option for NTPC but to start unloading cargo from ships at the Sandheads”. This strategy seems to have been contemplated by KoPT as well as NTPC. A port official said: “May be, NTPC’s move will encourage others to carry out transloading operations of other items. Barges don’t have to enter the port confines at Haldia and can use riverine jetties. This saves time and effort”. Referring to the engaging of the barges, an official of the KoPT’s mercantile marine department said: “We don’t have the details of the barges. However, when they reach HDC, it will be checked whether they are certified. If importers want smooth operations, they should use certified barges”.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Haldia dock crisis starts having an adverse impact on the industry
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has resorted to an alternative plan of action to have its coal unloaded from ships at the Sandheads on barges for its power plants at Farakka and Kahalgaon . The barges will sail to Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), unload the thermal coal to be transported to their power plants. The MV Stx Mutiara arrived at the Sandheads with about 74,000 tonnes of thermal coal for the power plants. Under normal circumstances, the berths 2 and 8 would have been used to unload the coal and the task would have been over long ago by now. In fact, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) tried its best to have the berths of 2 and 8 in operation but its efforts failed. “Under the circumstances”, according to a port official, “there was not any option for NTPC but to start unloading cargo from ships at the Sandheads”. This strategy seems to have been contemplated by KoPT as well as NTPC. A port official said: “May be, NTPC’s move will encourage others to carry out transloading operations of other items. Barges don’t have to enter the port confines at Haldia and can use riverine jetties. This saves time and effort”. Referring to the engaging of the barges, an official of the KoPT’s mercantile marine department said: “We don’t have the details of the barges. However, when they reach HDC, it will be checked whether they are certified. If importers want smooth operations, they should use certified barges”.
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