The Defence Ministry has instructed Kochi port to scan all the containers that pass through the Vallarpadam terminal for security reasons. This is not received well by the industry since it is time consuming resulting in delay in the movement of the cargo. Of course, security issues cannot be ignored. But the officials said that such a system of scanning each container is not being followed even in the US and the European Union where strict security practices are in vogue. In case, the decision of the Ministry is final, the Vallarpadam terminal may not have an edge in competing with the other transshipment hubs like Colombo and Singapore particularly in terms of the transaction cost. Mr. P. Narayan, President of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry pointed out that such a regulation was not there insisting upon all containers being subject to scanning when the Cabotage law was relaxed for the Nhava Sheva port earlier. Moreover, if the containers can pass through other ports without individual scanning, security reasons do not appear to be rationale. Again, all cargoes whether exported or imported from the Indian ports are subject to strict inspection; cargo imported is allowed to be shipped to other Indian ports only after the payment of the import duty to the Government.
Monday, 5 November 2012
Kochi port to check all containers at Vallarpadam, Defence Ministry
The Defence Ministry has instructed Kochi port to scan all the containers that pass through the Vallarpadam terminal for security reasons. This is not received well by the industry since it is time consuming resulting in delay in the movement of the cargo. Of course, security issues cannot be ignored. But the officials said that such a system of scanning each container is not being followed even in the US and the European Union where strict security practices are in vogue. In case, the decision of the Ministry is final, the Vallarpadam terminal may not have an edge in competing with the other transshipment hubs like Colombo and Singapore particularly in terms of the transaction cost. Mr. P. Narayan, President of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry pointed out that such a regulation was not there insisting upon all containers being subject to scanning when the Cabotage law was relaxed for the Nhava Sheva port earlier. Moreover, if the containers can pass through other ports without individual scanning, security reasons do not appear to be rationale. Again, all cargoes whether exported or imported from the Indian ports are subject to strict inspection; cargo imported is allowed to be shipped to other Indian ports only after the payment of the import duty to the Government.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment