Amid Covid pandemic, NMPT surpasses cargo handling

Among the major ports in India, the New Mangalore Port has surpassed cargo handled in the previous quarter of last fiscal in the corresponding quarter this year. This is the result of the strict following of SOP laid down to ensure uninterrupted cargo handling during the pandemic, NMPT Chairman A V Ramana said.

The port handled 9.2 million tonnes of cargo during the quarter ending June 30 this year against 8.9 MT of cargo handled in the first quarter of last financial year. This despite, the port handling 277 vessels against 321 vessels handled during first quarters of the financial year 2019-20.

Increased unloading of crude oil for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) and Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve (ISPRL) helped in the increase in traffic volume. Last year, 2.5 MT of crude unloaded during the first quarter while this year, the port handled 4 MT in the first quarter after the Union Government decided to fill the crude reserves when the international prices came down drastically during April.

However, there was a drastic reduction in demand from major captive cargo consumers such as JSW Steel, cement industries in North Karnataka and Udupi Power Corporation Lt. KIOCL could not dispatch three consignments to China during the period, Ramana said. The ban on cruise vessels too affected the revenue.