(a) whether ships upto third category only can anchor on Indian Ports and ships of larger size move towards Sri Lanka or Singapore ports in place of Indian ports for unloading of cargo;
(b) If so, whether one has to bear great loss for transportation of cargo from these ports to Indian ports; and
(c) if so, the corrective steps being taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SHIPPING ( SHRI HUKUMDEO NARAYAN YADAV )
(a) to (c): Yes, Sir. Upto third generation container vessels only can anchor at some of the Indian Ports, although in case of petroleum crude/products and Iron ore, larger vessels can anchor. As it is not possible to anchor even the third generation container vessels at some of the Indian ports, or such vessels are unable to call at the Indian ports, considerable quantity of containerized export / import is transshipped from/to country through the neighbouring foreign ports, including the ports of Colombo and Singapore, causing loss to Indian economy. To reduce transshipment of Indian cargo at foreign ports, Jawaharlal Nehru and Chennai ports are being upgraded as hubs to handle large container ships.