Adani Ports, Visakha Terminal seek cabotage relief

After giving relaxation in coastal shipping rule to Vallarpadam port in Kerala a year back, Adani Ports and Visakha Container Terminal are still are also waiting for the Union Shipping Ministry to relax the stringent coastal shipping rule that has the potential to double their transshipment business.

Cabotage rule prevents movement of cargo from one Indian port to another by foreign vessels. Therefore about 70 per cent of Indian container cargo is transshipped to hubs like Colombo, Salalah and Jebel Ali and are later transported to different Indian destinations. Indian vessels are considered too expensive and far fewer in number.

Adani Group’s recent transshipment joint venture with Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) and Visakha Container Terminal in Andhra Pradesh are losing out on massive domestic and international cargo volumes and port revenue.