According to industry sources, the imposition of Indian Light House charges by the Kochi Customs’ may offset some concessions now being offered by the port management to attract more vessels.
Recently, Kochi Customs decided to collect Indian Light House dues for on-deck cargo on all vessels calling at the port effectively nullified the tariff reduction measure of the port.
While mainline vessels receive 86 per cent rebate in vessel-related charges from the port management, feeder vessels get 30 per cent rebate. The concession is intended to attract more ships to dock at the port.
But the ILH levy has forced shipping lines to spend additional money for each port of call, reports suggest.
The ILH dues are now being collected on the basis of the NRT (Net Register Tonnage) of vessels entering Indian ports. The new levy was a statutory requirement under the Light House Act, 1927.
Though Kochi Port was excluded from the decision for the time being, the authorities have now started to collect such a fee from vessels.
NRT is a ship’s cargo volume capacity expressed in “register tonnesâ€, one of which equals to a volume of 100 cubic feet. It is calculated by reducing non-revenue-earning spaces — spaces not available for carrying cargo, for example engine rooms, fuel tanks and crew quarters — from the ship’s Gross Register Tonnage.
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