Plea to bring minor ports under TAMP norms

All India Port and Dock WorkersÂ’ Federation
has demanded that minor ports be brought under the purview of the Tariff Authority of Major Ports (TAMP). The demand comes in the wake of minor ports handling considerable share of cargo.

The Federation is a major confederation of trade unions in the shipping sector. It has approached the Union Ministry of Shipping with this demand. It is pointed out that many of minor ports in the country are larger than the 12 major ports in terms of facilities.

Minor ports handle 40 per cent of the maritime trade. At the same time, major ports, being crippled by the control of TAMP, are striving to compete with the non-major ports for existence. The TAMP is using its age-old conventional tools to fix the rates for the major ports, which always become unrealistic and do not prove beneficial for the port, said the Federation.