Congestion at Mundra Port Hits Operations

KMCTWA writes to centre seeking immediate intervention

Padmesh Prabhune

The Kandla Mundra Container Transport Welfare Association (KMCTWA), an association of over 15,000 truckers has written to the Centre seeking an end to delays in the allotment of containers that is pushing up the cost of logistics at Mundra, India’s largest container port.

The Kandla Mundra Container Transport Welfare Association in its letter to the Ministry of road transport & highways said the primary cause of major trade loss is the denial of access to export laden containers, as the gate does not adhere to the booking schedule.

The Association maintains, “Vehicles face delays in unloading at the terminal, exacerbating inefficiencies, and leading to substantial financial losses”, adding, “These issues demand urgent attention and resolution to mitigate the adverse impact on trade operations and overall profitability,”

It further stated that the current average loading time for imports is 6 to 12 hours and the extended turnaround time adds to operational challenges, delaying the smooth flow of goods in supply chain.

The congestion plaguing India’s Mundra Port over the past weeks continues to cause multiple operational problems for container lines working on Indian trades, according to industry sources.

Carriers offering regular calls at Mundra have had challenges connecting all planned container loads due to gate restrictions.

Earlier the Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA), which represents foreign carriers operating out of India, had also raised concerns over berthing delays and productivity reductions at the port.

An infrastructural marvel, the mega port at Mundra is a major economic gateway that caters to the northern hinterland of India with multimodal connectivity. While the port authority is making all efforts to bring operations back on track the association has demanded urgent intervention.

– Marex Media