Role of Ports

There is no need to stress the significance of Ports as they are the important link in the logistic chain. They are the gateways of trade and traffic. They play an important role for the economic growth of a country. In the era of liberalization the role of ports became more important than ever. Historically, kings / Lords created port facilities for sea going vessels and mariners and collected revenues. The need of the day was limited for wind sail or subsequent mechanized sailing vessels.
But the shipping has gone through a metamorphic change after the industrial revolution. The ship size grew larger and larger, 2nd generation 3rd generation etc. Many of the major ports are spending millions of rupees for augmenting the capacity by deepening the channel by dredging. In spite of the huge spending for dredging, how many ports have successfully increased the draught and how many ports are able to berth a Panamax or Suez max vessel? (Forget about the cape size) Many of the ports still resort to lighting / roadstead working before taking to berth.
Container ports and Transshipment terminals
Transshipment terminal is a container port that provides terminal and marine services to handle and facilitate transfer of containers between feeder and mother vessels in the shortest time . .Containers are big boxes which makes transportation easier and cargo safer ,easy to handle .They are of standard sizes ,usually 20’x8’x8.5’feet .The corresponding volume is called Twenty Equivalent Units (TEU).Cargo volume is calculated in TEU
Foremost in the requirements for establishing a Container Transshipment Terminal is its strategic location which should result in cost savings . The proximity to International shipping route is the most important among these .It should also be suitable for a ‘hub&spoke’ arrangement and consolidation of cargo. A Greenfield location implies lower land values .Deeper channels and Harbour basins will lower the dredging requirements .
At present nearly 80% of Indian containers are transshipped at Colombo ,Singapore and Dubai.60-70% of the containers handled at Colombo are of Indian origin /destination .The estimated annual loss to India is around $200 Million (Rs.1000 crores) .Indian ports handled 4.24 MTEU while Colombo alone handled 2.20 MTEU. Container throughput of Asian ports ~80 MTEU (44% of World trade )
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