Cabotage rules might be relaxed

The Union Government is likely to revise the cabotage rules in place in the country. Cabotage refers to the the transport of goods or passengers between two points in the same country by a vessel or an aircraft registered in another country. Shipping Secretary K. Mohandas said that relevant proposal will be submitted before the cabinet this month.

Demand for changing the rules have been made for quite some time now. Under the present rules, once goods land in a particular port in India, Indian vessels alone should be used to carry them to other Indian ports. This has resulted in losses to the country as many foreign agencies have routed their ships and containers to countries which do not have such rules like Sri Lanka and Singapore. It is expected that the amendment will allow cabotage in India as well.

In case the rules are changed, a large increase in container movement in ports is expected. The International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadam is expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the amendment. The ICTT has got berthing facilities for foreign mother ships and the same ships can move cargo to other ports. This will enhance the revenue of ICTT as well as Kochi Port. The Chennai port, which presently is finding it difficult to get contractors for building new container terminal in view of the lack of chances to increase the number of containers, will also benefit greatly.

Chennai port being one of the two biggest beneficiaries, observers feel there is a rather strong chance of the change in the rules being made. With the Union Minister for Shipping representing Tamil Nadu and with renewed pressure from the state, the chances for the change have just gone up.