Stranded Ships West Asia: Middle East tensions: Consider charges waiver for stranded ships, ports told | India News
NEW DELHI: With West Asia-bound cargo ships stranded in India due to conflict in the region, the shipping ministry on Friday directed all 12 major ports to consider reductions, waivers or requests for waivers of charges including storage rents, reefer plugging and ship changes.The ministry said ports may allow storage of cargo destined for West Asia as transshipment cargo during the affected period, allocate additional storage areas and facilitate movement of export cargoes lying at ports to the domestic market in coordination with customs. They are also asked to provide priority handling for perishable cargoes to prevent deterioration and facilitate additional bunkering capacity to meet potential demand.The directives came hours after Shipping Secretary Vijay Kumar chaired a virtual meeting with stakeholders including the ministry, shipping lines, oil PSUs, companies and exporters, who identified port congestion and the imminent possibility of a shortage of containers in the next two to three weeks. Allowing more foreign-flagged vessels to transport domestic goods was suggested to address the shortage of ships and containers amid rising freight costs.According to the Ministry of Shipping, there are 11 ships in various Indian ports destined for the Persian Gulf and another 35 Indian-flagged ships in the region.The DGFT informed stakeholders that the Financial Services Department is holding meetings with insurance companies, the General Insurance Council and the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India to resolve the issue of hike in insurance premiums. It also said that the RBI has held a meeting with the Indian Banks Association and SBI and asked banks operating in the West Asia region to allow their employees to work from home so that shipping lines, exporters and importers do not face problems.Kumar said that the port authorities have been instructed not to pay any additional charges.
