Chennai Port has sent its Marine Personnel to assist the Puducherry port authorities to maintain a six meter draft to enablerestoration of cargo handling after a span of nearly two decades. Once thedraft gets stabilized small coastal vessels could enter the port and operate
from berths.
Chennai Port Chairman Sunil Paliwal who was addressing a news conference said the team will assist Puducherry port to maintain the draft. He was replying to questions about the inordinate delay in implementing the satellite port project at Puducherry for Chennai port.
MoU by both ports five years ago
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by both the Ports five years ago by which containers from the Industry in Central Tamil Nadu will make a beeline to Puducherry port where all the customs formalities will be completed and loaded into small vessels. The vessels will move directly to the container terminals in Chennai port thereby avoiding congestion in the highways leading to Chennai.
The project was all fine in paper but port authorities at both ends did not take into account the infra deficiencies in the Puducherry port including poor draft, narrow roads leading to Puducherry port which cannot take container trailers and acute congestion near the
entrance of the port, the industry sources said.
It took nearly two years for the shipping Ministry to initiate the capital dredging work at the port an indication how the red tape works in the Ministry.
