It is because of the factor of rains that export of iron ore from the Paradip Port has slowed down.
As the consignments of ore with moisture content are reaching the port stockyard, shipping companies are reluctant to transport it for reason of safety. The vessels carrying bulk cargo with moisture content are likely to capsize. Mongolian ship Black Rose had sunk off the Paradip coast on September 8, 2009, possibly due to the same reason.
So, ships in the berths are stranded for more than a week in the port. According to the guidelines of the International Maritime organisation (IMO), the maximum moisture limit in iron ore is 10 per cent of the total weight. However, the iron ore being transported to the port from the hinterland of the State is wet with heavy moisture content.
A Paradip Port Trust (PPT) official said the ore reaching the port is not meeting the transportation moisture limit (TMl) as it is wet and soaked. The ship owners and exporters have been directed not to undertake voyage with such cargo as it may prove hazardous. The International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargo Code bars a vessel from carrying cargo with moisture contents. So, the port is sticking to the code in letter and spirit, he added.
A ship remained stranded for over ten days recently as the bulk cargo which it was to carry to China was found wet. However, the iron ore traffic has registered an impressive 112.48 per cent growth in the port in recent months despite the restriction on mining imposed by the State Government. The situation has improved as the State Directorate of Mines has given clearance to some iron ore mine owners. The trade that is going on presently is based on old export orders.
Earlier, there was an acute scarcity of iron ore cargo plots in the port’s operational areas. The permits of 59 such plots had been cancelled in August 2012. However, things have improved now as the port has created ample space for iron ore handling. As many as 15 new cargo plots measuring 4,500 sqm have been set up exclusively for iron ore traffic.
The plot owners who are leased out the patch for an 11-month-period through tender process have steadfastly begun trading, leading to the traffic growth, said another PPT official. But the port is not in a position to handle more than 1,000 truckloads of iron ores everyday for export owing to shortage of cargo plots for stockpiling, he said.