News / Glitches in new terminal operating systems spark delays at south India ports

Cargo stakeholders using Adani Group container terminals at the south Indian ports of Kattupalli and Ennore are reporting growing delays, impacting productivity levels for vessels.

Amid historical infrastructure bottlenecks at Chennai, Kattupalli and Ennore had become the focal points for liners serving India’s east coast.

According to industry sources, the roll-out of new terminal operating systems by Adani had featured glitches in applications that typically connect vessel, yard and gate operations, hobbling the entire supply chain system.

Customs brokers serving the gateways said the delays had reached “alarming proportions”, with no tangible results from a series of meetings with various authorities, including Customs.

“Operational challenges at Kattupalli and Ennore have become unbearable to the trade,” the Chennai Customs Brokers Association (CCBA) told its members, and called on them to share their pain points for submission to officials.

The association complained that customs service providers were particularly frustrated with delays getting “equipment interchange receipts”, a document issued by a carrier for empty container allotments to the shipper, and “Form 13s”, which allow trucks to enter the terminal.

According to CCBA, the disruption is causing longer container dwell times and additional costs for exporters and importers.

“The delays have considerably hampered the gate-in of export shipments and the issuance of import delivery orders,” reported a source.

Other sources also noted a significant slowdown in container scanning, due to the system disruption, creating long truck queues outside terminals.

When containers remain on-dock beyond their allotted free storage time, cargo owners inevitably are charged port ground rent and carrier detention fees, in addition to other potential business losses.

Kattupalli and Ennore together handled 134,210 teu in September, down from 139,437 teu in August, according to industry data.

Adani has boosted its container terminal presence in southern India in recent years, as India’s production verticals have diversified. The region in and around Chennai is seeing rapid manufacturing investments, particularly for electronics and hi-tech products.

Meanwhile, container transhipments through Adani’s Vizhinjam Port are growing at a brisk pace, hitting some 100,000 teu in just four months after it began trial operations in July. The new terminal has seen some 46 containership calls, including several ultra-large vessels in MSC’s fleet.