News / Nhava Sheva moves to ease India–Middle East shipping disruption

Photo: @JNPA

As the Middle East war rages on, supply chain stakeholders serving Indian trades, including port authorities and container lines, are making multiple proactive efforts to mitigate the regional trade disruption.

One relief for shippers is the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), also known as Nhava Sheva, announcement of significant concessions on storage and other tariff rates for export containers stuck in the harbour as a result of Middle East shipping service suspensions.

They include a full waiver of ground rent and dwell-time charges for 15 days, from 28 February through 14 March, for all cargo, and an 80% rebate of reefer plug-in charges.

Indian exporters had been deeply concerned about the potential risk of demurrage charges accumulating on containers overstaying. Many perishables shippers had even raised “back-to-town” requests to remove the gated containers off the dock.

The waiver ties in with a ‘standard operating procedure’ (SOP) India’s Ministry of Ports and Shipping circulated to all ports last week, directing terminal authorities to engage in co-ordinated efforts as industry stakeholders battled logistics challenges.

“JNPA is committed to extending all possible assistance to the export/import community to tide over this crisis situation,” the port said, adding it had also promised to provide additional yard space to hold containers until shipped out and ensuring closer port/terminal-customs co-ordination.

JNPA is India’s largest container port by capacity, so shipping bottlenecks, even of a minor scale, reverberate through the industry.

According to Alphaliner today, India’s west coast ports are – along with Khor Fakkan and Salalah – carriers’ first alternative to direct Gulf calls, and have shown a notable increase in berthed vessels in recent days.

“Findings also indicate a geographical pivot towards the Indian subcontinent in routing. Ships broadcasting Nhava Sheva as their arrival point grew from 21 to 36, whereas Mundra remained a high-volume, stable hub.

“This suggest that shipping lines are decentralizing operations and prioritizing Indian ports to navigate regional conflict,” it said.

Source: Alphaliner

Meanwhile, container lines are desperately searching for alternative supply chain options to handle India-Middle East trade flows severely disrupted since the Iran conflict broke out.

French container line CMA CGM is set to begin a dedicated shuttle service from India to the UAE, according to industry sources. Indian ports of loading will be Hazira, Nhava Sheva, and Mundra, with the first vessel slated to depart at the end of the week.

It will operate on a rotation of Hazira-Nhava Sheva-Mundra-Sohar-Fujairah-Hazira, sources said.

However, they added that Indian cargo loads would be restricted to the UAE market, as “UAE Customs will not allow discharge of cargo for other Gulf territories”, one freight forwarder told The Loadstar. “So, there are no cargo rerouting opportunities by road for Qatar or Saudi Arabia.”

India-Middle East-Red Sea trades have been a major volume contributor for CMA CGM, via its BIGEX service network, so the suspension of Gulf connectivity involves significant trade repercussions for the carrier.

Today it slapped another levy across trades out of India from 16 March: an emergency fuel surcharge (EFS), of between $75 and $180 per container for long-haul and regional trade Indian export loads.

“Fuel prices have surged sharply due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Near and Middle East,” CMA CGM India explained in an advisory. “As a result, bunker costs have significantly increased across all regions and trades, impacting the overall cost of ocean transportation.”