News / Cyclone disrupts port operations along India's east coast corridor

Chennai Port. Photo: DP World.

The flow of containers in and out of southern Indian ports has been severely disrupted by Cyclone Michaung, which caused widespread mayhem in and around Chennai this week.

Chennai, Kattupalli and Ennore, the three key container ports along the country’s east coast corridor, had to halt operations for three days. The state of Tamil Nadu bore the brunt of the adverse weather, which brought torrential rains and flooding in Chennai, turning highways into rivers and swamping rail lines.

With power lines knocked out, port authorities had serious challenges reopening full-scale operations. According to industry sources, while the three ports resumed vessel berthing, export/import cargo flows have been minimal, and access to inland areas mostly cut off.

Maersk has two weekly calls at Ennore, including a direct Europe string, the ME7, and the Chennai Express (CHX) to the Far East. The Danish carrier told The Loadstar it had taken some proactive steps to mitigate the impact of port disruption.

“We advanced our CHX call by a day to dock in ahead of the cyclone threat,” said a Maersk India source. “For this sailing, we had already gated in all planned export shipments.,”

But the carrier reported a 24-hour berthing delay for its ME7 call, with cargo moves and productivity hampered by power supply problems,  and added: “Imports will take some time to get out of the port gates.”

Other carriers offering regular calls in the region also warned of cargo delays and customer service shortcomings. a CMA CGM (India) advisory noted: “The storm caused significant disruptions in the region, affecting essential services such as power, internet, and public transportation.”

The French liner recently began offering direct sailings for North Europe by adding a regular call at Ennore to its Nemo service.

Adani Group, which manages Kattupalli Port and the Ennore container terminal, yesterday noted that restricted quayside services had resumed. It said: “We have one vessel each at both ports.”

Carriers have recently expanded connections out of the southern corridor, with Kattupalli the focal point, to tap volume growth driven by increased industrial activity, which includes growing contract manufacturing by Foxconn and Pegatron of Apple iPhones.

Notably, South Korean liner HMM has consolidated Indian calls at Kattupalli as the market expands.

Reflecting the steady growth, the southern Indian corridor saw a combined 385,281 teu in November, up from 347,288 teu a year earlier, according to industry data.