India’s Knee Jerk Approach to China’s Maritime Dominance
The nationalist fervor prevailing in India is spilling into the maritime sphere and its nationalists visualise the 7,500 km coastline as a connecting artery with the world’s busiest shipping routes. It is perceived that China has invested heavily in Sri Lankan ports at Colombo and Hambantota. India’s maritime ambitions revolve around Vizhinjam Seaport project as a major link connecting Kerala with the country’s ocean economy. Currently 60 % of cargo vessels in the world are motherships with deep draught requiring deeper ports to drop anchor in and most of the cargo at Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka is destined for Indian ports. It has been estimated that half of the volume will be diverted to Vizhinjam seaport in its first phase. Hot on the heels of allegations against the Adani group it has acquired the right to operate it for 60 years. Th rail track network is being doubled for developing road and rail connectivity for low cost freight movement and also linking with the national waterway terminal in Kollam. The lack of an Indian domestic transshipment port compels inbound and outbound containers to take a detour to one of those regional hubs before heading to their final destination.
Strategic Advantage on Major Shipping Routes
Vizhinjam Port has an advantage as it will be 18 kilometres from the international East-West shipping route connecting Western Asia, Europe, Africa and the far east . Vizhinjam Port will be capable of handling megamax container ships of as much as 20,000 TEUs. The Indian Port of Kollam is 33 km and Kochi Port 130 km from the international shipping routes and on the other hand Port of Colombo is 50 kilometres away. Motherships berthing at Colombo port have cargo transferred from them to smaller feeder vessels which takes them to other countries. In the past motherships avoided India as its harbours weren’t deep enough to handle the vessels and docked instead at ports of Colombo, Dubai and Singapore. Vizhinjam navigational channel goes as deep as 24 meters in places. It is likely that Vizhinjam Port will divert motherships ferrying containers to other countries presently dependent on Colombo. The Vizhinjam Port is eying the international East-West shipping on the route between the Suez Canal and Strait of Malacca.
Adani Conglomerate International Outreach
The future deep sea port has been jointly developed and financed by Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited Group and Special Economic Zone Ltd. , the Central and Kerala State government. Adani Ports , India’s largest private sector port operator, has earmarked around $ 2.4 billion for the Vizhinjam Transhipment Terminal scheduled to be completed by the year 2030.The Adani Group is developing Israel’s Haifa port and plans to build a hub in Vietnam as part of its expanding global footprint. Excited by the magnitude of the project the Adani Group has set the process for the final phase of construction activities rolling even before completing the initial phase.
Draught
Vizhinjam Port draught of 20 meters gives it the distinction of being the country’s first automated port and deeper then Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) in Mumbai with a depth of 14 metres and Kochi Port draught of 13.8 metres. Such a draught will make it the deepest container transhipment port in India. Vizhinjam Port’s container terminal will have nine quay cranes (capable of shifting containers for a distance of 72 metres from shore) whereas the Vallarpadam terminal at Kochi , operated by Dubai Ports World, has four ship-to-port cranes.
Infrastructure Inadequacies
Transshipment refers to the action of transferring cargo from an original ship to a mother ship at a port on the way to the cargo’s final destination.The required length of the berth at Vizhinjam Port is 800 metres whereas presently it is 274 metres.The breakwater to protect the harbour from waves is designed to be 2.97 kilometres long and so far 2.39 kilometres have been completed. A 1.1 km stretch of the total 1.7-kilometre road linking the port with the highway is also pending.
Rehabilitation package on paper
The Kerala State government announced a rehabilitation package for fishermen who would lose their livelihood and ecosystem due to the port project which covers compensation for sea surges and coastal depletion as construction of the port may result in large-scale erosion of the beach , land acquisition and construction of houses, alternative livelihood, empowering women, education and geriatric care.
India’s Maritime Moves – Countering China
It appears India’s maritime goals are to secure international maritime trade currently dominated by China and in the next stage to become an alternative manufacturing hub by reducing logistics costs for cargo coming to and from the country. India’s Ports and Shipping Ministry attributes defective shipping connectivity as hindering India’s integration into the global value chain which is depicted by the fact that India’s container traffic is 17 million twenty-foot equivalent
units ( TEUs) in sharp contrast to China’s 245 million TEUs.The container stream is less then 10 % of China.
Maritime Business Parks Linked to Gulf
In another ambitious move the Ministry of Ports and Shipping is promoting trade opportunities at Nhava Sheva Business Park (NSBP) and its seamless cargo transportation, 2 million square feet of world-class infrastructure, pioneering port based Free Trade Warehousing Zones , dedicated digital trading platform, complete cargo ownership, streamlined regulations, zero import stamp duty for global suppliers , onsite Customs, 100% foreign ownership, tax benefits, re-exports and 66+ value-added services. The NSBP is linked to the Jebel Ali Free Zone. The motivation behind India’s commercial maritime policy appears to be of challenging the sway of China in cargo and container shipping.India’s policy makers seem increasingly insecure in the success of China Pakistan Economic Corridor and its global Belt and Road Initiative and China’s investment at Gwadar Port.
Authored by Nadir Mumtaz
Source/Credit ;
https://gcaptain.com/indias-new-mega-port-hopes-to-attract-the-worlds-biggest-ships/
http://(Bloomberg) © 2023 Bloomberg
Leave A Comment