A ship agents’ body alleged that lack of workers at the Mumbai port, one of the oldest harbours, is having an adverse impact on trade as vessels take longer for loading/unloading cargoes.
“The port is not in a position to allot the required number of gangs for ensuring normal rate of operations of discharge/load the vessels. This has resulted in increase in the turnaround time for vessels at the port,” Mumbai and Nhava Sheva Ship Agents Association said in a statement.
The body further said it has written to the port authorities highlighting the issue.
Officials at the Mumbai Port Trust were not immediately available for comments.
The Mumbai port was ranked fourth among a dozen major ports in terms of traffic after Kandla, Paradip and the nearby JNPT, with its share hovering around 10 per cent among them in FY15, handling 61.66 million tonne cargo.
The ship agents body further alleged that if staffing is done as per those prescribed by statutory bodies, the prevailing shortage would not have happened at all.
