Coastal Car Carrier Ship calls at Cochin Port

KOCHI:
M. V. Dresden, the first ever Ro-Ro Car Carrier ship to call at Cochin berthed at Q7, Ernakulam Wharf . The Car Carrier called at Cochin from Ennore in the circuit, Ennore-Cochin- Kandla-Cochin- Ennore, connecting the automobile production hubs in Tamil Nadu in the East coast and Gujarat and Haryana in the West coast of India.
The operations commenced at 0800 hrs and completed at 1140 hrs on 27.09.2016, discharging 345 cars of various makes; Hyundai, Ford, and Renault.
Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways witnessed the operations.
The Car Carrier is of Cyprus registration, which has obtained license for coastal run between the ports in India, and is of 177 m length and 7 m draft. The operator of the Car Carrier is SICAL Logistics based in Chennai, which is a leading player in bulk operations in many ports and operates a Coal Terminal at Ennore. The Steamer Agent of the Car Carrier at Cochin is Neo Logistics and the Handling Agent is MOL.
Car Carriers, which are Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) ships, are highly productive with automobiles being driven in and out of the ship. The operator will be carrying the vehicles of Renault, Ford, Hyundai and Toyota from Tamil Nadu and Honda, Ford and Tata from Gujarat. The operator is also targeting Maruti.
Car handling requires highly clean berths and storage area of high quality. Cochin Port has allotted Q7 berth at Ernakulam Wharf for handling the ship, and a clean yard of 4,000 Sq m area at Q7 is allotted for storage of cars until delivery to the dealers, which is normally expected in a week’s time.
Kerala is a major consumption centre of cars with annual sales of about 1,50,000 to 1,80,000 units, which is highly significant in determining logistic patterns. The present mode of movement of automobiles for internal consumption in India is dominated by huge car carrier trucks plying on our congested roads, and Kerala is no exception. Therefore, the potential coastal transport market segment could be strong; 50 ship calls a year with 1,000
cars per call will be required if 30% of the Kerala market shifts to the coastal transport mode.  The prospect of Cochin Port attracting coastal movement of cars, with major automobile manufacturers moving cars to dealers in Kerala from factories in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Haryana, assumes significance in this regard.
The new business is the culmination of sustained efforts of Cochin Port. The Port had offered re
bates in Port charges in advance towards attracting the business; concessional Wharfage of Rs.500 per Car and Rs.900 per Truck, and 50% rebate in the notified Vessel Related Charges. Cochin Port expects to earn Rs. 10 Lakhs per call from the Car Carrier ships.
Car handling is highly prestigious, and at adequate volumes could be a steady source of income of about Rs.5 to 8 Crores per annum to the Port in addition to the significant contribution in environmental safety by eliminating thousands of trucks from the road and the resultant emission savings.