Adani Ports ups Vessel Charges at Mundra from 16 May, Demand for Cargo Falls 20%

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has hiked the vessel related charges at its flagship Mundra port and the marine and cargo related charges at Krishnapatnam Port.

On Tuesday, 5 May 2020, India’s biggest private port operator reported a 74 per cent drop in net profit for the January-March quarter.

In April, the network of nine ports and terminals run by APSEZ across India handled about 20 per cent less cargo compared to the same period last year due to the coronavirus-induced demand destruction.

“We are looking at increasing the rates in the range of anything between 2-3 per cent on a per ton basis during the course of the next 8-10 months,” Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer, APSEZ, said during an analyst call on Wednesday. APSEZ will raise rates “more granularly” looking at client to client, he said.

“So, clients who fall under our hinterland and who have no option but to come to us, there we will be definitely targeting increase. And, in places where a customer has an option, there we will take a call based on the situation at that time. But, overall, a 2-3 per cent rate hike is doable this year,” he added.

The revised vessel related charges at Mundra port comprising port dues, berth hire and pilotage, across all gross tonnage slabs, will take effect from May 16, according to a May 4 trade notice issued to shipping agents.

APSEZ has also issued a trade notice revising the marine, wharfage and rail haulage charges at Krishnapatnam port which it acquired from the CVR Group for an enterprise value of ₹13,500 crore in January this year.

Mundra, India’s biggest commercial port, handled 139 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in FY20.

The nine ports and terminals run by APSEZ handled 223 mt of cargo in FY20, registering a growth of 7 per cent over the previous year. In containers, it handled 6.25 million TEUs, clocking a growth of 8 per cent.