Middle East-Bound Containers Stranded at JNPA to Get Ground Rent Charges Waiver for 15 Days

Container terminal operators at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port will provide 100% waiver on ground rent/dwell time charges for Middle East-bound containers stranded at the facility for up to 15 days in the wake of disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, JNPA said on Tuesday.

In addition, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), in a notice to stakeholders, said these operators will also waive off 80% of reefer plug-charges for up to 15 days.

The waiver on storage/dwell time charges and reefer plug-in charges for Middle East-bound export containers stranded in port area comes due to geopolitical disturbances in the Middle East and in order to mitigate the hardships faced by port users due to these developments, JNPA said.

The sops come days after the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways issued SoP for major port operators in the country amid the West Asia crisis and also asked them to consider waivers on various charges at the ports to mitigate the impact of disruptions.

"All terminal operators will give 100% waiver on ground rent/dwell time charges up to 15 days (from 0000 hours on February 28 up to 24 hours on March 14 for containers which were tying inside the terminals from February 28 or those which had gated in till 7 am March 8," JNPA said in the trade notice.

The port has five container terminals -- Nhava Sheva Free Port Terminal (NSFT), Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT), Nhava Sheva India Gateway Terminal (NSIGT), Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal (BMCT), and GTI-APM Terminal (APM).

These terminals are operated by a mix of global port operators, including DP World, PSA International, APM Terminals, and JM Baxi.

The JNPA also said these operators will also waive 80% of the reefer plugin charges up to 15 days (from 00.00 hours on February 28 till 24 hours on March 14 to those stranded reefer containers loaded with perishable goods, which were tying inside from February 28 or those which had gated in till 7 am on March 8.

In the notice, JNPA also directed the shipping companies, non-vessel operating common carriers and freight forwarders to ensure that these benefits are passed on to the actual exporters.

JNPA and the terminals are in constant consultation with customs authorities to facilitate storage of laden containers from other ports destined to the Middle East, as temporary transshipment cargo at the five terminals, the port authorities said.

It also said the port is providing additional storage area to terminals for stacking such additional cargo, among several other measures.