Cargo traffic at Mormugao Port up 46 pc to 17 LT

New Delhi, Jul 5 () Mormugao Port, one of the 12 major ports in the country, saw 46 per cent rise in cargo traffic to 16.99 lakh tonnes (LT) in June on the back of surge in iron ore exports and coal imports.
"Mormugao Port handled a total traffic of 16.99 LT during the month of June, 2016 as against 11.63 LT handled in June, 2015, registering a growth of 46 per cent," the Ministry of Shipping said in a statement.
Traffic handled during April-June, 2016, by the port was 84.62 LT against 41.39 LT handled during the corresponding period last year, which is a growth of 104 per cent.
"The growth was fuelled by a significant surge in iron ore exports and coal imports during the first quarter. Container traffic increased by 31 per cent and general cargo by 8 per cent," the statement said.
The Ministry said it has initiated many measures to improve the performance of the ports which include mechanisation
of the terminals, improving the TAT (turn-around time), quick evacuation of cargo, expansion of infrastructure and skill development of employees.
It added that a slew of measures to improve performance of ports has started to yield positive results.
India has 12 major ports -- Kandla, Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) which handle approximately 61 per cent of the country's total cargo traffic. NAM MR