India considers outsourcing mooring services to reduce port charges for shipping companies

The Indian government is considering a proposal to allow major port authorities to outsource in-house services, such as pilotage and towage activity, in an effort to improve efficiency and reduce costs for users. This move comes as a response to industry stakeholders’ appeals to lower marine charges, which they believe are making direct calls to Indian ports less competitive than other Asian hubs. The long-term maritime growth plan, “Amrit Kaal Vision 2047,” emphasizes the need for new policy measures to enhance the competitiveness of domestic ports and recognizes the potential benefits of outsourcing services.

The government’s vision paper highlights that outsourcing services like pilotage and towage to third-party providers could lead to better operational efficiencies and cost reductions. It also notes the challenges faced by major ports in maintaining their own tugboats, citing high maintenance costs, low availability, and unionized manpower as issues. The document further explains that some key global ports have already adopted the outsourcing model of operations.

Additionally, the Indian government has been working to develop some ports into regional transshipment hubs, but high port call costs are seen as a deterrent for mainline carriers. The “Amrit Kaal Vision 2047” document identifies the potential for ports to act as a transshipment hub for India based on factors such as draft availability, proximity to maritime routes, and hinterland connectivity. In the fiscal year 2022-23, Indian ports saw approximately 1.4 billion tons of freight traffic.

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