A STUDY ABOUT THE WAYS TO REDUCE TURNAROUND

TIME OF VESSELS AT COCHIN PORT TRUST

Submitted to

RAJAGIRI COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (AUTONOMOUS)

(Affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam)

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award

Of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)

2015-17

By

APARNA K P

Register Number: 15210031

RAJAGIRI COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (AUTONOMOUS)

RAJAGIRI VALLEY P.O.

KOCHI - 682039

1
 DECLARATION

I, Aparna K P, hereby declare that the report entitled A study about the ways to reduce
turnaround time of vessels at Cochin Port Trust is a bonafide report of the project done by
me at Cochin Port Trust during the month of April-May 2017.

The report has been prepared by me under the guidance of Mr. Simon Jacob, assistant professor,
Rajagiri centre for business studies, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for awarding
Master of Business Administration.

I also declare that this is my original work and has not been submitted for any other university,
institution for the award of any degree or diploma.

Place: Kakkanad.

Date:

Aparna K P

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

The gratification and elation of this project will be incomplete without mentioning all the people
who helped me to make it possible, whose guidance and encouragement were valuable to me. I
thank the Almighty God for his immense grace and blessings at each and every stage of the
organizational project.

I express my sincere gratitude to my internship guide Mr. Rajeev Kumar, assistant wharf
superintendent, Cochin Port Trust, for providing me an opportunity to undertake my project in
their esteemed organization and for giving valuable knowledge of the working of the firm.

I am greatly indebted to my faculty guide, Prof. Simon Jacob Rajagiri Center for Business
Studies for his kind guidance, cooperation and helpful suggestions in every stage of my project.

I express my sincere gratitude to all the staff of Cochin Port Trust who selflessly adjusted their
schedule to accommodate me in their schedule. My project would not have been successful
without their help.

I express my sincere gratitude to other countless people who have been generous with time, their
support and encouragement.

3
 CONTENTS

Part one: organization study

Industry analysis 6
Company profile 11
Vision and mission 14
Organization structure 15
services 20
Work flow 23
Current projects 25
Future projects 26
Swot analysis 29
Part two: problem centered study
Background of problem 33
Statement of problem 39
Relevance 40
Objectives 43
Presentation and analysis of data 44
Suggestions 52

4
 PART ONE
ORGANIZATION STUDY.

5
 1. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS.

According to the Ministry of Shipping, around 95 per cent of India's trading by volume and 70
per cent by value is done through maritime transport.

India has 12 major and 200 notified minor and intermediate ports. Cargo traffic, which recorded
1,052 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) in 2015, is expected to reach 1,758 MMT by 2017. The
Indian ports and shipping industry plays a vital role in sustaining growth in the countrys trade
and commerce. India is the sixteenth largest maritime country in the world, with a coastline of
about 7,517 km. The Indian Government plays an important role in supporting the ports sector. It
has allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 100 per cent under the automatic route for
port and harbor construction and maintenance projects. It has also facilitated a 10-year tax
holiday to enterprises that develop, maintain and operate ports, inland waterways and inland
ports.

Cargo traffic handled by Indias major ports increased 5.1 per cent year-on-year to 315.4 million
tonnes (MT) during April-September 2016. In terms of composition of cargo traffic, the largest
commodity was P.O.L. (37.1 per cent), followed by coal (23.4 per cent), container traffic (19.6

6
per cent), other cargo (11.9 per cent), iron ore (5.66 per cent) and Fertilizer and FRM (2.5 per
cent). The countrys major ports handled a combined traffic volume of 586.29 million tonnes
during April 2016-February 2017, up from 550.45 million tonnes during same period last year,
while containerized cargo tonnage rose 3.7 per cent to 10.5 MT during August 2016. During
April-June 2016, the ports had handled a combined volume of 2.12 million TEUs, which is
roughly around 70 per cent of the countrys overall container trade. The government has taken
several measures to improve operational efficiency through mechanization, deepening the draft
and speedy evacuations. In FY 2015-16, the Indian Port sector witnessed capacity addition of 94
Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA), which is the highest in the history of major ports. The
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
reported that the Indian ports sector received FDI worth US$ 1.64 billion between April 2000
and December 2016. The Indian Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways,
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, announced a massive investment in Indias ports and roads
sector, which is likely to help boost the countrys economy. The Indian government
plans to develop 10 coastal economic regions as part of plans to revive the
countrys Sagarmala (string of ports) project. The zones would be converted into
manufacturing hubs, supported by port modernization projects, and could span 300500 km of
the coastline. The government is also looking to develop the inland waterway sector as an
alternative to road and rail routes to transport goods to the nations ports and hopes to attract
private investment in the sector. Highlights of the study about trends in Indian ports sector
conducted by ICRA in 2016 are:

Overall cargo volumes at Indian ports registered moderate growth in H1 FY2016: Non-
major ports impacted more by the slowdown experienced in coal volumes.
During the first 11 months of FY2016, the cargo throughput at major ports has registered
a 4.2% growth over the corresponding period of previous year.
In the Budget 2016, GoI announced setting up of new Greenfield ports and inland
waterways with a planned outlay of Rs. 31.84 billion under the Ministry of Shipping
(MoS), which includes Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of Rs. 1,000.0 crores for
development of Indian shipping, ports, inland waterways and ship building sector.

7
 Vijay Kelkar committee suggests winding down of Tariff Authority of Major Ports
(TAMP) to allow the ports to usher in a market-driven pricing regime, and place them at
par with private ports that are free to set rates.
The near to medium term outlook remains subdued as uncertainty may, be associated
with particular cargo categories like imported coal, due to uncertainties plaguing the
power sector and persisting delays in execution of Greenfield power projects; and
containers, due to the relatively weak global environment affecting exim trade. Further,
despite the lifting of mining ban in key states, iron ore export volumes are also expected
to be modest over the near term at least.

8
1.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRY.

Competitive rivalry: increasing trade activities brought by rising imports of commodities

like coal and crude generate higher business and limit overall competition as most ports
handle specific geographies. Also, there have been instances of private managed ports
attracting the share of other ports (usually handled by government agencies) as in the case
of JNPT and Mumbai port trust. However, demand expected to remain strong.
Threat of new entrants: 100% FDI under automatic route and income tax exemption for
10 years is attracting foreign players. However higher capital expenditure acts as a
barrier.
Substitute products: the infrastructure provided at ports as well as the items imported like
coal and crude oil has no substitutes. Also, no other means of transportation could be
relied upon to transport these materials. Therefore threat from substitute products is
weak.
Bargaining power of suppliers: has a medium influence. The facilities and equipment
needed for port is specialized which increases the dominance of suppliers over ports but
for the major ports controlled by governments prices at which equipments could be
purchased are limited by the competitive bidding system.

9
 Bargaining power of customers: this is medium as the rates that government ports could
charge to customers are fixed as per the rules of Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP).

2. COMPANY PROFILE.

Cochin Port is a major port on the Laccadive Sea Indian Ocean sea-route and is one of the
largest ports in India. The port lies on two islands in the Lake of Kochi: Willingdon
Island and Vallarpadam, towards the Fort Kochi river mouth opening onto the Laccadive Sea.
The International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), part of the Cochin Port, is the
10
largest container transshipment facility in India. The port is governed by the Cochin Port Trust
(CPT), a government of India establishment. The modern port was established in 1926 and has
completed 91 years of active service.

2.1 HISTORY.

The Cochin port was formed naturally due to the great floods of Periyar in 1341 AD, which
choked the Muziris port (near present-day Kodungallur), one of the greatest ports in ancient
world. Ever since, Kochi became one of the major ports with extensive trading
relations Romans, Greeks and Arabs, all lured by the traditional spice wealth of the state. The
port further attracted European colonialists like Portuguese, Dutch and finally British who
extended their supremacy over the Kingdom of Cochin and the port city of Fort Kochi. The
traditional port was near Mattancherry (which still continues as Mattancherry Wharf).

Cochin-port-trust-on1948

The need of a modern port was first felt by Lord Willingdon during his governorship of Madras
Province of British India. The opening of the Suez Canal made several ships pass near the west
coast and he felt the necessity of modern port in the southern part. He selected the newly joined
Sir Robert Bristow who was a leading British harbor engineer with extensive experience with
maintenance of the Suez Canal. Bristow took the charge of chief engineer of Kochi Kingdom's
Port Department in 1920. Ever since then, he and his team were actively involved in making a
Greenfield port. After studying the sea currents, observing tidal conditions and conducting
experiments, he was convinced about the feasibility of developing Kochi. He believed that Kochi
could become the safest harbor if the ships entered the inner channel.

The challenge before the engineers was a rock-like sandbar that stood across the opening of the
Kochi backwaters into the sea. It was a formidable ridge of heavy and densely packed sand that
prevented the entry of all ships requiring more than eight or nine feet of water. It was thought
that the removal of the sandbar was a technical impossibility. The potential consequence on the

11
environment was beyond estimation. The harm could be anything like the destruction of
the Vypeen foreshore or the destruction of the Vembanad Lake.

Bristow, after a detailed study, concluded that such data was history. He addressed the immediate
problem of erosion of the Vypeen foreshore by building of rubble granite groynes nearly parallel
with the shores and overlapping each other. The groynes first produced an automatic reclamation
which naturally protected the shore from the monsoon seas. Confident at the initial success,
Bristow planned out a detailed proposal of reclaiming part of the backwaters at a cost of Rs.25
million (US$370,000). An ad-hoc committee appointed by the Madras government examined and
approved the plans submitted by Bristow.

The construction of the dredger 'Lord Willingdon' was completed in 1925. It arrived at Kochi in
May 1926. It was estimated that the dredger had to be put to use for at least 20 hours a day for
the next two years. The dredged sand was used to create a new island to house Cochin Port and
other trade-related establishments. Around 3.2 km of land was reclaimed in the dredging. The
strong determination of Sir Bristow and his team was successful when the large steamship SS
Padma, sailed into the newly constructed inner harbor of Kochi. Speaking to the BBC on that
day, Bristow proudly proclaimed his achievements with the following words: "I live on a large
Island made from the bottom of the sea. It is called Willingdon Island, after the present Viceroy
of India. From the upper floor of my house, I look down on the finest harbor in the
East." The Willingdon Island was artificially created with the mud sledged out for the harbor
construction.

In 1932, the Maritime Board of British India declared the Port of Cochin as a major port. The
port was opened to all vessels up to 30 feet draught. During the World War II, the port was taken
over by the Royal Navy to accommodate military cruisers and war ships. It was returned to civil
authorities on 19 May 1945. After Independence, the port was taken over by the government of
India. In 1964, the administration of the port got vested in a Board of Trustees under the Major
Port Trusts Act. The port was listed as one of the 12 major ports of India. The strategic
importance of Cochin during the World Wars was an immediate reason for the construction of the
harbor. This has helped especially to resist the Japanese threat during the Second World War. The
harbor building during the inter-War period was crucial in the shaping of Cochin as a modern
urban space that reorganized the local caste and labor relations. According to a recent study, "The

12
20-year long project appropriated, modified, or undermined existing social institutions of labor
recruitment, work processes, skills and local technologies. The large-scale appropriation and
modification of local skills and labor recruitment and work process in this colonial project
produced a space of disparity by reinforcing the pre-capitalist caste-based coercive labor
relations. The project also involved a massive destruction and appropriation of the social spaces
of the urban poor.

2.2 VISION AND MISSION.

The Mission of the Cochin Port Trust is to provide dependable, cost-effective Port
services through modern and efficient infrastructure coupled with high quality,
customer friendly services. The Port shall manage its assets and resources for optimal economic
use to the Nation and the community. The Port shall strive to be the main catalyst for the

13
economic development of the region, with a strong commitment to environmentally
sound policies and safe practices. The Board of Trustees, the employees and all stakeholders of
the Port shall work as a team in an open, positive, collaborative and cooperative manner. In
pursuit of this Mission, the Port Trust shall be guided by the principles of integrity, ethical
behaviour, professional excellence, service to the community and respect for every individual.

Vision: To serve the country as a

Public service provider.

An economic development facilitator.

A business enterprise.

An environmental conservator.

2.3 ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE.

Cochin Port Trust is an autonomous body under the government of India and is managed by
Board of Trustees constituted by the government. The board is headed by the chairman who acts
as the chief executive officer. The government may from time to time nominate the trustees in

14
 the Board representing various interests. The chairman is assisted by the deputy chairman who in
turn is assisted by department heads and officials of the following port departments:

General Administration

Traffic

Accounts

Marine

Civil Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Medical
Board of Trustees.

Chairman

Deputy Chairman

Traf
General Traffic Finance and Marine
administrati department accounts departmen
on department. t

Civil Mechanical Medical

engineering engineering department
department department

2.3.1. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT.

The general administration department of CoPT deals with the entire gamut of recruitment,
seniority and promotion of port personnel. Department is headed by the secretary who is assisted

15
by 3 deputy secretaries (administration), deputy secretary (estate), deputy secretary
(establishment), deputy secretary (planning and research), law officer, industrial relations officer,
chief vigilance officer, public relations officer, secretary officer and Hindi officer. The training
cell under this department is in charge of the training activities in the organization. It aims to
enhance customer satisfaction through effective application of technical system including the
process of continuous improvement. It also advises other department on policy matters relating
to human resources, administration, legal, industrial relations, reservations etc. it imparts regular
functional trainings to port personnel to keep their knowledge in their respective fields upto date
and keep them motivated. The department maintains cordial relations with the unions operating
in the port trust with a view to have harmonious industrial relations.

Public relations division keeps the employees and general public well informed on various time
to time. Apart from this, matters related to RTI and issuance of toll passes for vehicles plying in
the port area is also carried out by this department.

Estate division deals with management of ports land. The main function is allotment of land on
lease and license basis, giving priority to port related activities, as per the government land
policy guidelines. Only online applications will be considered for lease/license and renewal of
the same. Bills are generated through REM module of SAP.

FUNCTIONS:

Arrange manpower requirements.

Labor welfare measures.
Settlement of labor disputes.
Appointments, promotions, transfer etc.
Conveying meetings of the board of trustees and its sub committees.
Preparation of agenda for the meetings and follow up actions taken for the decisions
taken.
Public relations work.
Managing ports land and allotment of quarters performing preventive vigilance measures.
Implementation of the official language.

2.3.2. FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT

Functions:

16
 To give financial advice on various matters of the administration of the port.
Custodian and accounting of the receipts from the port fund.
Compilation of budget estimation of financial statements.
Pre-audit and checking of bills as an instrument of control.
Financial and budgetary control.
Payment of salary, pension and other dues to the employees.
Accounting of expenditure on works.
Issue of bills towards cost of service rendered by the port and recovery of amounts due.
Costing of service and operations as a part of cost control.
Provides information about vessel, cargo and lease related services.
Settlement of claims.
Maintenance of deposit accounts of port users

2.3.3. TRAFFIC DEARTMENT.

Services provided by the traffic department are:

Allotment of berth to cargo, cruise vessels and passenger ferries.

Berthing meeting is conducted on all working days under the chairmanship of traffic manager
along with harbor master for planning the berthing and sailing of all vessels calling at CoPT. This
meeting is attended by the port users who are handling the ships. Berths are allotted as per the
priority according to the government guidelines.

Cargo handling operations at wharfs.

CoPT facilitates handling of general cargo at wharfs through supply of port labor and shore
equipment to the stevedores. Liquid bulk is handled at specified berths, whereas containers are
handled by M/s. IGTPL at the licensed terminal ICTT, Vallarpadam. Various qualities have been
set for the services rendered, which are monitored on a regular basis.

Receipt, storage and delivery of cargo from ports storage spaces.

Cargos are stored at various open and covered notified storage spaces at the Ernakulam wharf
and Mattancherry wharf. Import cargos are delivered to the consignee or their representatives
after complying necessary customs and port formalities. Export cargos are received for stuffing
into containers at the CFS and also for non containerized shipment. The cargo is received at

17
Ernakulam wharf and Mattancherry wharf for stacking. Vast area of open and covered non-
bonded storage space is also available outside the wharf area for stacking cargo.

Recommending the issue of pass to various areas

Reception of cruise vessels and passengers.
Management of port operations system module

CoPT operates fully under the ERP environment. Both vessel and cargo operations are handled in
POS module. Port users can get registered in the port community system and their online
application for services can be processed by the CoPT on real time basis.

Licensing of temporary storage area for stacking cargo.

2.3.4. MARINE DEPARTMENT

Marine department is headed by the deputy conservator. The harbor master, dock master and
dredging superintendent assist him in task

Functions:

Piloting of vessels in and out of the port.

Berthing/sailing of vessels and interim bill generation.
Ships in CoPT are safely taken in, berthed, safe guarded from the pollution and fire and
safely directed back after completion of work.
Pollution control is the responsibility of this department.
Piloting of the vessels in and out of the port, fire service, signals station operation etc are
responsibility of this department.

2.3.5. MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT

Mechanical engineering department is headed by the chief mechanical engineer. This department
performs the functions of maintaining and operating all the cargos on berth. It is directly
involved in the operations of the port apart from the repair and maintenance of all port
equipments, vehicles, floating crafts etc.

2.3.6. CIVIL DEPARTMENT

18
This department is headed by the civil engineer. The main functions include maintenance and
development of the general conservancy of the port from the engineering point of view. The
principal activity of this department is planning, design and execution of development of port
infrastructure like land area berthing structures, navigational channels, storage areas, storage
sheds, roads and bridges connection and office and residential buildings

2.3.7. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT

This department is headed by chief medical officer. This department provides medical facilities
to the port employees, their departments and other residents of Willingdon Island. There is first
aid post at different centres and isolation centres to treat infectious diseases. The casualty section
of the hospital works round the clock. A nursing school is being operated and run by this
department.

2.4 SERVICES

2.4.1. MARINE SERVICES

On Arrival:

All ships on approaching Cochin are to contact Cochin Port Control on VHF Channel 15 / 16
and report their E.T.A. to receive instructions on Pilot boarding / anchoring. Cochin Port Control
is equipped with Radar / A.I.S. based V.T.M.S. and monitors the approach of vessels towards the
fairway buoy. Open anchorage is south of the Channel with clay and sand bottom offering good
holding ground. Pilots board ships in the vicinity of the Buoys no. 3 & 4 (Deep drafted vessels -

19
about 0.5 n.m. west of buoys 1 & 2). Pilot ladders are to be rigged on the lee side 1.5 m above
the water line. The Pilots embark from F.R.P. Pilot boats white superstructure / red hull with
PILOTS marked on the sides.

Port Channels:

The entrance to the harbor is by a 16500m long and 260 m wide 15.95 m deep outer approach
channel marked with eight sets of buoys numbered from 1 to 16.

Inner harbor is divided into two navigational channels Ernakulam Channel of 2800m long and
300 500 m wide with depths from 9.75 to 13.5 m and Mattancherry Channel of 2200 m long
and 180 250 m wide with a depth of 9.75m. Mattancherry Channel has the berths Q1 to Q4,
North and South Coal berths and B.T.P.Ernakulam Channel has berths Q5 to Q10, North and
South Tanker Berths and Cochin Oil Terminal.

Basin for the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) lies just north of the
shipping channel along the south face of Vallarpadam Island.

Basin for the LNG terminal of Petronet LNG Ltd. is located north of the approach channel
between buoys 14 & 16 with the jetty along the south end of Puthuvypin Island.

2.4.2. CARGO SERVICES.

Import/export procedures are as per the guidelines of Director General of Foreign Trade

Import Documents

Import General Manifest approved by Customs.

Bill of Entry along with cargo charges to be filed through Customs House Agent.
Customs Out of Charge Certificate.
Steamer Agents Delivery Order/ Bill of Lading for ownership of the cargo.

20
Export Documents

Shipping bill approved by Customs.

Cargo charges through Customs House Agent.
Customs Let Export Order for the specified shipping
All documents are to be submitted online through Port Community System and
Customs ICEGATE system.
Personal baggage clearance.

Cochin Port has facility to handle unaccompanied personal baggage received in containers. The
container will be de-stuffed at Q6 shed and the goods will be examined and cleared by Customs
Office in Q6 shed. The customer has to submit necessary documents to Customs and Port, either
through a Customs House Agent or by himself. The importer shall initially submit copy of the
Bill of Lading along with cargo charges and Delivery Order to Port. Appraisal ticket shall be
issued from Port for Customs examination. After Customs clearance the importer shall submit
Customs out of charge stamped in Baggage Declaration for taking delivery of goods.

Container freight system.

Cochin Port has a fully fledged Container Freight Station with mechanized stuffing and
destuffing service. It has 10000sq.m of covered space and 20000 sq.m of open space. CFS has
facility for stuffing and destuffing both LCL and FCL cargo. CFS is operation from 6 am to 10
pm on all week days. On-wheel stuffing is provided. Ro-Ro jetty is situated in the near vicinity
of CFS. Security is being provided by CISF. Facilities for palletizing are also available.

LO-LO/RO-RO terminal

Cochin Port has set up a Lo-Lo/Ro-Ro Terminal for transporting the containers between the
Willingdon Island and ICTT Vallarpadam. Containers from port CFS can be easily transported to
and from the ICTT quickly at very low cost with this facility.

2.4.3. GENERAL UTILITY SERVICES

Ferry Services: Cochin Port has regular ferry service to various Islands in Lakshadweep.
Lakshadweep Administration and Lakshadweep Development Corporation Ltd. is chartering the

21
voyages and issues tickets to passengers. Currently five ships are plying between Cochin and
Lakshadweep. There is facility to avail package tour to Lakshadweep for these voyages.

Fire Fighting Services: Responsible for fire prevention, protection and extinction activities, safe
handling of Hazardous cargo, bunkering operations hot work permits etc. Assist the city fire
brigade and other nearby organizations on request during emergencies. Specially trained crew for
afloat fire fighting. Trained in pollution control operations. Fleet of most modern fire fighting
appliances including high volume pumping, long-range monitors, sufficient stock fire fighting
media of fastest fire knock down capability.

2.5. WORK FLOW.

2 major activities occurring in CoPT are import and export.

2.5.1. IMPORT PROCEDURE.

Steamer agent files the vessel arrival intimation 7 days prior to the expected arrival of
vessel.
Steamer agent files import general manifest (IGM) manually or electronically.
Steamer agent pays the vessel related charges in advance.
Port allocates the berth and vessel is berthed.
Customs, PHO, plant quarantine, immigration etc officials board the vessel and entry
onward is granted.
Port/terminal operator commences the cargo operations.

22
 Stevedore indents for the labor equipment.
Unload of cargo operations starts with a tally.
Cargo is stacked at the proper places.
After the completion of the landing operations, vessel sails out and the charges are
regularized.
Bill of lading is submitted to the steamer agent and delivery order is obtained and based
on the delivery order, bill of entry is filed by CHA/importer.
Bill of entry (BE) is cross checked with IGM and tallied.
BE is sent for examination and assessment.
Selected packages are opened and customs examines the cargo. Value is assessed and
payable duty is arrived at.
Duty is paid by the importer/CHA.
CHA files import application (IA) along with the delivery order. Port cargo related
charges are paid. IA is verified with IGM.
On obtaining the out of charges from customs, CHA approaches the port for delivering of
cargo with BE and IA.
The documents are cross verified while ticket is issued and delivery is affected. The
delivered goods pass the port gate examination document of the gate.

2.5.2. EXPORT PROCEDURE.

Exporters/CHA requests the traffic manager for moving the cargo into the port and based
on the permission given the cargo is moved into the port with a clear chit.
Exporters/CHA submits shipping bill to customs along with supporting documents lik
packing list, letters of credit etc.
After passing the shipping bill by the customs export department, goods are presented for
examination and appraisal.
Customs give pass order for loading the cargo.
CHA files export application along with invoice, packing test etc.
The CHA submits the export application along with allowed for shipment by customs to
the port. The documents are compared and note cessed.
The steamer agent files the vessel arrival intimation prior to the expected arrival of the
vessel.
The port allocates the berth and vessel is berthed.
The steamer agent files for entry outward.
The vessel related charges are paid in advance by steamer agent.

23
 Customs officers verify the contents/cargo and permit clearance by giving let export
order (LEO) and customs passed shipping bill.
Stevedore indents for labor and equipment.
Cargo is loaded with proper tally and mates receipt is received. The consolidated cargo
exported by the vessel is filed as export general manifesto (EGM) with customs.

2.6. CURRENT PROJECTS.

2.6.1 SHIP REPAIR YARD

Cochin Port Trust has awarded a project for development of an International Ship Repair Facility
to the Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL) on 19-9-2012. The facility is to come up on 41 acres of land
on the Western side of Willingdon Island along the Mattancherry channel. CSL is investing
around Rs.490 crores in the venture. The existing ship repair facilities of the Port including the
dry dock (66 m x 12.5 m x 4 m), slipway and workshop complex are being taken over by CSL.
CSL will also install a Ship Lift and Transfer System for 6 vessels. The Ship Lift System would
be approx. 120 m long, with a 30 m wide lifting platform, and have capacity to handle light ship
weights upto 6,000 tonnes, LOA 130 m and beam 25 m.

2.6.2 MULTI USER LIQUID TERMINAL.

Cochin Port Trust has awarded the construction of an Oil-cum-LPG Jetty at Puthuvypin in March
2013. The project is scheduled for commissioning by March 2016. The project has a total
capacity of 4.10 MMTPA, with LPG forming 0.68 MMTPA and bunkers/POL products being
3.42 MMTPA. The terminal is designed as a Multi-User Liquid Terminal. IOCL will have use of
the terminal for 161 days in a year, while other operators can use it for the balance 204 days. The
berthing structure when complete, will berth vessels with 230m LOA, 13 m draft and 80,000
DWT. This jetty will service IOCLs LPG storage facility in Puthuvypin, and in the process,
reduce road transport of LPG from Mangalore through Kerala.
24
2.5 FUTURE PROJECTS.

2.6.1. SAND MINING PROJECT

Cochin Port Trust has been exploring methods of reducing the net expenditure on maintenance
dredging. One of the suggestions in this regard was utilization of the material from the dredging.
The Port has now decided to concentrate on the area around Vypeen where sand is available. It
is estimated that around 4 million cubic metres of sand per year is being dredged from this area,
which extends about 5 KMs into the shipping channel from the Vypeen Gut. The Port has
secured Environmental Clearance to use the dredged spoils for beach nourishment. The Port now
proposes to use this sand for construction purposes after segregating and subjecting it to
washing. This will be done on a PPP (DBFOT) basis. Around 24 acres of land is available to the
west of the LNG terminal in Puthuvypin for locating the necessary plant and machinery. When
the LNG terminal runs at 5 MMTPA, it will produce 2.4 MLD of de-mineralized water. This
could be procured for washing operations on mutually acceptable terms from the Petronet LNG
Ltd. The Port proposes to call a tender-cum-auction for a sand mining operation to be located on
this land; the period of the concession will be for 10 years. The Port will undertake the dredging
and deliver the sand to this area by means of pipelines.

2.6.2. CRYOGENIC WAREHOUSING

Cochin Port has a 5 MMTPA capacity LNG terminal at Puthuvypin operated by Petronet LNG
Ltd (PLL). An area of 10 acres in Puthuvypin next to the LNG terminal has been earmarked for

25
setting up cryogenic warehousing using the cold energy available from the regasification process
that can be used for creation of a zero CO2 emission cold-chain hub. The Ministry of Shipping
and the Ministry of Agriculture are spearheading a project to set up cold chain hubs at Ports with
LNG terminals like such as Cochin Port, so that they could be developed as Perishable Handling
Centres and Perishable Port Gateways.

2.6.3. COCHIN PORT FTWZ

In India, a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a specifically delineated duty-free enclave and is
deemed to be a foreign territory for the purposes of trade operations and duties and tariffs. Free
Trade and Warehousing Zones (FTWZ) are a special kind of SEZs to create trade related
infrastructure to bridge the gap in the existing facilities available for trading and storage
activities for foreign trade with freedom to carry out trade transactions in free currency. The
SEZ/FTWZ is regulated by the provisions of the SEZ Act, 2005 and SEZ Rules, 2006. FTWZs
can be developed as international trading hubs, serving as key links in global logistics and supply
chains servicing both India and the world. FTWZs help to mitigate customers logistics & supply
chain challenges unique to India. Under the scheme of the SEZ Act, the SEZ/FTWZ is developed
and set up by a developer along with co-developers. 100% Foreign Direct Investment is
permitted under the automatic route, which means, without any specific prior approval either by
the Government or the Reserve Bank of India, for setting up of Special Economic Zone/FTWZ.
So foreign companies can also develop and set up SEZ/FTWZs by becoming a developer or co-
developer. Cochin Port Trust has been given in-principle approval by the Ministry of Commerce
& Industry for developing and setting up an FTWZ on 102 acres of land on Willingdon Island,
and has been declared as developer of Cochin Port FTWZ.

2.6.4. COCHIN OUTER HARBOR PROJECT

The littoral drift phenomenon, which is associated with the movement of substantial quantity of
sand, predominantly from the north to the south, has been widely held to be responsible for the
coastal erosion off the coast of Cochin. This phenomenon is also thought to be principally
responsible for the fact that 95% of the siltation of Cochin Port is from the outer sea. At 21
million cubic metres per year Cochin Port has the highest siltation among Indian ports,
necessitating year-round maintenance dredging. Conceptual studies through IIT, Madras and

26
Central Water & Power Research Station, Pune show that the intensity of the sea erosion as well
as the siltation of Cochin Port can be reduced if two breakwaters are put up at the mouth of the
Port. Cochin Port had therefore prepared a Feasibility report for the Outer Harbor project through
the consultant M/s.i-maritime Consultancy Pvt. Ltd., Navi Mumbai. Their study, based on
extensive modeling at Central Water & Power Research Station, Pune shows that if two
breakwaters are constructed, there would be an accretion to the coastline of 50-100 metres in the
Fort Kochi-Chellanam area and 100-200 metres in the Puthuvypin area in 10 years. As such, the
project is of immense environmental importance to the Cochin coast. A further benefit of the
breakwater project is that it reduces siltation in the inner harbor from about 21 million cubic
metres to 12 million cubic metres, a drop of 40%.

2.6.5. RO-RO FACILITY.

Kerala is a great market for cars. The congestion on the roads is now opening up an opportunity
for operating coastal RO-RO services for transporting cars. Mundra to Cochin is a 5 day voyage
while Cochin to Ennore is a 7 day voyage. OEMs like Maruti, GM, FORD, Tata, and Honda
could be potential clients on the Mundra to Cochin to Ennore run while Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota,
FORD, Renault could be the clients on the Ennore to Cochin to Mundra run. Cochin Port offers
good storage yards and concessional Port charges for committed, regular RO-RO runs.

27
3. SWOT ANALYSIS.

STRENGTHS:

Closest Indian port to the busiest international sea route: CoPT is only 11 nautical miles
to international sea route from Middle East to Singapore and only 74 nautical miles from
Suez to Singapore international sea route.
An all weather natural harbor.
Indias first e-port.
Linked to main centres of country by rail, road etc.
0% pilferage.
Highly experienced staff.

WEAKNESSES:

Old infrastructure.
Limited draft and high dredging cost: draft is the depth required for ships to be anchored,
since the draft in CoPT is limited draft could only be increased by dredging which
increases dredging cost.
Tidal restrictions and weather conditions which creates delay for ships to be anchored.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Huge scope of development at CoPT as most of the space is unutilized.

Investments in infrastructure and transport facilities.
Opportunity for private participation and joint venture prospects.

28
 Policy support by government.
Port is benefitting from increasing external trade, crude oil imports, increasing coal
imports
Current projects like ship repair yard and multi user liquid terminal when completed
provides good opportunities to port.

THREATS

Emergence of non-major and private ports: Non-major ports are gaining shares and a
major chunk of traffic has shifted from major ports to non-major ports. The contribution
of non-major ports traffic to total traffic rose to 44.8 per cent in FY15 from 28.6 per cent
in FY07
Lack of industrial base in Kerala.
Poor road transportation in Kerala.
100 per cent FDI under automatic route and income tax exemption (10 years) is attracting
foreign players.

29
 STRENGTHS
Closest Indian port to the busiest international
sea route
An all weather natural harbor WEAKNESSES
Indias first e-port. old infrastructure
Linked to main centres of country by Limited draft and high dredging cost
rail, road etc.
Tidal and weather restrictions
0% pilferage.
Highly experienced staff.
SWOT
ANALYSIS

OPPORTUNITIES
Huge scope for development
Policy support by government
New projects like ship repair yard and MULT
Opportunity for private participation
and joint venture prospects
THREATS
Emergence of non-major and private ports
Lack of industrial base in Kerala.
Poor road transportation in Kerala.
100 per cent FDI under automatic route and
income tax exemption (10 years) is attracting
foreign players.

PART TWO
PROBLEM CENTRED STUDY.

30
CHAPTER ONE : PROBLEM FORMULATION

1.1 TITLE OF THE STUDY

A study about the ways to reduce turnaround time of vessels at Cochin Port Trust

The project aims to study in detail about the vessel turnaround time at CoPT, how it can be
calculated and its relative importance on the overall port performance. From the study it is being
understood that the vessel turnaround time of port increased from the preceding year. So, the
study will focus on exploring the ways to reduce the vessel turnaround time at the port and its
feasibility.

31
1.2 BACKGROUND.

1.2.1 LITERATURE STUDY.

Turnaround time (TRT) of the vessel refers to the time the vessel reports at the anchorage to the
time it sails out from the berth. Ideally the berths should wait for the ships and not the ships for
the berth. At international ports, there is no concept of pre berth detention time (PBD) as
sufficient infrastructure is available to service the vessels as and when they arrive. The average
TRT per ship is determined by dividing the total hours by the total number of ships calling at the
port.

The turnaround time issue, which has been discussed and argued by many scholars since the
emergence of containerization for the last three decades have evolved a lot of development.
According to UNCTAD, (1976) under operational indicator, it states clearly turnaround time is
crucial to be considered, where it portrays port capability and ability to provide tremendous
services with high productivity and performance to port user. The most important objective for a
port container terminal is to increase its throughput or in other word is to decrease the turnaround
times of vessels. As a result, the turnaround time of a vessel is depending on the effectiveness of
allocating and scheduling key resources such as, quay cranes, yard cranes, berths and trucks.
Back then, Nagorski, (1972) already foresees this scenario when he discusses that a careful
planning is necessary for obtaining satisfactory results. As well as Nor Ghani, (1996) also
stresses out on turnaround time when he studies the relationship between queuing theory and
congested cost. Consequently, the issue of turnaround time for vessel is related with berthing cost
for shippers and increment voyage for vessel itself. Preston and Kozan, (2001) also urge the vital
of turnaround time for vessel, as it becomes its objective to minimise the time vessels spent at

32
berth. Port users are looking into berthing side as it is actually can determine the whole aspects
such as cost, voyage, marketing, planning and scheduling. The pivotal key here is turnaround
time for vessel, because it is able to solve a lot of things for shipping industry. Consequently,
taken into consideration supply chain process, high turnaround time means the process from raw
material to user is able to reduce, therefore economic of scale is able to be achieved.

Marlow and Paixao, (2003) argue that most of researches conducted in port container
performance are based on quantitative measures, as it is easier in assessing port performance.
Port container terminal is a service-oriented; therefore, efficiency is very crucial in determining
moves per hour for loading and discharging container from and onto vessel. Whereby,
productivity lies on as measurement for container moves per hour for every vessel. There have
been some researchers who already looked into port performance and efficiency to show the
critical aspect in container terminal (Clark et al., 2004; Safaradis, 2002; Sanchaz et al., 2002;
Estache et al., 2002; Bardhan et al., 1998; Tongzon, 1994, 1999, 2001; and Talley, 1994). Since
the current scenario of world trade goes to cellular vessels, thus the demand for transportation
good via sea increases tremendously. With that, more and more port container terminals are
expanding their terminals in order to cater the available demand. Hartmann, (2004) argues that
container terminals are facing challenges of reaching turnaround time with more and larger
vessel in the shortest possible time. As a result, in order to obtain operational efficiency
objective, there are three aspects between planning and control level which can be segregated
into strategic level, tactical level and operational level (Vis and Koster, 2003). This means port
container terminals need to enhance their planning and operation capability by deploying
innovative equipments and state-of-the-art technology in order to optimize container terminal
logistic process. In order to optimize port container terminal resources, it is really vital to ensure
that port container terminal operational flow is able to operate smoothly.

Singapore, Gordan et al.,(2005) mention, even a small nation is able to surpass its natural
constraint by evidently successfully applying information technology in critical areas with the
reason to increase the islands capacity to handle huge throughput in port container terminal.
Apart from that, Singapore is also providing supportive government policies to shipping line,
ample investment from government and private, as well as operations, location, and deep water

33
draft for vessel, and simultaneously sustains Singapores port among port users. Marlow and
Paixao, (2003) and Tongzon, (1995) make use of port performance indicator in order to focus
and getting distinction between port efficiency and effectiveness as well as in measuring port
performance. UNCTAD, (1976) has become the benchmark as an indicator when measuring port
performance. Surprisingly, it has been used until now even though UNCTAD, (1976) only
focuses on financial and operational indicators and even for conventional terminal.

Back then, Oram and Baker, (1971) state that turnaround time is one of the factors that should be
included when measuring port performance; the other factors are material handling or labor
productivity and berth occupancy.

In late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s as derived from Journal of Transport Economic and
Policy was keen on published papers regarding turnaround time issue. Even though the issues
closely related with economic and policy, the contribution towards port industry had impacted
the industry. As well as the study more on conventional port, thus back then, the evolution of
containerization and cellular vessel started with dynamic progress. Whereas in 2000s most of
research in port container terminal are narrowing the scope by focusing on terminal equipments
such as yard crane and truck (Ng, 2003; Ng et al., 2005; Zhang, 2002; Kim et al., 2001), quay
crane (Kim et al., 2004, Kozan, 2001) and rubber tyre gantry crane (Zhang et al., 2002). They
focus on these aspects to ensure that container terminal operators are able to maximize these
kinds of equipments.

Performance indicators suggested by UNCTAD

Financial indicators: Tonnage Worked

Berth occupancy revenue per ton of cargo

Cargo handling revenue per ton of cargo

Labor expenditure

Capital equipment expenditure per ton cargo

Contribution per ton cargo

34
 Total contribution

Operational indicators: Waiting Time

Service Time

Turnaround Time

Tonnage per ship

Fraction of time berthed ships worked

Number of gangs employed per ship per shift

Ton per ship hour at berth

Tons per gang hours

Fraction of time gang idle

In port container industry, Tongzon, (1994) describes that port performance is measured in terms
of the number containers moved through a port, known as throughput, on the assumption that the
ports are throughput maximisers. In addition, Tongzon, (1994) also brings out an alternative port
performance indicator in simpler way than UNCTAD, (1976), when it concerns on location,
frequency of vessel calls, port charges, economic activity and terminal efficiency, hence
Tongzon, (1994) conceptualizes it into economic, location, and operational. Talley, (1994)
delivers his port performance indicators, and narrows it only into economic perspective.

As far as port container industry is concerned, port performance measure is critically vital to
everyone who involves in shipping industry, however it is very surprising that there are almost
no standard methods that are accepted as applicable to every port for the measurement for its
performance. Hence, a lot of argument can be made since the methods are different, and actually
it will distort the development of port industry itself (Culllinare et al. 2002). Talley, (1994)
attempts to build a single performance indicator in financial aspect as the shadow price of
variable port throughput per profit dollar to evaluate performance of a port and this overcomes
the drawback of multiple indicators. Evidently, it can be concluded that even a single
performance indicator (financial), is merely impossible to be standardized as the methods applied

35
varies such as allocating capital cost, different taxation systems, depreciation of assets, different
forms of financial assistance, and cargo handling costs as it mutually based on negotiation with
client.

Productivity is a summary measure of a quantity and quality work of performance with resource
utilization considered. According to Summath, (1984, p.4) clarifies the meaning of productivity
as a concerned with the efficient utilization of resources (input) in producing goods and or
services (output). Whereas, in shipping industry, Kim et al. (2003) describe that port container
terminal productivity can be measured in two types of operations; first, is the vessel operation,
which involves discharge and loading of container from and onto vessel. The other one is
receiving and delivering operations, where containers transfer to and from outside trucks. In
addition, as far as financial is concerned, productivity in port container operation is the key
determinant for the cost of providing container stevedoring services.

Meyrick and associates and Tasman Asia Pacific, (1998) report there are two partial productivity
measures that have been used in port productivity studies. First is annually lifts per employee
(labor productivity), and it is defined as the number of container movements (container lifts) per
terminal employee. The other is net crane rate (capital productivity) and it is defined as the
number of container movements (container lifts) per net crane hour. Deliberately, De Monie,
(1987) reports the measurement of port productivity is greatly impeded with some factors: the
sheer number of parameters involved; lack of up-to-date, factual and reliable data, collected in an
accepted manner and available for dissemination; absence of generally agreed and acceptable
definitions; profound influence of local factors on the data obtained and divergent interpretation
given by various interests to identical results. Ironically, these factors are slightly better with the
emerging of information technology. As the advent of information technology synchronizes the
process and procedure in various industries, therefore productivity as well continuously
improved. Even though cost factor for technological advent higher than others, in long terms it
merely surpasses cost factor.

Oram and Baker, (1971) define vessel turnaround time as the process needed for loading,
discharging and servicing a vessel from berthing until vessels departure. This period starts from
actual arrival of a vessel at berth to its actual departure from the berth. The way of measuring
vessel turnaround time has been done by Amoyaw, (1999) and Imikata, (1978).

36
Since UNCTAD, (1976) rules out the indicators for port performance as a guidance for
everybody. Then, Oram and Baker, (1971) express the important and significance of turnaround
time studied rather than other aspect when a statement has be done in the sense of its implication
where no single cause more directly affects the cost of living of a maritime country than the
speed with which ships are turnaround in her ports. Clark et al. (2004) elaborate further that
port efficiency is directly affected turnaround time for vessel in wharf. And it is varies widely
from country to country and region to region. As being proven, Singapore and Hong Kong are
the most efficient ports in the world, whereas, inefficient ports are located in developing and
third world countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Malawi for Africa continent, or in South America
such as Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Since port efficiency is highly correlated with
handling cost, therefore, lower turnaround time for vessel means that particular container
terminals are having higher handling costs. And the length of time spent by vessels in port
represents a loss of revenue from economic point of view (Takel, 1974). Evidently proven, that
turnaround time directly does impact port container terminal performance either from economic
or operational point view.

1.2.2 TRT AT COCHIN PORT TRUST

Vessel at reporting station (outer sea)

Pre berthing detention
time (A)

Vessel readiness for berthing.

Transit time (B)
Vessel berthing
Non working time C1
Operation commenced

Working time (D)

Operation completed Idle time (C2)

Non working time

Vessel sailing from berth.

C (total non working time)= 37 Turnaround time =

C1+C2+C3 A+B+C+D
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.

The project aims to study in detail about the vessel turnaround time at CoPT, how it can be
calculated and its relative importance on the overall port performance. From the study it is being
understood that the vessel turnaround time of port increased from the preceding year. The vessel
turnaround time was 1.69 during 2014-15 and it increased to 2.18 days in 2015-16. This will
create a business problem of customer dissatisfaction and rising costs. So, the study will focus on
exploring the ways to reduce the vessel turnaround time at the port and its feasibility.

Research questions:

What are the factors that affect vessel turnaround time at CoPT and what is the relative
importance of each factor towards turnaround time?
What are the reasons for the increase in turnaround time of vessels at CoPT?
What are the ways in which vessel turnaround time could be decreased?

38
1.4 RELEVANCE.

At port terminals, one of the most important factors that have affected customer satisfaction is
related to ship waiting time. Ship waiting time is an important contributor to the competitive
advantage of a port terminal. Port terminals with low average waiting time can attract more ships
than port terminals with high average waiting time. Waiting and queuing times at berthing area of
port container terminals are the biggest problem that port managers encounter. Long wait times
have a negative impact on port terminal efficiency and ship managers prefer to berth at a port
terminal with low waiting time and high efficiency. At port terminals, the port management is
concerned with service rates because by increasing the service rate port efficiency can be
dramatically increased. On the other hand, ship management/control and port customers care
about waiting time, which means they tried to select a port terminal with lower service waiting
time. At port terminals port management focused on the port output rate which has an effect on
port terminal productivity. On the other hand, port customers and ship management are
concerned with terminal waiting time. Ship waiting time at port container terminals includes
different types of queue. Ships arriving at port the terminal should wait for a free slot at the
berthing area. If the berth is available it should wait for Tug/Pilot machine for tugging into the
particular berth and so on. There are also complaints of delays in sailing due to non-availability
of the pilotage service, causing much hardship to shipping lines. The delay, claim agents of some
affected ships, results in substantial financial loss by way of additional berth hire and additional
charter hire. Besides, a delay in one port has a chain reaction, leading to disrupted arrival
schedules in subsequent ports.

The average turnaround time illustrates the capability of the port to efficiently handle cargo
flows at the terminals and beyond. It can be defined as the average time a vessel needs to stay in
a port (difference between time of entrance and time of departure). The major relevance of the
study to reduce turnaround times lies in the fact that for shipping and delivering goods, time is
considered as the most important factor than cost of transporting goods. Moreover, cost cannot
be changed by many of the government ports as the rates they charge and the price of equipments
they purchase are fixed by the government as well as the Tariff Authority for Major Ports
(TAMP). Ships before starting their voyage will have a schedule as to when should they arrive at

39
a port; depart from a port and to reach the next destination. All the activities are planned
according to this schedule and failure to act according to the schedule will create huge loss for
the ship and the traffic at sea route will also become unfavorable creating further delay. A delay
of 1 day could cost around Rs 1 lakhs of loss for the shippers as per the estimates. For many of
the international ports like the port in Singapore, average turnaround time is less than a day

If we analyze the turnaround time pattern of ships at CoPT, we could see that for the past three
years 2013, 2014 and 2015 the turnaround time was below 2 days due to which company was
able to attract ships in the year 2016, but as the ship traffic increased port was not able to
maintain its low turnaround time. Ideally the turnaround time of ships should remain stable
regardless of the traffic or size of cargo. The top managers of port are of the view that if port is
not able to reduce the turnaround time to anything below 2 days; it will not be able to maintain
the level of traffic it has achieved in this year. It should also be noted that a major competitor of
CoPT, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust was able to achieve a turnaround time of 2.01 days with
better infrastructure facilities due to which the port is losing some customers to JNPT despite of
the fact that CoPT has better location advantages than JNPT. This information was obtained from

40
a feedback survey conducted by the marketing department. Another factor for worry is that pre
berthing detention time which is also a constituent of turnaround time has decreased from 20.22
days to 15.86 days. So the relative increase in turnaround time is much higher. The port was not
able to reduce the turnaround time despite the fact that pre berthing time was low. This is also a
factor of concern. Another factor is that the average output per ship birth day decreased to 15661
tonnes during the year from 16770 tonnes in the preceding year. Average output per ship berth
day is the total tonnage handled distributed over the total number of berth days. Average output
per ship berth day has decreased this year means that total number of berth days has increased
which is not a good indicator. The major international competitors for CoPT, the Colombo port
and the Singapore port are having turnaround times of less than 24 hours.

41
CHAPTER TWO: RESEARCH PROCESS

2.1. OBJECTIVES.

To identify the factors that affect vessel turnaround time at CoPT and what is the relative
importance of each factor towards turnaround time.
To identify the reasons for the increase in turnaround time of vessels at CoPT.
To find the ways in which vessel turnaround time could be decreased.
To check whether the suggestions derived at above steps can be feasibly implemented.

42
2.2 SCOPE OF STUDY.

The project aims to study the causal factors for low turnaround time of ships at CoPT. The
project was conducted for two months duration. Only the traffic department was chosen for the
study. Even though the data about container vessels were available from the reports at CoPT, to
analyze the actual causes and reasons a visit should be made to Vallarpadam container terminal
which was restricted to only two days during 25 th and 26th May. So study about container vessels
is limited to presentation and analysis of data.

43
2.3 TOOLS FOR DATA ANALYSIS.

Fishbone diagram: Ishikawa diagrams (also called fishbone diagrams, herringbone

diagrams, cause-and-effect diagrams, or Fishikawa) are causal diagrams created by Kaoru
Ishikawa (1968) that show the causes of a specific event. Common uses of the Ishikawa
diagram are product design and quality defect prevention to identify potential factors
causing an overall effect. Each cause or reason for imperfection is a source of variation.
Causes are usually grouped into major categories to identify these sources of variation. In
this project fishbone diagram is used to identify the causal factors for low turnaround
time.
Pareto analysis: Pareto Analysis is a statistical technique in decision-making used for the
selection of a limited number of tasks that produce significant overall effect. It uses the
Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) the idea that by doing 20% of the work
you can generate 80% of the benefit of doing the entire job. Take quality improvement,
for example, a vast majority of problems (80%) are produced by a few key causes (20%).
This technique is also called the vital few and the trivial many. In this project Pareto
analysis was done to prioritize what are the causal factors that need immediate attention.
Trend analysis: it is the rampant practice of collecting information and
attempting to spot a pattern. In some fields of study, the term "trend
analysis" has more formally defined meanings. Although trend analysis is often
used to predict future events, it could be used to estimate uncertain events in the past,
such as how many ancient kings probably ruled between two dates, based on data such as
the average years which other known kings reigned. In this project trend analysis is
performed to calculate what will be the turnaround time for the year 2016-17.

44
CHAPTER THREE : PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA.

3.1 COMPONENTS OF TURNAROUND TIME:

Preberthing detention time (PBD): time between vessel readiness for berthing and vessel
arrival at reporting station. The procedure involved here is that when the vessel arrives at
the outer sea, port will get information and will send the pilot of CoPT to the vessel and
the pilot will take the vessel to the berth and it gets berthed. Before the pilot takes vessel
to the berth, all the documents are cross-checked.
Transit time: after the pilot has cross-checked the documents, he will sail the ship to the
berth. This time for sailing the ship is called transit time. Transit time normally cannot be
reduced unless berth unavailability causes a delay for berthing
Working time: it is the time during which actual operations of loading/ unloading occurs.
It normally doesnt include idle time
Non-working time: it is defined as the sum of the idle time from the time of berthing to
start of work. Idle time during ship operations and idle time taken from the time of
completion of operations to sailing from berth. Delays in commencement of operations
and during stevedoring can cause inefficiency. The effect of those delays can be measured
in terms of differences between berth time and gross working time, and between gross
and net working time respectively. Gross working time is calculated from the time
stevedoring labor goes on board to the time labor leaves the vessel on completion of
cargo handling. Net working time takes account of delays that interrupt the stevedoring
operation. These delays could be due to meal breaks, equipment breakdowns, ship
problems, weather etc.

45
 3.2 ANALYSIS OF DELAYS AT VARIOUS STAGES:

1: PREBERTHING

Cause-effect diagram:

Others (eg: incomplete

documents)
Tidal/draft constraints.
Berth not available

Weather constraints
Ships account/agents option.
Lack of night navigation.

Delays during
preberthing
detention time

46
PARETO GRAPH:

47
2. WORKING AND NONWORKING TIME:

Cause- effect diagram

Strike/stoppage of work
Preparing for sailing

Waiting for transport Departure formalities

clearance
Waiting for quality testing Equipment breakdown/ non
availability
Hatching/commencement
of operations Power failure

Delay during working and

non-working time

% of various causal factors Break bulk container Dry bulk Liquid bulk total

Power failure .17 .16 0 0 .33

Equipment breakdown/ non 0 4.67 0 0 4.67

availability
Hatching/commencement of 0 0 0 0 0
operations
Waiting for quality testing 1.55 4 3.17 0.74 9.46

Departure formalities 11.03 3.19 19.96 37.52 71.7

Strike/stoppage of work 0 0 0 0 0

Preparing for sailing 1.56 .54 3.17 .74 6.01

48
PARETO GRAPH:

49
CHAPTER FOUR: INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION
TREND ANALYSIS OF TURNAROUND TIME

50
INTERPRETING REASONS FOR DELAYS:

DURING PREBERTHING- Major reasons for delay as shown by Pareto graph are:

Ships/agents option:
Incomplete documentation: major import documents like bill of lading, import general
manifest (IGM), bill of entry etc has to be verified before allowing access for ships at
port. This will be done after the pilot appointed by port sails and reaches the ship at outer
road and verifies the documents. Incomplete documentation is common in port. This is
due to the lack of knowledge regarding the rules and procedures of this country since the
export is arriving from another country and the documents are prepared according to the
rules and regulations of that country.
Berth unavailability: sometimes if the berth is unavailable, the ship has to be detained on
outer roads. This can happen due to lack of proper berth planning, a ship currently at
berth taking more time than as scheduled. Hence delay caused by loading/unloading of
one ship has a cascading effect causing delays in berthing and subsequent actions on
other ships.
Lack of night navigation: night navigation normally is not allowed due to poor
infrastructure facilities.
Tidal/draft constraints: tidal restriction is a natural phenomenon and hence it cannot be
avoided until and unless they plan according to the tidal forecasts made. Limited draft
(depth needed for berthing a ship) is another constraint. Since draft at this port is limited,
in order to increase draft dredging has to be done and this consumes time. As of now only
one dredger Nehru Shathabdi is owned by port and this creates a problem when dredging
has to be done on two berths simultaneously.

DURING WORKING AND NON-WORKING TIME:

51
 Departure formalities:
Waiting for quality testing: while unloading imports, a sample of the item will be send to
the consignor for checking whether the quality is acceptable. If only the consignor
approves the quality of the sample, the import can be unloaded at port. This creates a
delay.
Preparing for sailing:
Equipment breakdown/ non availability: this is a common issue in many of the ports but
here it becomes a problem because of the poor preventive and breakdown maintenance
practices and limited equipment availability. For example only one crane is available for
a ship at a time.
Power failure

CHAPTER FIVE : SUGGESTIONS.

Create facilities for night navigation

52
24 hour pilotage is not available at CoPT. The night navigation facility (available after midnight),
is provided only on request and that too for container vessels to and from the Ernakulam Wharf.
However, no such facility is available at the Mattancherry Wharf which usually handles bulk and
break-bulk vessels, liquid ammonia, palm oil vessels etc. There are also complaints of delays in
sailing due to non-availability of the pilotage service, causing much hardship to shipping lines.
The situation at Mattancherry Wharf leaves much to be desired. If a vessel completes operation
at the wharf at around 7 p.m., in the absence of pilotage, it will be required to wait for another 12
hours for the pilotage. This leads to an additional payment t of $600 as berth hire to the port and
$4,500 as charter hire to the owners. Moreover, the vessel's arrival schedules at the next port of
call get affected. The issue, it is learnt, has been taken up several times with the concerned port
authorities but with little effect even as some neighboring ports offer round-the-clock pilotage,
attracting vessels. Only after much persuasion did the port authorities agree to provide night
navigation and that too selectively. The limited turnout of the mooring crew and the delay in
introducing three-shift operations in the port's Marine Department are believed to be responsible
for the non-availability of night pilotage. Though most of the cargo-related departments operate
three shifts, the Marine Department, it is learnt, is still continuing with two, forcing the port
authorities to make huge overtime payments. According to port sources, the navigation facility in
the Mattancherry Wharf area remains suspended after 7 p.m. as there are no channel lights, vital
for ship movement at night. However, considering the importance of the container vessels and
the oil tankers which call at the Ernakulam Wharf, lighting arrangements have been made in the
channel leading to the wharf. Yet, according to port sources, instances of ships not using the
pilotage offered by the port at night are not uncommon. Shipping agents often cancel pilotage
citing non-completion of work, generally due to gantry crane problems. Some of the channel
buoys have been withdrawn from the Mattancherry channel and installed in the Ernakulam
channel to facilitate traffic. Moreover, the absence of a transit light in the Mattancherry Wharf
side is believed to have caused some difficulties f or night navigation as these lights is essential
for turning ships at night. According to the sources, most of the gas-filled lights in the buoys
were sent to the port's workshop for repairs nearly two years ago with the result that the
management and the port users have had to contend with few buoys in the channel. According to
the shipping agents, it is high time the repair work was handed over to private firms. The
proposal to purchase new buoy lights too did not make much headway as objections were raised

53
from various quarters over a particular company being given the order. The proposal is pending
with the port authorities.

Implement double cycling.

Ship turn-around time is dominated by the time necessary to unload and load containers. When
unloading and loading a ship, most cranes spend only half of their moves carrying a container.
During unloading, the crane is empty when moving to the ship. During loading, the crane is
empty when returning to the dock. Double cycling is the practice of using these empty moves
to carry a container, thus making the crane more productive, and reducing turn-around time. With
current single cycling or status quo methods, the number of moves necessary to turn-around the
ship is fixed, and does not depend on the order in which the crane operates on the ships
columns. With double cycling, however, the number of moves depends on the order of
operations. Therefore, the problem of double cycling is one of scheduling jobs, or finding the
order in which to operate on the columns that minimizes ship turn-around time. The benefits of
double cycling are significant for both hatched and hatch less ships, and are robust to constraints
on the sequence of operations.

Figure (a): unloading using single cycling. Figure (b): unloading and loading with double
cycling.

Proper berth planning:

54
A popular objective function is to minimize the total tardiness of the departures of vessels
beyond their committed departure times and each vessel has a different importance to the
terminal operator depending on the bargaining power of the corresponding carrier. The second
popular objective is to minimize the total flow time of vessels, which means the total turnaround
time of vessels. In addition, there are different types of constraints that must be considered when
determining the berthing positions of vessels such as the depth of water along the quay and the
maximum outreach of QCs installed at specific positions on the quay. Further issues for
consideration are presented below.

Continuous Quay Assumption: Berth planning is a well-defined problem much discussed in the
literature. The quay may be considered to be the set of multiple discrete berths or a continuous
line on which a vessel can berth at any position. The berth planning problem had been considered
to be an assignment problem of each vessel to a berth under the assumption of discrete berths,
whereas some researchers have recently started to consider the problem of determining the exact
position of each vessel on a continuous.

Dynamic Berth Planning and Re-planning: A container terminal makes a contract with shipping
lines for regular calling services, weekly in most of cases. Because ships arrival times, which
depend on weather conditions, ships operating environment, or the departure time from the
preceding port, and the working conditions of the current terminal may change at any time, the
berthing times and vessel positions need to be continuously changed. Therefore, planning
processes and algorithms need to be studied considering these situations. The robustness may be
an important property of a good berth plan.

Considering Traffic in the Quay and the Yard: At multi-berth terminals, berth planning is
conducted to minimize any interference between docked vessels and berthing vessels, which may
happen during the arrival and departure of vessels. When the traffic of containers for two vessels
cross in the yard during shipping operation, the interference between the traffic may seriously
delay the ship operation. Transshipment containers may be a source of traffic to be considered.
These factors need to be considered during berth planning for more efficient operation of
terminals.

55
Considering Tidal Difference: Ports with a large tidal difference have a further issue requiring
consideration during the berth scheduling for large vessels. Some ports have bridge piers to
overcome the large tidal difference. Even so, berth planners must consider the water depth at the
vessel arrival and departure times in order to confirm berthing feasibility. The changing water
depths of the channels for vessels to approach the terminal also need to be considered in some
ports. Many container terminals have similar restrictions in the timing of berthing or de-berthing.

Purchase of additional equipments and preventive maintenance

Purchase of additional equipments and preventive maintenance like cranes for lease has to be
performed to prevent equipment unavailability. Since it is purchased on lease it does not impose
much financial obligations on port. Also good preventive maintenance has to be carried out at
regular intervals to prevent equipment breakdown. Normally what happens is that when a period
of inactivity occurs equipments are not given any maintenance and when a sudden surge of
activity (ship arrival) occurs, equipments are being used without any maintenance. This leads to
equipment breakdown and hence creates delay.

Overcome draft restrictions.

Since at CoPT, frequent sedimentation is a problem, dredging has to be carried out at regular
intervals. Even though the draft requirements for different vessels are different, maintaining an
average draft will be helpful to avoid delays. The only way to circumvent the port infrastructure
problem is to handle vessels offshore. The implementation of a floating system which is able to
discharge large gearless ocean going bulk carriers offshore, with a good daily discharging rate is
therefore needed. The system should also be self propelled so that it can be moved easily from
one location to another without the need for tugs etc.

The versatility of the system should be such that it is able to eliminate draft restrictions, vessel
size restrictions, lack of discharging facilities, environmental restrictions etc. And yet it should
be simple enough to adapt to the local prevailing conditions, should be operable with the local
crew. The flexibility of the system should allow it to handle all kinds of dry bulk cargo. Most
importantly, the implementation time of such system should be such that it can minimise the
losses being incurred by the importers.

56
 Make unloading, warehousing and transloading faster.

This can be done through a series of steps like use of computers in container handling, use of
information technology, microelectronics, robotics etc. when computers are used as a substitute
for many of the manual operations, it can decrease time taken for port operations and improve
accuracy. In the United Kingdom the port of Felixstowe has installed computers for container
handling procedures. This port provides a useful example of the range of operations currently
being covered by the computer.

Use of information technology: In the future, a container arriving at any main terminal may be
electronically inspected for damage, logged at the gate by an electronic or laser sensing device
and its code recorded.9 The computer will provide information from its memory to direct the
vehicle carrying the container to its correct position in the terminal. The cargo-handling
equipment then takes over, while documentation is simultaneously prepared and transmitted by
the computer system: bills of lading, invoices, manifests and cargo stowage plans are stored and
transmitted via electronic mailing systems to the people requiring them in the terminal and on the
ship, and to destinations overseas to arrive before the container. Computers will also provide
continuous tracking of many thousands of container movements in the terminal and in
hinterlands and forelands. These systems are already at various stages of operation in advanced
ports. Shipping agents, forwarders and Customs authorities may thus all receive rapidly
transmitted, computer-readable information, including visual displays of where containers are
stowed on the ship. This application of sophisticated information technology might have the
added advantage of curtailing maritime fraud by allowing cross-checking of codes, bills of lading
and the locations of containers and vessels at each stage in the transport chainalthough
computer fraud is itself on the increase and could introduce a new range of problems into the
ports via the computer.

Use of robotics: A natural development of present automation is robotics. Industrial robots are
becoming increasingly common in repetitive manipulative tasks. Essentially, however, a robot is
simply a machine capable of learning from experience and adaptable to a wide range of different
tasks. Such systems are not as yet used to any great extent in port terminals, but they are feasible
in many situations and are particularly useful when explosive and hazardous materials have to be

57
handled and when poor light, extreme temperatures and dangerous and difficult operating
conditions are involved.

Use of microelectronics: Port users will introduce micro-electronics for stock control, ordering,
distribution and invoicing, all of which will impinge on port activities. As more use is made of
microprocessors, and new generations introduced, the hardware prices will continue to fall. The
destabilizing effects on existing technology will be pervasive, as will the implications for skills,
training, management styles and industrial relations. As Leontief has pointed out, the micro-
electronic revolution is so profound that past experience is not a reliable guide to its future
impact: "the relation between man and machine is being radically transformed"
Avoid congestion at port

Use of automated systems in bulk handling operations

In the bulk handling sector, automation is replacing the traditional grab system for unloading at
high-volume ports. For example, the mechanical continuous ship-unloader, which can be
mounted on ships for short-distance trade routes, is highly automated. Other automated bulk
handling systems include bucket elevators with discharging rates of 6,000 tph and screw
unloaders for grain and cement with capacities of 12,000 tph.

Container-handling automation

Given the standard dimensions of containers, and the fact that repetitive tasks are involved,
container-handling automated systems have been introduced at several port terminals. Much
research and development has been, and continues to be, devoted to such systems. The whole
development of container automation at ports has been motivated by the need to cope with
increased cargo throughputs landed from larger vessels and by the requirements for speeding up
the movements of containers arriving from inland, thus ensuring that no delays occur in relation
to expensive ships and that equipment and terminal areas are used to the full. Emphasis has been
placed on the total system of container automation, including loading, unloading, moving,
stacking, sorting and onward movement, accompanied by computer processing of documents and
rapid information transmission.

58
 Ship to store container automated operations

The fully automatic operation of gantry cranes at the quayside for loading and discharging
vessels appears technically feasible but has not yet taken place, and the view is that this seems
unlikely in the immediate future. The policy in all the advanced port systems is to employ skilled
crane operators who are assisted in the working of the crane by a number of automatic devices.
These include anti-sway systems, a computer which enables the equipment to operate in a semi-
automatic mode on trolley outreach (i.e. the spreader transfers the container to an overhead
computer-controlled trolley which then carries on the movement to the quayside) and in relation
to each cell on the vessel,4 and a VDU for presenting control and other operational information to
the driver. At the ECT at Rotterdam the first movement is a short lift from the ship to a platform
on the crane, after which the automated system takes over and transfers the container to chassis
block trailers, thus increasing the productivity of the ship-to-shore crane.
Container movement and stacking automated systems
It is in the process of container movement and stacking that automated equipment is making
many advances. As containers pass through the terminal they spend time in the stacking areas. A
container is moved in and out of the stack and repositioned at various locations in the stack.
These movements may be made by chassis, straddle carrier, forklift truck or gantry crane. The
yard gantry crane is being more and more employed in terminals with large throughputs and
limited space because it is able to achieve higher-density storage. The yard stacking or transfer
crane is relatively easy to automate and fit with sensing devices. A number of terminals,
including those at Rotterdam, Hamburg and Seattle, have such automated equipment
Very considerable emphasis is being placed on the automation of land operations at all these
ports, and many others. The flow of containers from ship to stack is smoothed out so that, as in
Seattle, container movements from the ship can reach 48 per hour. The delivery to the stack is
fully automated and the crane driver merely supervises the lowering of the spreader or container.
His cab is equipped with television monitors providing a view of the terminal which also enables
him to override the computer if emergencies are likely to occur. However, built-in sensors make
such actions rare. Another means of fast movement of containers which is being developed is an
elevated track terminal. The track may pass over a terminal between stacking areas and ships.
Lift heights will be minimized and the container cars moving on the elevated track will be
unmanned and controlled by computer. There are also batch systems in which blocks of

59
containers are coupled together for movement. Batches of containers may in the future be loaded
and unloaded to and from ships with the further development of equipment and vessels.

Advantages: The removal of human factor delays by the introduction of automation has speeded
up activities at terminals. It has been calculated that the average proportion of time actually spent
in handling is 82.5 per cent in a computerized terminal and 65 per cent in a manually operated
terminal; idle time for computer-controlled equipment is 510 per cent, and for manual
equipment 15-25 per cent, waiting times for chassis in both systems are 5 per cent, while other
loss of time is 5 per cent for computerized and 10 per cent for manually operated terminals.8 In
the future, research and development work in automation will be centered on reducing further
avoidable idle time, on additional processing of data with greater speed and accuracy, and on
automating other sectors of the terminal with a view both to further reductions in the workforce
and to improved productivity. The automated system already in use for identifying and reading
container numbers by a transponder system on entering the port has already greatly improved
recording accuracy, and therefore container tracking, as compared with visual and paper
recording, and this will become more sophisticated. Automated steering systems are already
reducing fatigue on transtainer operators, changing aspects of their jobs and eliminating the need
for transtainer checkers and supervisors.

60
61
62
63
64
65
66
REFERENCE.

Tokyo Academic, Industry & Cultural Integration Tour 2006, 10-19 December, Shibaura
Institute of Technology, Japan.
Reducing ship turnaround time using double cycling by A. V. Goodchild and C.F.
Daganzo.
New cargo handling techniques: implications for port employment and skills by
A.D.Couper.
Cargo handling technologies by P.A. Ioannou, E. B. Kosmatopoulos, H. Jula, A.
Collinge, C.-I. Liu, A. Asef-Vaziri, University of Southern California.
Annual reports of Cochin Port Trust 2015-16.

67