Amidst a 21-day nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, pressure is mounting on India’s shipping ministry to declare force majeure at 12 ports run by the central government.
Force Majeure has been declared by many of India’s private ports at their facilities. In cargo handling where manpower is used in large numbers, it is humanly not possible to practice social distancing.
Port managements are ordered to only allow mechanical handling of cargo where the deployment of labour is minimalized. The manual labour would be protected by the Force Majeure declaration as they need not work. All the exporters and importers are also protected from unaffordable demurrage charges payable to ship owners.
It is fundamental to keep the supply chain operational while also protecting employees and users with ports coming under the ambit of essential services, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust said. To equip and protect the workforce, JNPT has already undertaken several preventive measures. While protecting the trade channel from any disruptions, these measures are expected to limit the impact of the outbreak.
At the port or any other terminals at JNPT, the EXIM community is assured that there will be no disruptions in operations. The port remains fully operational and will continue its operation as per schedule.
