Chang-Sheng-Hong

Car carrier MV Dresden will call at the Cochin Port on Monday morning with 300 cars from Kandla in Gujarat, giving fresh hopes of resuming car handling business at the port, which was disrupted due to labour issues. The ship had visited Kochi on September 26 and in the first week of October, but the third visit scheduled for October 22 was cancelled due to labour disputes at the Port. On October 28, operators of the ship said they needed confirmation that the issue was resolved, before calling at the port on return trip from Kandla. Currently, the stage is set for the ship to call at the Cochin Port. It is learnt that both the State and Central governments would intervene to resolve the labour issues at the port.MV Dresden, operated by Chennai-based SICAL Logistics, is in contract with car manufacturers for factory-to-dealer transportation. The local agent of the ship in Kochi is Neo Logistics. The ‘Unlashing’ of cars is responsibility of the handling agent -Chennai based MOL Logistics. The local agent of MOL is Brothers. The Headload Workers’ Welfare Board alleged that Brothers company deployed outside workers for handling cargo. The handling agent, meanwhile, argued that only workers registered with the Welfare Board were used. http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2016/oct/30/car-carrier-to-call-at-kochi-port-once-again-1533116.html

The sustained efforts of Cochin Port Trust in attracting new business through coastal shipping mode is yielding results with the arrival of the first ever Ro-Ro car ship. The Cyprus registered MV Dresden anchored at the Q7 berth of Ernakulam wharf in the morning to unload 345 cars of various makes of Hyundai, Ford and Renault. The car carrier called at the port from Ennore in the circuit of Ennore-Cochin-Kandla-Cochin-Ennore connecting the automobile production hubs in Tamil Nadu in the East coast and Gujarat and Haryana in the West coast. Source: The Hindu Business Line