Today we celebrate the 77^th Independence Day of India, a day which reminds us of our country’s long and arduous struggle for freedom against British oppression.  This is an occasion for each Indian to remember with pride and respect the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters, the agony and hardships undergone by them towards the liberty of our motherland.  This is also an opportune moment for us to re-imagine the idea of India as a nation, cutting across the boundaries of caste, creed and language, and to dedicate ourselves to the glory and progress of our country.

            With regard to Cochin Port Authority’s performance, we have been making consistent efforts to improve performance over the past few years in spite of the pandemic situation and the war.  From 29.14 MMT of cargo handled in the year 17-18 we achieved 35.26 MMT in the year 22-23.  In this financial year we have achieved 11.52 MMT till July.  Our SBDO has increased from 20880 tonnes in 17-18 to 25601 tonnes.  Our TRT continues to be the lowest among non container Ports and stands at 32.83 hrs. Our Operating Profit was 159.58 Cr in the year 17-18.  In 22-23 it was 338.13 Cr.  Pension fund has increased from 130.78 Cr. in 17-18 to 853.01 Cr today.

            Though Cochin Port is now in the path of recovery and progress we need to focus on game changing projects like Outer Harbour Project and converting Kochi into Cruising Hub of India.  Let me remind you that Ports are vital links in the country’s development saga.  The entire nation is looking up to Ports and Shipping sector for major changes in our business models.  We have an important role to play in the years to come and what better way to celebrate Independence Day then to espouse a new agenda of Port led development. 

            So here’s to a stronger Port, a stronger nation, and a glorious tomorrow.

            Greetings to one and all on this joyous occasion.

            Happy Independence Day.

            Jai Hind.

Chairperson

Cochin Port Authority

Dear Colleagues,

We are celebrating ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the celebration of 75 years of India's independence. Amrit Mahotsav embodies the glorious transition of a fledgling nation ravaged by years of colonisation into a growth engine that powers the international economy.

While we recount the thrilling stories of the sacrifice and valour of our great freedom fighters with pride, this is also an occasion for us as a nation to look back and take stock of the great Indian growth story. India started off as a country sapped of its resources, wounded by the partition – a country which most thinkers thought would disintegrate in no time. Not only did India survive as an undivided nation, but our country also managed to epitomise a national identity amidst the diversity of language, caste, religion and culture. We continued on our democratic principles in contrast to many other countries which became independent around that time.

At the time of independence, 4 out of 5 Indians were below the poverty line. Today, absolute poverty has reduced to less than one percent. There was a time when India received food grains as aid. Today, we are the world's 2nd largest producer of rice and wheat. When India got independence our literacy rate was 12%. Now, it is 74%. India is the fifth largest economy in the world and we aspire to be the factory of the world. It may be recollected that during the recent covid epidemic the entire world was looking up to India for supply of vaccines. The Indian growth story is far from over. There are more heights to climb and more glory to attain.

We, in the port sector, have a formidable responsibility in turning the ports into the engines of the country's trade. Expansion of infrastructure, quality services and continuous reinvention is the need of the hour. Every port employee irrespective of department or designation needs to realise that our work is more than a livelihood, it is an offering to our motherland.

The financial year 2022-23 has started on a positive note for Cochin Port. The notable performance of Cochin Port in handling of transhipment in the recent years gives immense scope for establishing Cochin as an important transhipment hub in the region. But there are miles to go yet. Let us resolve to offer ourselves to strive harder to help achieve greater economic growth and development of our nation. Cochin Port will definitely be able to make it its presence felt in the country's growth saga.  Let us make Cochin an important link in the global logistic network.

As we are heralding the arrival of Onam, with grand festivities I wish you all a very happy and prosperous Onam.

Jai Hind.

15 August 2022

Dr. M. Beena IAS

Chairperson

Cochin Port Authority

Dear Colleagues,

We have celebrated the Cochin Port Day 2022 last week in commemoration of the arrival of the first ship into the inner harbour of Cochin on 26^th May 1928. As Cochin Port enters the 95^th glorious year of cargo handling we have a lot to be proud about and a lot to look forward.

We can be proud of the fact that Cochin Port has contributed immensely to the city of Cochin and the state of Kerala. The industrial establishments like the Kochi Refinery, FACT, Cochin Shipyard and many export oriented & seafood processing companies have grown and blossomed thanks to the presence of Cochin Port.

Cochin Port Authority currently has more than 8000 pensioners and more than a thousand employees. This itself gives us the reach to the populace and socio-economic fabric of the district. Apart from this, there are tens of thousands of employees working in the organisations in the ancillary areas of the Port and the logistics sector related to the Port.  

Though the Port had undergone severe financial stress followed by the unexpected strike of the Covid pandemic, we could come out of the red through the tight-fistedness and the austerity measures followed in all areas. However, it is noteworthy that we could increase the Pension Fund from ₹160-cr to ₹700-cr in 2022.

I thank every employee of the Port and the trade unions functioning in the Port for their cooperation in ensuring a smooth sailing even during the tumultuous times.

The technical expertise of the Civil and Mechanical Engineering Departments of the Cochin Port has always been commendable. The Port has constructed several jetties and marine structures in Cochin for organisations like GIDA, Coast Guard, IWAI, IOCL, UT Lakshadweep etc on deposit work basis. The construction of a jetty for Indian Navy is now being carried out by Cochin Port. The Cochin Port has also taken up the construction of a cruise terminal at Mormugao Port.  As requested by the UT Lakshadweep Administration, the Port has recently taken up the operation, management, development and maintenance of Port facilities in the Lakshadweep Islands.

If we take a look at the traffic position, we have grown from 13.89 MT traffic handled in 2005-06 to 34.5 MT in 2021-22. The number of containers has grown from 2,03,112 TEUs to 7,35,577 TEUs during the above period. Though Cochin was envisaged as a transshipment Port, the growth of transshipment volume at ICTT, Vallarpadam was very marginal in the initial years.  However, with a deliberate marketing strategy and through constant interaction with the exim and shipping communities we could achieve substantial growth in the number of transshipment containers handled at ICTT during the last two years and in 2021-22 ICTT handled 1.56 lakh TEUs of transshipment containers. This indeed is a very encouraging trend which gives us more confidence to develop and establish Cochin as a transshipment hub in the region to help our Country ‘atmanirbhar’ by way of facilitating transshipment of containers to and from India in an Indian port itself.

We have greater heights and greater milestones to achieve. The impetus being given by the Govt of India for development of maritime and logistics sectors is tremendous. While PM Gati Shakti programme spearheads the integrated development of multi-modal connectivity infrastructure in the country, the Sagarmala scheme ensures development of the port infrastructure as well as inclusive development of the coastal communities. The projects like re-construction of SCB, development of the new Ro-Ro Terminal at Mattanchery Wharf for coastal movement of trucks, the modernisation proposed at Cochin Fisheries Harbour are supported by the Sagarmala Scheme of Govt of India.

 The Cochin Port has enormous potential to grow as a maritime hub of the region. With the visionary approach of the Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, as well as the generous support and constant follow up by the Ministry, I am sure we will be able to upgrade our infrastructure facilities, improve further on the Ease Of Doing Business and ensure world class service to our customers.

I solicit the continued cooperation and whole hearted support of everyone in the Port fraternity/family.

Best Wishes

Dr. M. Beena IAS

Chairperson

31.05.2022

Dear colleagues,

Though the economic downturn due to the pandemic had its repercussions in the logistics sector during the last financial year, the trends indicate the revival of the logistics and transport industry in the current financial year. 

This is greatly reflected in the cargo handling in Cochin Port too. The port registered a total throughput of 10.10 MMT in 2021-22 (Apr-Jul), attaining a growth of 30.10% over the corresponding period of 2020-21, when the COVID-19 pandemic had seriously impacted the throughput. POL registered a 5.92 MMT throughput and Container, 2.20 Lakh TEUs in 2021-22 (Apr-Jul), growing by 30.23% and 31.65% respectively over the corresponding period of 2020-21. This growth is indeed very encouraging and we hope to achieve the targeted throughput by the end of the financial year.

During the pandemic period we were able to help the health care sector in their efforts to fight the Covid-19 by ensuring speedy handling of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) that reached Cochin Port by ships and trains for onward distribution in the state of Kerala. The handling charges of LMO (including vessel related charges, storage charges etc) were exempted as per the directions of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. The Covid-19 hospital with 102 oxygen beds set up at Samudrika Hall of Cochin Port in coordination with Corporation of Cochin continues to function for the benefit of the Covid patients in the City.

The pandemic turned out as an opportunity for organisations to accelerate the pace of innovation, transformation and reconfiguration with a view to optimise the cost and efficiency of the processes and functioning for survival. We at Cochin Port are doing our best to improve the efficiency at work by imbibing increased use of information technology. But we need to strive harder to offer cost effective services by optimising productivity in order to attract more business.

The efforts taken by the frontline workers of Cochin Port to keep the port services uninterrupted throughout the pandemic period are remarkable. I heartily commend the commitment shown by them during the difficult times.

Let us usher in the New Year of Malayalam Era with greater optimism for a robust year ahead and deeper commitment to achieve new milestones.

I wish you all a Happy Onam.

Best wishes,

Dr. M. Beena IAS