CHENNAI/THOOTHUKUDI : With the war in West Asia showing no signs of letting up, a consignment of about 2,000 Hyundai cars exported to Gulf destinations from India may be rerouted back to the Chennai Port. The vehicles were shipped through Sri Lanka’s Port of Hambantota for onward movement to West Asia, but uncertainty around navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea routes forced this carrier, along with other shipping lines, to reconsider sailings and cargo movements, a Chennai Port official told TNIE.
The disruption is already strangling container traffic linked to Gulf trade. Nearly 4,000 containers have been rerouted back from Gulf routes, including 1,800 originating from Chennai, according to port sources.
The escalating conflict in the region has disrupted key maritime routes and jeopardised export deliveries into markets in West Asia and Europe. Sources said that Indian exporters are counting huge losses.
Since the conflict began on February 28, vessel movements from ports in Tamil Nadu have slowed down. Officials said the Thoothukudi VO Chidambaranar Port has taken a huge toll. Containerised cargoes such as garments, home textiles, food, egg, casting and others are ferried directly to Gulf countries from Thoothukudi.
The vessel Zhong Gu Tai Yuan that loaded nearly 250 containers from VOC port on February 28, was stuck mid-sea, and has offloaded the containers at Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai, said sources.
Chennai Port designates 20,000 sqm of yard space
The exporters said that the containers stuffed with textile and garments have been stuck at various container freight stations (CFSs), warehouses in the outskirts of Thoothukudi and also, production sites in Tiruppur, Karur, Namakkal and Coimbatore. The textile and garment shipments to Gulf countries were aiming to hit the West Asian market ahead of the Ramzan festival.
At VOC port, authorities have identified 19,000 sqm of land outside the terminal area to store cargo if vessels choose to discharge shipments there temporarily. Chennai Port has earmarked 20,000 sq m of yard space for the purpose. S Viswanathan, chairman of the Chennai Port Authority, said that a high-level consultative meeting was held with exporters on Monday to assess the situation.
“If the cargo includes perishable commodities, it may be brought back for domestic consumption,” he said, adding that while such a situation has not arisen at the Chennai Port so far, western ports have earlier diverted perishable shipments for domestic markets.
He said authorities are also exploring alternative routing options so that vessels can avoid navigating the Strait of Hormuz. Maersk has temporarily stopped accepting car go bookings to and from destinations in the Gulf, while prioritising essential shipments such as food and medicines.