ISLAMABAD Port traffic and relating structure constraints have put the shippers of strategically important inventories in a tough situation besides profitable losses to the nation as the ministries of energy and maritime affairs like to run harborage operations to their preferences.
This results in underutilisation of harborage structure and an gratuitous delay for vessels and attendant heavy demurrages that eventually stand transferred to consumers and occasionally indeed hang the force chain with dislocations, said an functionary.
He added that the two ministries had been in contact to put in place standard operating procedures ( Bribes) to operate the country’s harborage installations and force chain to optimal eventuality but to no mileage.
In a working paper submitted to the ministers for energy and maritime affairs, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has refocused out difficulties being faced by the canvas assiduity which in recent weeks kept lined up in dozens to stay for discharging colorful petroleum products (POL).
The two anchorages in Karachi — Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Fauji Oil Terminal (Fotco) — handle POL significances and are managed in a way that crude canvas and petrol are generally handled at KPT, while diesel, furnace canvas and some petrol loadings are launched at Fotco. There’s only one quay at Fotco and three are at KPT. Fotco can handle 14-15 vessels in a month, which is sufficient only for diesel and petrol loadings.
Still, due to six-seven loadings of furnace canvas arriving in a month during the summer season, the berthing sequence can not be followed on a‘ first come first serve’or any other base. These limitations impel the petroleum division to cover the weight berthing at Fotco in view of the overall force situation of the three products across the country which also intervenes through the maritime affairs ministry for prioritising certain loadings to avoid force dislocation.
As White Oil Pipeline (WOP) originates from Fotco, the entire diesel demand of upcountry locales is met by transport of high speed diesel through WOP. Themulti-grade movement design for transporting petrol in addition to diesel is fully reserved to capacity. Thus, fresh volume of petrol is anticipated to be handled at Fotco — a challenge that needed careful and watchful running.
The maritime affairs ministry has been solicitude of frequent interventions by the Petroleum Division and asked it to keep certain issues in mind before requesting precedence of canvas vessels at applicable anchorages. It directed that there should be proper lineup of POL vessels in agreement with the laycan assigned and that Pakistan National Shipping Corporation’s (PNSC) vessels, including those chartered by it, would take precedent as per the government policy.
The Petroleum Division believed that this preference was limited to PNSC’s own vessels under the government opinions and the maritime affairs ministry was adding the chartered vessels at its own and more frequently than not creating problems for the petroleum force chain.
The ministry has also asked the Petroleum Division that canvas companies should be easily directed to resolve payment issues well in time with boon to avoid detainments in berthing or cancellation of aviators. Also, product samples should be taken at the external harborage to save time and assigning precedence to canvas vessels shouldn’t be a norm rather an exception and hence applied widely only in critical cases.
The Petroleum Division was of the opinion that the maritime affairs ministry shouldn’t cover PNSC’s interests at the cost of dismembering the canvas force chain in the country as in the once PNSC vessels had been given precedence and that the refineries had expressed reservations over setbacks of vessel nominations and delayed advents of crude vessels. “ PNSC should also be converted to concentrate on better performance and delivery,” it claimed.
The canvas assiduity on the other hand agitated that a single quay at Fotco was congested and development of a alternate quay was urgently needed. It refocused out that a new quay could be developed in lower than$ 80 million but canvas companies and the bankroll were paying further than this quantum every time on demurrages, freights, etc.
The assiduity stressed that Fotco and KPT handled over 450 vessels a time that awaited an normal of at least five days and the canvas companies paid about$ 45m in demurrage alone last financial time.
Ogra has advised the government that conservation and form of Oil Pier-I should be heldup till December 2021 and Oil Pier-II Chiksan marine lading arm should be repaired urgently and night navigation installation be made available. Ogra has also advised that vessels lower than tonnes shouldn’t be allowed berthing.
In a working paper, the Petroleum Division has suggested that Fotco should be converted into a purely finished products and energies quay while condensate and naphtha import vessels should be shifted to Keamari (Karachi Port) from Fotco (Port Qasim). It has also demanded that a devoted tanker discharge line from Fotco quay to WOP should be installed to handle discharge of petrol and diesel loadings independently. Besides night navigation installations at Fotco, the Petroleum Division has also demanded that perpetration of channel widening plan of Port Qasim for LNG vessels should be expedited for which “ PQA has been charging a hefty quantum per vessel”.
Contemporaneously, it said, construction of an fresh petroleum quay at Port Qasim should be expedited, besides icing “ necessary repairs and arrangements for integrity and conservation at the three canvas piers at KPT” and Pakistan State Oil should be eased to apply its design relating to channel connectivity between the KPT and PQA for inflexibility of operations and security of force chain of petroleum products.
