Increased draft depth needed to handle large vessels: Parliamentary panel

A parliamentary committee has stressed on the need for increasing the draft depth of almost all the ports of the country under the Sagarmala Programme according to their respective cargo profile.

Increased draft depth helps ports handle larger vessels.

In its latest report, the department-related parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture said that the draft depth at major ports, both in the channel and berths, has been historically low and ranges from 7 metres in older ports up to 20 metres in newer ports. The draft depth is not commensurate with the change of ship sizes and changes in cargo trends such as containerisation.

"Though the government has taken a number of initiatives to modernise our ports under the Sagarmala Programme, a lot remains to be done to ensure deep-draft availability to handle mega ships," the committee said.

It observed that increased competition and economy of scale has fuelled the development of bigger ships and to accommodate suc