LAHORE: Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (PIBTL) has said that only six vessels have berthed at the port this month while four more vessels are scheduled to arrive. "This is a marked decrease from the last few months when the terminal handled 17 to 19 vessels per month. Probably, the importers are not buying coal due to its high international prices," said the spokesman.

He added that PIBT through its handling efficiency saves vessel rental cost for almost 3 to 4 days for importers as the terminal's average time to unload coal from a vessel is only 36 hours compared to almost 5 days from stevedoring operations at the KPT. However, he added, coal handling at KPT was stopped by the Supreme Court to protect human lives and now coal is being handled at PIBTL quite efficiently in an environment-friendly manner.

The spokesman said that PIBTL's capacity is underutilized these days but few importers complained that they pay demurrages of US five dollar per ton due to congestion at PIBTL. "The importers have to pay demurrages due to their own inefficiency as they don't adhere to the Supreme Court's note to schedule their vessels to avoid delays," said the spokesman. Also, he added, the importers conveniently ignore this fact and put the onus of their own inefficiency on the terminal though they have the option of importing coal through Gwadar Port.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021