Long ridiculed as a high tech port with performance parameters not unlike those of archaic Indian ports, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) has finally come into its own. And in a lean year for trade, business is booming. Foreign lines, who were using Jebel Ali, Dubai or Colombo as transhipment points for cargo meant for India are now using JNP, as they always should have. But foreign ports are not the only ones losing out.

Shipping lines which have traditionally operated out of Mumbai are now increasingly using JNP. The remarkable turnaround began some time last year. In 1997-98, while Mumbai port handled 6.01 lac twenty feet equivalent units (TEUs), JNP came close with 5.04 lac TEUs. Compare that with 1994-95, whenMumbai handled 4.8 lac TEUs and JNP could manage only 2.5 lakh TEUs. By fast closing the gap, JNP is finally achieving the objective for which it was set up - providing world class service to shipping lines.

The greater efficiency is also reflected in other parameters. The port handled 52,247 TEUs in May 98, compared with 38,517 TEUs in June 97. And yet, since vessels were turning around faster, berth occupancy, which was 92.6 per cent, is down to 63 per cent. This has accounted for the low pre-berthing waiting period and given the management enough breathing space for maintenance of equipment, a major deterrent to productivity in the past.

The port almost seems to be on a virtuous cycle at last. The turnaround is a combination of administrative measures and better labour productivity. A couple of years ago, in an attempt to improve housekeeping (stacking cargo in a manner that enables quick loading when the ship comes calling), the port earmarked yards for shipping lines to manage on their own. Whilethis made life easier for shipping lines, one irritant remained.

The port allowed cargo not yet cleared by customs to enter the port. These containers littered the stacking area and until the last minute, the shipping line had no idea if the cargo was customs-cleared. This seriously affected their own efforts at efficient housekeeping. The port management's decision to earmark a separate dumping ground for goods not cleared by customs removed the last hurdle.

The result was immediately recorded in the performance parameters of some of the foreign shipping lines. For instance Maersk Shipping, which has been operating out of JNPT for quite some time now, has a berth productivity of over 50 moves an hour, giving them a moves per crane of close to 20. Given that Singapore, one of the world's most efficient transhipment points, gives 25 moves per hour, the achievement is remarkable. Other lines have registered varying gains.

Less than a year ago, JNP was marginally better than Mumbai port which stillaverages eight moves an hour. While most shipping lines attribute the change to an improvement in management attitude, what is important is that they have managed to carry port labour with them. For instance, shift changes, where considerable time was lost, is now reduced to the minimum.

An incentive scheme, where each worker takes home more money for every additional container moved per hour, has also helped. The combination of more working hours and more output per hour has been directly responsible for higher productivity.

An added factor has been better co-ordination with shipping lines. Collaboration with the line, wherein they load the ship as directed by the line, has resulted in better productivity. As the results have become more tangible, the co-operation has increased.

Since most ports are regulated by the Major Port Trust Act, a legislation as old as some ports, the purchase of equipment requires clearance of the ministry of surface transport. Since files go back and forth for a long time,inadequate equipment has been the single largest drawback of every major port in the country. Last year, JNP for the first time was given permission to hire all the required equipment.

The decision has enabled the port to practically double the number of cranes - an important factor in speeding up turnaround time. While virtually all shipping lines concerned are finally relieved by the remarkable turnaround of JNP, the state of the other ports remains a problem.

Says a spokesperson for one shipping line: "Gains made in JNP are lost when vessels have to wait several days at other calls like Chennai. If JNP can do it, why not the others." But then getting the ear of the ministry is no mean task. There may still be hope. The man who spearheaded most of the changes at JNP is now a secretary at the ministry of surface transport.