Volume spikes test APMT terminal capacity in India’s Nhava Sheva Port

APMT Mumbai, also known as Gateway Terminals India (GTI), is one of five box facilities in Nhava Sheva, which handles a significant portion of India’s containerised trade. Amid growing trade concerns, the flagship operator has announced temporary restrictions on vessel operations for three days through 15 September to mitigate the bottlenecks that have had a ripple effect inland across terminals in the busy harbour.

“We have earmarked 48 hours for focused [cargo] evacuation,” the company said in a trade advisory. It further explained: “Only one berth will have vessels during this period and no ad-hocs (unscheduled calls) have been accepted.”

APMT Mumbai also noted that its harbour cranes will concentrate on clearing up the backlogs and for this, it has sought support from container freight station (CFS) operators to reach the clearance targets.

“We request top CFSs to share their evacuation plans so that the same may be incorporated into our planning for optimal results,” the terminal noted. The terminal also claimed that truck turnarounds have gained significant pace and that it is taking specific steps to clear priority import boxes as quickly as possible. “High volumes at Nhava Sheva, while welcome by all, also bring certain challenges which we all need to face with extra efforts and resources,” APMT Mumbai said. The operator added that better co-ordination and planning among stakeholders will help restore normalcy.

According to data provided by the terminal, average container dwell times have increased up to 50 hours, from the normal 36 to 40 hours. Container trailer operators earlier voiced serious concerns over excessive delays drivers had to deal with for cargo movements in and out of APMT Mumbai. Separately, the terminal noted that Nhava Sheva (JNPA) has logged a near 10% increase in volumes in 2024, up significantly from the five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7%.

APMT Mumbai has reported 859,130 TEUs from April to August, compared with 521,367 TEUs for the same period in 2023. The terminal had to keep one of its berths out of commission for almost a year through the first half of 2023, which explains lower year over-year volumes. Nhava Sheva’s combined April-August throughput hit 2.93 million TEUs, up from 2.6 million TEUs, port data collected by Container News shows.