PSA Sical Terminals Ltd, the entity that runs India’s second oldest private container terminal in a major port, is nearing a bitter end barely four years before the 30-year concession expire in 2028 with the facility majority owned by a Singapore government enterprise filing an application before an arbitration tribunal to hand over the terminal to V O C Port Authority as years of acrimonious multiple litigations reaches a climax. PSA Sical Terminals’ move to quit the contract prematurely, blaming V O C Port Authority for not providing water depth on par with the adjacent Berth No 8 (draft of 14.2 metres) to run the terminal as a commercially viable asset, triggered a protest from the employees of the facility on Thursday who wore black shirts and arm bands seeking protection of their interests before the terminal is returned to the port authority. PSA Sical Terminals has a water depth of 11.7 metres at Berth No 7, which according to the operator is “discriminatory”. Following the application filed by PSA Sical Terminals before the three-member arbitration tribunal headed by Justice Ajit Prakash Shah (Retired), a joint memo has been submitted by PSA Sical Terminals and V O C Port Authority for handing over and taking over of the terminal without prejudice to the rights of both the parties. As the terminal is being under utilised by PSA Sical, the two parties have urged the arbitration tribunal to hire Indian Register of Shipping to undertake condition survey and ASV Associates to carry out valuation of assets. The request was accepted by the arbitration tribunal in a September 9 order. “Further course of action as per the tribunal order has been sought from the senior counsel based on which the port authority will take necessary actions,” according to the document. Susanta Kumar Purohit, Chairman, V O C Port Authority did not respond to multiple calls made to his mobile phone seeking comment. PSA Sical Terminals could not be reached for comments. PSA Sical Terminals invoked arbitration proceedings on November 23, 2023 for quantifying the alleged “damage” arising from lack of water depth at the facility on par with Berth No 8 per the directions of the final award given by an earlier arbitration tribunal on July 7, 2023.
