Paradip, Oct. 23: Despite stoppages and hold-ups, Paradip port has maintained its outstanding track record and retained the second rank in cargo handling among 12 major ports of India.

During the first half of the current fiscal, the port handled more ships than that of the preceding year.

However, for over a week in September, the cargo handling had come to a grinding halt with stevedores resorting to cease work over award of the job contract to farms outside Odisha.

Besides, trade union strikes and shutdown calls given by political parties had also affected the intra-port operation for four days during the first six month of the fiscal.

While Kandla port in Gujarat topped the list with handling of 50 million tonnes, the Paradip Port Trust handled cargo traffic to the tune 36.06 million tonnes in the first six months (April to September, 2015), said port trust deputy chairman N. Vaiyapuri.

The first half of 2014 fiscal had registered 34.35 million tonnes of cargo handling. Thus there has been 5 per cent growth of traffic handled in comparison to last year, he said.

As many as 771 vessels were handled in the port during the first six months of the current fiscal against 692 vessels handled during the same period of the previous year. This is an increase of 11.41 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

During the period up to September in the current fiscal, thermal coal traffic has gone up by 8.71 per cent. Petroleum and oil product traffic has also registered a growth of 6.40 per cent following handling of 9.52 million tonnes against 8.94 million tonnes handled during the same period of previous year.

Incidentally, with the support of the East Coast Railway, the evacuation of imported cargo from the port has improved substantially as it was in a position to liquidate 312 pending indents, which stood at 595 at the beginning of the year.

Recently, the port has initiated a series of initiatives to improve its efficiency. It continues to be one of the most preferred destinations by the port users for handling dry bulk cargo because of its locational advantage and strong hinterland connectivity, said a port trust official.

However, in sharp contrast, a study conducted under the auspices of the Union shipping ministry had earlier noted that Paradip port is not trade-friendly.