Pakistan unveils unified transshipment incentives to attract regional shipping traffic
Pakistan on Wednesday unveiled a unified incentive package offering discounts on port and cargo handling charges at Karachi Port and Port Qasim, as it seeks to attract more regional transshipment traffic and strengthen its position as a regional logistics hub.
Transshipment refers to cargo that is unloaded at one port before being transferred onto another vessel for its final destination. Pakistan has long sought to capture a larger share of this business, much of which has traditionally passed through major Gulf ports, arguing that higher cargo volumes would increase shipping activity, port revenues and investment in the country’s maritime sector.
The new package, jointly introduced by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Port Qasim Authority (PQA) and their container terminal operators, offers reduced wet charges, wharfage, storage fees and terminal handling charges for containerized, bulk and break-bulk transshipment cargo.
“The new framework replaces all previous transshipment concession notifications and SROs [statutory regulatory orders] with a single, transparent and performance-based regime applicable at both Karachi Port and Port Qasim,” Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said in a statement.
Under the new framework, KPT will offer wharfage concessions ranging from 20 percent to 80 percent, together with 14 days of free storage at its terminals and 30 days of free storage at its TPX cargo area for cargo handled under a shipping agent’s responsibility.
PQA will provide a 100 percent wharfage concession, along with seven days of free storage at its terminals, extendable to 21 days for cargo moved under a shipping agent’s responsibility.
The incentive regime also introduces slab-based concessions on wet charges for vessels carrying transshipment cargo. Ships carrying between 5 percent and 10 percent transshipment cargo will receive a 20 percent concession, rising to 80 percent for vessels carrying 90 percent to 100 percent transshipment cargo, subject to minimum container volumes.
Pakistan’s four major container terminals — Karachi International Container Terminal, South Asia Pakistan Terminals, Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited and Qasim International Container Terminal — have also reduced terminal handling charges by up to 25 percent for transshipment containers, depending on the proportion of transshipment cargo carried by a vessel.
“The package will lower transshipment costs, attract additional mainline shipping services, improve vessel turnaround times and increase regional cargo volumes through Pakistani ports,” KPT Chairman Rear Admiral (retd.) Shahid Ahmed said in the statement.
Pakistan has stepped up efforts to make its ports more competitive in recent years through customs reforms, digitalization and operational improvements. In July, Karachi Port climbed 30 places to 69th in global port rankings after measures to improve cargo handling and customs clearance, while Port Qasim ranked among the world’s most improved ports.
According to KPT Director Traffic Azam Ali Memon, Karachi Port handled 23,962 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of transshipment cargo last year, the highest volume in the port’s 139-year history.
Industry officials say volumes have continued to rise in recent months as some shipping lines adjusted routes during heightened tensions in the Gulf.
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