INDIA's government has announced a cut in charges at ports and the purchase of five additional used container vessels by Shipping Corp as part of steps to resolve shipping-related woes being faced by shippers, reports the Press Trust of India.

These decisions were taken in an inter-ministerial meeting, held here under the chairmanship of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

The meeting was held to address rising freight costs, shipping delays, shortage and non-availability of containers and congestion at ports.

Exporting community and experts have flagged shipping-related issues which are hurting exports, as outbound shipments contracted by 9.3 per cent in August.

The issues figured in the discussions include container shortage, surge in ocean freight rate and shipping cost, shipping delays at the Indian ports, and turnaround time at the ports.

Briefing media after the deliberations, Mr Goyal said that the decisions taken by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ministry of Railways in the meeting will result in significantly breaking down shipping costs, improving availability of containers, resolving empty containers issue, faster evacuation of export consignments and reducing congestion at the ports.

"I am confident that it will result in bringing down the shipping cost, improve the availability of empty containers, help faster evacuation of export consignments, and significantly reduce the congestion at ports," he said.

It was announced that the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) will "purchase five additional second-hand container vessels" to further boost cargo handling capacity.