Public sector Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) on Thursday said the workers’ protest at Adani’s Gangavaram Port has “totally disrupted coal supply” to its Visakhapatnam plant.
This poses a “formidable challenge to RINL’s production” and it has launched a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the impact of the disruptions and uphold operational continuity, the company said in a statement.
The steel plant is reliant on the services of Adani Gangavaram Port Ltd (AGPL) for handling imported raw materials, including coking coal and limestone, which are vital for its production processes.
“Adding to the urgency, there are two vessels carrying a total of approximately 150,000 tonnes which arrived at AGPL are awaiting berthing instructions. The materials on board these vessels are urgently required at the RINL plant to maintain production continuity,” RINL said, adding that any further delay in berthing of the vessel and transfer of the cargo will further jeopardise the production at RINL, “bringing the units to a grinding halt”.
To address the situation, RINL said it sought the help of the district administration to restore operations at AGPL. The steel maker also wants to shift approximately 2.2 lakh tonnes of coal which is already in AGPL.
“The district administration has responded positively to RINL’s request and in engaging with the stakeholder for restoration of operation or transfer of Coking Coal,” RINL said.
In addition to these steps, RINL is diverting two ships to Vizag Port to ensure raw material security with the support of Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA), the company said.
RINL also said it is availing of a commodity loan of 50,000 tonnes of coal from alternate ports. Besides these, RINL is also calling a global tender for emergency procurement of 1.50 lakh tonnes of coal.