A vessel flow disruption is brewing in Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s top container port complex, after information systems used by the government-run terminal JN Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) became the latest target of a cyberattack on 20 February late evening.
Sources said the port authority is strenuously working to reinstate the critical applications.
“If the outage is not fixed today, vessels scheduled to call at JNCPT will be affected,” a terminal official told Container News.
However, the other four container terminals in the harbor, two operated by DP World and one each by APM Terminals and PSA International, are reportedly functioning normally.
JNPCT is JNPT’s oldest terminal, capable of handling 1.5 million TEU annually. The terminal has seen its volume levels shrink over the years as a consequence of prolonged underinvestment in infrastructure upgrades and increasing competition from its private peers.
JNPT currently hosts just four weekly calls, according to the available information.
The Indian government has already laid out a privatisation plan for JNPCT. Current indications are that a dozen companies, including heavyweights like APMT, PSA, DP World and Adani Group, have expressed interest in the tender, which the bidding process currently targeted for completion in July.
A Phase II development by PSA, now rescheduled to be commissioned in 2025, will increase JNPT’s throughput capacity by 2.4 million TEU.
Jenny Daniel
India Correspondent
