CHENNAI -- India's Port of Jawaharlal Nehru will require mandatory single-use seals on all laden containers, as of Nov. 1.

The requirement originally was to be enforced Oct. 1. A trade notice issued on Sept. 3 had said the measure was being introduced for security reasons and to minimize pilferage of cargo. Containers arriving at Nehru by any mode must have this single-use lock, and not a strip seal. The port will not handle containers without the single-use lock.

The advance manifest of import containers provided by shipping lines must indicate the lock seal number and must be given to the port before berthing of the vessel for discharge of cargo. For export cargo, the container number, seal number and other relevant details must be provided in advance to the port.

Following discussions with carriers and trade, Nehru has relaxed seal requirements for tank containers, ODC and flat-rack containers, and open-door containers carrying perishable cargo.

"The absence of the one-time lock was causing customs bottlenecks and delays both here and overseas," said R.T. Revankar, chief operations manager at Nehru port. "It is also a security measure."

Executives with shipping companies said the customs notification for such a seal has been in existence for more than a decade, but was not strictly enforced. Major carriers are already using single-use locks on containers, and are unperturbed by the latest Nehru notification.

"The India office of APL has time and again reiterated its compliance and importance [of the lock] in the past," said R.P. Shroff, operations manager at APL Ltd.

There has been some confusion because of the use of different terminology by Nehru port. The Indian Customs notification calls the lock a "bottle seal."  Trade sources said the numbered seal is known as a bolt lock, one-time lock, or bullet seal. Once closed, it cannot be tampered with; the only way to open it is to break it.

The measure has initially been introduced at Nehru, India's busiest container port, which handles more than 2.3 million TEUs a year. The measure is likely to be introduced at other ports in phases.

By N. Vasuki Rao