KARACHI, May 5: Chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Vice Admiral Ahmed Hayat said on Wednesday that India and Pakistan could open up their sea ports for their flag ships once the suspended protocol was renewed to meet the modern era requirements.

Talking to newsmen after the inaugural session of International Ports and Shipping Conference (IPSC) the chairman said though currently no negotiations are being held on this subject but there was always a possibility for opening up such avenues in the larger interest of both the sides.

According to suspended protocol, he said both countries allowed each other to carry their respective cargo but this arrangements are not practicable even if both the sides agree to renew their shipping links under this protocol.

Therefore, the Vice Admiral Ahmed Hayat said it was equally important that this protocol should be amended according to new realities and both the countries should allow their ships to carry cargo from their respective ports even of third country.

He further said that there was great scope for shipping links between both the countries and Karachi Port could be used to transport goods to northern areas of India through Khorapa which reduces around 400 to 500 km distance compared to Mumbai port.

The minister for communication Babar Ghouri who was to inaugurate the conference could not attend the first International Ports and Shipping Conference because of his pre-occupation in Islamabad.

The KPT chairman Vice Admiral Ahmed Hayat welcoming the foreign and local participants to the IPSC said the sea has intrigued and fascinated mankind for ages. However, technological revolution and consequently large scale shipping has transformed the earlier romantic notions into concrete, tangible, and somatic realities of trade and commerce leading to globalization.

More than 25 speakers from 15 countries, including US, UK, Malaysia, Oman, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Belgium are participating. Besides, more than 200 key decision makers from the international ports and shipping industry are attending the three-day conference.

Representation from India is being made by D T Joseph, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping who read a paper on 'Emerging Maritime Issues in South Asian Region.'

He said the IPSC is a manifestation of this very globalization, which represents the practical and realistic dimension of the changing regional environment. The entire concept of globalization and that of a global village would be a dream without the wheels of the ports and shipping and the medium of world oceans and seas, he added.

An important manifestation of this globalization, he said, was that it had turned the business of ports into an industry. Ports are no more mere facilitators of national trade, but they were also an industry in themselves.

In the regional context, Karachi depicts the roof of the eastern expanse of the Indian Ocean, which washes the shores of 12 countries and two continents, harbouring 46 major ports with a population of around 1.5 billion.

The KPT chief said Karachi ports proximity to the oil rich Gulf and Central Asia, pregnant with possibilities and populous and vibrant economies such as India, China, and South Africa opens new avenues for this port which "we will explore during the course of this conference."

Starting from a 15 jetties 9 meter port, handling 2.5 million ton cargo in 1947, he said the Karachi port had graduated to a 33 berths, 12.2 meter channel, with two modern container terminals handling in excess of 27 million tons of cargo annually.

The chairman also pointed out some of the challenges the modern ports have to confront from time to time and said that whereas rapprochements are opening new vistas at some places, turmoil and instability are jeopardizing some established avenues. The ever-changing technology, he said was not only continuously encouraging the pace of the race but also changing the rules.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Hayat said that terrorism has added a totally new dimension to port operations. Security concerns are high on priority and regimes such as ISPS Code and CSI are putting extra demands on the ports and shipping sector.