Ships: Committee to settle dispute between PSO, PNSC

Aftab Ahmed

Islamabad: Economic Coordination Committee has formed a committee to settle the outstanding dispute between Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC)  over ships’ demurrages.

Sources told Newztodays.com that PNSC had claimed of more than Rs 3 billion in demurrages.

However, M/s A.F. Ferguson & Co had verified outstanding dues of Rs 1.5 billion payable by PSO from 2021 to 2020.

Now, the economic coordination committee had formed a committee under the chairmanship of the deputy chairman Planning commission to formulate recommendations for the ECC. It has been directed to prepare recommendations in light of the audit firm.

Earlier, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs has presented a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), requesting that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) pay demurrages.

PNSC has been providing ships for carrying oil imports of Pakistan State Oil.

Sources told Newztodays.com that the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (NPSC) had filed a demurrage claim of over Rs 3 billion against Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for using ships.

The claims were filed by the NPSC around five years ago as a result of a delay in the berthing of ships carrying petrol for Pakistan State Oil.

Officials say that NPSC had hired some ships to carry oil imports from Pakistan State Oil (PSO) as the two entities had an agreement.

However, Pakistan faced a severe petrol crisis in 2015 when Punjab province suffered a lot during the PML-N government. When Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was the petroleum minister at the time, the petroleum division sent a summary to the economic coordination committee to cancel the agreement between PSO and PNSC.

ECC has allowed PSO to import oil by using ships from other sources. However, the two parties became embroiled in a dispute over the shipment of gasoline.

According to sources, the government regulated the price of gasoline at the time, so these expenses were not included in the price. Therefore, they are still pending.

Later, PSO also offered to make adjustments as PNSC had also had to pay for PSO. However, this did not work.

The maritime ministry has now referred the matter to the economic coordination committee (ECC) for resolution.

Read More: Zaidi protests over denying the first right to PNSC

Ali Zaidi, the current maritime minister, has made several attempts to compel PSO to use PNSC ships for oil imports. However, PSO was reluctant.

When the oil crisis in Punjab province erupted in 2015, the then-PML-N government fired several officials, including the PSO’s Managing Director, the Secretary of Petroleum, the Additional Secretary of Petroleum, and the Director-General of Oil.

Then the government alleged these officials were failing to control the crisis. However, the government had held PNSC responsible for the entire oil crisis due to delays in the arrival of its ships.

PNSC had outsourced its business to ships as it rented out oil shipments. Therefore, the delay in the arrival of oil ships caused a petrol crisis in entire Punjab.