Nhava Sheva transporters call off proposed stir after port authority meeting | Mumbai News
3 min readMumbaiMay 28, 2026 10:38 PM IST
Transporters operating in the Nhava Sheva region withdrew their proposed non-cooperation agitation on Thursday after a joint meeting convened by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) administration over issues related to LOLO (Lift On Lift Off) charges at empty container yards.
The agitation had been proposed by various transporter associations under the guidance of Sanjay Potdar, chairman of the Nhava-Sheva Container Operators Welfare Association, over alleged financial transactions and charges being imposed at empty container yards (MT Yards) for pickup and drop-off of containers. LOLO charges are fees for loading and unloading cargo using cranes or specialised equipment. These charges cover the handling of cargo at ports during loading and unloading operations.
The meeting was attended by JNPA administrative officials, senior representatives of the Empty Yard Association, and office-bearers of transporter organisations from the Nhava Sheva region.
According to transporters, their principal demand that no financial transactions or additional charges should be levied at empty yards was positively considered during the discussions and accepted by representatives of the Empty Yard Association.
Potdar said, “A meeting was held at 2 pm following which the decision to withdraw the agitation was taken after transporters’ concerns over LOLO charges at empty container yards were acknowledged during discussions convened by the JNPA administration. The Empty Yard Association assured transporters that the revised mechanism regarding the charges would be implemented from June 8.”
On Wednesday, multiple transport associations had jointly announced a voluntary stoppage of services from May 28 across the JNPA region over the issue of charges being levied at empty container yards.
In a joint notification issued by organisations including the Nhava-Sheva Container Operators Welfare Association, Reefer Container Transporters Welfare Association, All India Transporters Welfare Association and Maharashtra Heavy Vehicles and Interstate Container Operator’s Association, the bodies had alleged that repeated representations and meetings with authorities had failed to resolve the issue.
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The notification stated that transporters would not pay LOLO charges or any other fees imposed for pickup and drop-off of empty containers at empty yards and that transport vehicles would voluntarily cease operations wherever such charges were demanded from Thursday onwards. The associations had warned that any disruption arising from the situation would be attributable to the prevailing circumstances and not the transporter bodies.
