Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has sought the permission of Petroleum Ministry to charter ships for import of crude oil and petroleum products instead of going through Transchart of Ministry of Shipping.

In a representation to the Ministry, MRPL Director (Refinery), Vijay Joshi, has stated that state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) were allowed direct chartering of ships instead of going through the tedious process of requesting Transchart. It has stated that even private sector oil companies are directly chartering for their ship requirements.

The company feels that the move to allow independent chartering of ships would enable greater flexibility in deciding timing, quantity of import, operational freedom, and derive economies by developing mixture of sport and long-term arrangements, as in the case with other oil companies.