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Kandla port extends force majeure after quake

India's busiest port, Kandla, said on Monday that it planned to extend force majeure*** for one or two more days as it waited for tremors to subside from a massive earthquake that struck Gujarat on January 26.

"We have not lifted force majeure," port chairman A K Joti said by telephone from Kandla. "In one or two days time we will lift it," he said.

The port imposed force majeure after the quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale struck the coastal state on January 26, halting commercial operations.

Joti said the port restarted operations on a trial basis for the first time on Saturday. "We're terming it trial runs. The major problem is that tremors are not stopping. We want the tremors to subside," he said.

Last Thursday, the port's deputy chairman, Vipul Mittra, said it could take at least six to eight months to resume normal operations but half of the operations could start in a week's time.

Joti said that most of the port users' buildings have collapsed and every section of the port has been affected by the earthquake which killed an estimated 30,000 people.

*** = Force Majeure literally means "greater force". These clauses excuse a party from liability if some unforseen event beyond the control of that party prevents it from performing its obligations under the contract. Typically, force majeure clauses cover natural disasters or other "Acts of God", war, or the failure of third parties--such as suppliers and subcontractors--to perform their obligations to the contracting party. It is important to remember that force majeure clauses are intended to excuse a party only if the failure to perform could not be avoided by the exercise of due care by that party.

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