The Karnataka government has been urged by the Old Mangalore Port Users’ Association to appoint an official to carry out the yearly inspection of vessels for the renewal of ship validity certificate. All these years the port officer was carrying out the annual inspection for the renewal of validity certificate of ships, the Association said.    The current officer in charge has not been given the responsibility for carrying out the inspection for the past two months. The person certifying these vessels should be a captain of a ship with enough experience. The officer in-charge of Old Mangalore Port is an engineer and not a captain, the Association said.    The absence of inspection has affected various stakeholders dependent on Old Mangalore Port. Old Mangalore Port handles the cargo for vessels bound for Lakshadweep islands.  Terming September-May period as the peak season for users of Old Mangalore Port, he said the Old Mangalore Port handles a majority of the cargoes bound for Lakshadweep during the period.    Though the Old Mangalore Port handles around 1,000-1,500 tonnes of cargo bound for Lakshadweep every day, it could handle a total of around 1,000 tonne in the last one month, he said. The current situation has led to the diversion of cargo from Old Mangalore Port to Kozhikode port, Charandas Karkera, president of the association, said.