‘Desperate’ Cochin Port flouted own tender terms and gave sops to thrust ICTT on DP World: CAG Live Mint Union government-owned Cochin Port Trust in Kerala forced the international container transshipment terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam on DP World Ltd, a Dubai-based company, by overlooking or ignoring a key contract clause and even offering it post-bid concessions, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General. The government auditor made these disclosures in a report submitted to Parliament on Friday, revealing a strange case of a state-owned port flouting its own tender terms to suit its convenience. The disclosures come at a time when India’s policy planners continue to look for explanations for the below-par performance of ICTT, which was designed save exporters and importers time and money by cutting India’s dependence on neighbouring hub ports such as Colombo and Singapore. About 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs (the standard size of a cargo container) originating in and destined for India is transshipped at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port every year. The ICTT, built with an investment of about Rs.3,200 crore—shared between the government and the private firm DP World.

Chennai Port defers container terminal project The Hindu The Chennai Port Trust has put on hold a proposal to develop a mega container terminal at least for the next two years, an official familiar with the matter said. Several reasons have been attributed to the move, including poor response from the developers, low rate of revenue share offered by the bidders and heavy congestion at the port. Besides, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has already started developing container terminal at Kamarajar Port with 1.4 million TEUs capacity and acquired L&T Kattupalli Port with 1.2 million TEUs. The priority is to salvage the Chennai Port, which is witnessing a slump in the total volume of cargo handled over the last three years, a senior company official says. Hence, it was decided not to take up the project during the next two years. As per the proposed plan, Chennai Port wanted to develop mega terminal with a capacity to handle four million 20-foot equivalent units At that time, the project cost was pegged at Rs.3,686 crore. By July 2014, it rose to Rs.5,090 crore.

Dumping weighs down exporters Business Standard Last week, the Union commerce ministry reported a fall of 24 per cent in exports during November, a twelfth month of a continuing decline. The situation calls for a sympathetic appreciation of the plight of exporters. Obviously, the main reason is the contraction in global demand and consequent crash in commodity prices. Competing economies like China have been dumping goods to keep their factories running, at prices Indian exporters find difficult to match. It appears the position will continue for more time. Meanwhile, exporters who have taken on an obligation under the duty exemption scheme and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme are unable to fulfil these, even after the extensions allowed under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP). Export Oriented Units (EOUs) and units in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) are also finding it difficult to maintain their net foreign exchange (NFE) earning commitment. In 2002, the DGFT decided to treat 2001-2002 as a blank year and monitoring of NFE of EOU and SEZ units was deferred for a year.

Rly minister urged to extend rail freight corridor to Attari The Tribune A city-based NGO has written to Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu seeking extension of the eastern rail freight corridor up to the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari. The NGO has also urged the railways to initiate a campaign to turn its properties green and take other measures to bolster trade and travel. Gubir Singh of Dalbir Foundation, in a communiqué sent to the minister, requested the extension of eastern rail freight corridor till the Attari border. “Although it was approved by the last government, there were some indications that it is being reconsidered,” he said. Gubir Singh said merits of the proposal have enhanced trade prospects with Afghanistan, CIS nations and Pakistan and it can create opportunity and establish bonds. This can bring the rail line into the ICP (only 400 metres away) to improve handling of freight in a secure manner as is being done globally. “Start container movement for better movement of bulk cargo through scanning devices to check the movement of contraband,” he requested.

Paradip Port excels in cargo handling The Hindu Paradip Port Trust (PPT), a major public sector port, claimed to have achieved cargo throughput of 52.60 million tons (MMT) as against 49.56 MMT handled till mid-December in the current financial year. The cargo handling, a jump of 6.13 per cent compared to corresponding period of previous year, ranked PPT at second position amongst all major ports. According to PPT, though the number of vessels handled in the port has been increased along with the quantity of cargo handled, the berth occupancy has been reduced from 76.46 per cent to 68.21 per cent. It was possible due to higher ship-day. “While around 20 vessels were waiting in the anchorage for berth last year, the number of waiting vessels has come down to two to three vessels this year. This has a direct impact on demurrage charges, thereby savings in precious foreign exchange to the nation,” a PPT spokesperson said. Total 634 rakes were loaded in the port during October 2015, surpassing previous record of 573 rakes loaded during August 2015.

Rajasthan to get country's largest warehouse soon Nyoooz In what would bring cheer to the toiling farmers the Rajasthan State Warehousing Corporation (RSWC), is coming up with state-of-the-art warehouses. According to Madhukar Sharma, executive director, RSWC, "The warehouses are being built under the rural warehousing infrastructure by the state government. The warehouses are being made with the GOI Rural Infrastructure Development Fund / Warehousing Infrastructure Fund (RIDF/WIF) scheme that is an important scheme for routing bank funds for financing rural infrastructure. Besides, a survey by NABARD had estimated the deficiency of warehousing in Rajasthan to a 22.40 lakh MT. Jaipur: Rotting crops due to natural calamities year after year and losing them in transportation and storage will be a thing of past in Rajasthan. Jaipur: Rotting crops due to natural calamities year after year and losing them in transportation and storage will be a thing of past in Rajasthan.

New general cargo and liquid bulk terminal opens at Salalah port Sea News Port of Salalah on the Arabian Sea has opened a OMR55 million (US$143 million) deep-water general cargo and liquid bulk terminal that can handle 20 million tons of dry cargo and six million tons of liquid bulk cargo annually. The 1,266-metre quay offers two 320 metre-long general cargo berths, two 300 metre-long liquid bulk berths and a depth of 18 metres, reported the American Journal of Transportation. "The new facility is able to handle a wide range of vessels, ranging from naval ships, to vessels handling limestone, cement, livestock, project cargo and other dry bulk commodities as Salalah continues to grow as a key centre of trade and logistics for the region," said Port of Salalah CEO David Gledhill. "A dedicated pipe corridor links the new liquid bulk terminal directly with one of our customers operating within the port, and in the future, an extension will connect with the Salalah Free Zone where new customers are setting up their plants," added deputy CEO Ahmed Akaak.

2016 Could See Bunkers Under $100 in Key Ports as Goldman Sachs Sticks to its $20/bbl Oil Prediction Ship & Bunker Goldman Sachs is sticking to its earlier prediction of a $20 per barrel bottom for oil, and sees 32 million barrel per day (bpd) production from the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2016, CNBC reports. The investment bank notes in its December monthly report that the $20 bottom is the break even point for high-cost shale producers in the U.S.; as for OPEC's anticipated output in the New Year, it will be driven partly by Iran's resumption of production after the U.S sanctions against the country are lifted. At $20 per barrel, along with the current relationship between Brent and bunker prices, Ship & Bunker data indicates that IFO380 in the primary ports could easily be expected to fall under $100 per metric tonne (pmt). However last week IFO380 in both Houston and Rotterdam was around 52 percent of the pmt Brent price, and at that level $20 oil would put bunkers under $80 pmt.

OOCL levies $150/TEU hike for Southeast Asia-Oz cargo on January 20 Sea News Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) will levy a rate increase of US$150 per TEU and US$300 per FEU on cargo from Southeast Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) to Australia from January 20. This increase will apply on top of existing ongoing market rates and will be subject to accessorial surcharges applicable at the time of shipment, said the shipping line, adding that further information would be available through local sales representatives. "The ocean freight rates continue to be below the required level to cover basic operating costs or transportation costs in our southeast Asia-Australia services," said the company statement. "Considering that current levels are unsustainable for the long term, we are announcing a rate restoration programme for this trade lane," it said.

Global economy depends on more than India in 2016 Hellenic Shipping News India will not rescue the global economy in 2016. The subcontinent’s expanding GDP is one of next year’s few economic bright spots. But Indian output is still too small. Any negative shocks from the sluggish United States and decelerating China will reverberate more widely. India is finally emerging from China’s shadow in the global growth stakes. Helped by a controversial overhaul of its GDP statistics, the Indian economy probably expanded by 7.5 percent in 2015 and is set to swell by a further 7.8 percent in 2016. Contrast that with the People’s Republic, which is struggling to maintain the near-7 percent pace promised by its leaders. The prospect of sustained rapid growth has drawn the attention of prominent central bankers. India’s economy has “enormous potential” to recharge Asia’s growth engine, Stanley Fischer, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s vice chairman, declared in a recent speech.

After 5 years at helm, K Subramaniam set to bid adieu to Cochin Shipyard Business Line Commodore Kartik Subramaniam will bid adieu to Cochin Shipyard this month-end after being at its helm for five years. During his tenure as CMD, the yard’s turnover grew manifold from ₹35 crore to 1,900 crore. He steered the profit-making PSU into a new era of shipbuilding; CSL is all set to join the league of global yards capable of building LNG ships. Backed by GTT France, the yard has now obtained the strength and basic shipbuilding capability to undertake the construction of LNG carriers, Subramaniam said. “I leave the yard very satisfied after achieving all the contractual obligations within the set timeframe and even ahead of schedule. I had an outstanding innings as my five-year period witnessed a jump in turnover to ₹1,900 crore from ₹37 crore,” he told Business Line during an interaction. It was during his tenure that the yard entered the construction of offshore vessels in a big way. CSL even exported more than 30 OSVs.

Cargoes show no loyalty to multipurpose sector Break Bulk You don’t have to look very far to find evidence of container lines hemorrhaging cash; sales of red ink to the box-ferrying brethren have rocketed this year. And next year looks set to smash the upset of 2015. Add canceled sailings, laying up of ships amid continued deliveries, and threats of consolidation and you have an industry grasping at straws. Why should breakbulk, heavy-lift and project cargo specialists care about any of this? So what if container lines are hurting; they’ve had the good times, now they need to roll with the bad. But ignore these portends at your peril: as box trades deteriorate, container lines are desperately seeking alternative sources of revenue, mainly to appease anguished shareholders.While the likes of lower volume container carriers such as Taiwan’s Wan Hai or Turkey’s Arkas don’t pose much of a threat, the project cargo whims of the top container movers matter.

Today's container service reliability sets a 'new normal', says Drewry Sea News Containership reliability was broadly unchanged in November as the average on-time performance across all trades slipped by just 0.8 percentage points against October to 77.2 per cent, reports the American Journal of Transportation. The American Journal of Transportation cited data from Carrier Performance Insight, powered by Hong Kong's CargoSmart software, an online schedule reliability tool provided by London's Drewry Supply Chain Advisors. Six of the 10 trades covered recorded month-on-month on-time improvements in November, but worse performances in each of the three east-west trades and in the Asia-South America route - the only north-south trade to decline - dragged down the overall reliability performance. Eight of the 19 "Top 20" carriers measured scored an average on-time performance of 80 per cent or higher in November. After sharing the top spot in October, Evergreen once again led with an overall on-time average of 85.3 per cent. India’s shipbuilding ambitions get a fresh lease of life Live Mint In the end, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ‘Make in India’ initiative that tilted the scales for the cabinet to sign off on a long pending policy, much to the relief of India’s beleaguered shipbuilders. That the shipbuilding policy took 17 months for cabinet approval after finance minister Arun Jaitley announced it in his budget speech on 10 July 2014 by itself shows the many hurdles it faced. The main features of the policy includes granting financial assistance to shipbuilders—both state-owned and private—on each ship they build, irrespective of the size and type, scaling down the quantum by three percentage points every three years, starting with 20% in the first three years, 17% in the next three, 14% for the subsequent three years and 11% in the 10th year. The aid will be given on contract or fair price, whichever is lower. The government has set aside Rs.4,000 crore to implement the scheme over 10 years. The financial assistance will be given only after the ship is built and handed over to the buyer. Chennai Port offers incentives to drive up container volume JOC Chennai Port Trust, India’s second-largest state-owned, major container handler, has announced a new incentive scheme to attract more container line calls. In a trade advisory this week, the port authority said all container vessel operators using Chennai terminals will receive a 15 percent concession on its current charges for vessel-related services. The discount plan will remain in force for six months, starting Jan. 1. The incentive program comes as CPT sees an increasing risk of losing market share to nearby privately-operated, minor cargo terminals such as Kattupalli and Krishnapatnam. Thanks to aggressive efforts by new port owner Adani Ports, Kattupalli International Container Terminal has won fortnightly calls from Maersk Line on the CHX Service (Chennai Express) operated jointly with Hanjin Shipping and from Taiwan carrier Wan Hai Lines on an intra-Asia loop. Inland Waterways Transport Business Standard nland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is executing Jal Marg Vikas Project to enable plying of about 1500 DWT commercial vessels on Haldia-Allahabad stretch of National Waterways-1 (NW-1) with technical and financial support of World Bank. Development of fairway in the stretch of Dhubri-Dibrugarh of NW-2 by providing 2.5 meter Least Available Depth (LAD) is also being undertaken to facilitate commercial navigation. NW-3 (Kottapuram-Kollam) is fully operational and is being utilised for commercial navigation. These measures are intended to provide opportunities to ply vessels by private/state run companies on these NWs. A tripartite agreement between National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and M/s Jindal ITF was executed for transportation of three million tonnes of imported coal per year from Sandheads, Bay of West Bengal to NTPC Power Plant at Farakka for seven years. With GTT cert, Cochin Shipyard gets ready to build LNG vessels Business Line Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is one step closer to building LNG ships, having received certification from GTT for an LNG carrier containment system — the first Indian yard to get it. The licence will be officially given on December 21 at a function in New Delhi. GTT is a France-based engineering company that specialises in the design of membrane containment systems for the maritime transport and storage of LNG. CSL Chairman and Managing Director Commodore (retd) K Subramaniam told BusinessLine that there are two proven gas containment systems for LNG carriers — the membrane technology from GTT, and spherical tanks from Norway-based Moss. About 90 per cent of the ships being built the world over now are based on the GTT system. CSL had deputed its employees for training at GTT as well as Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, the leading global builders of LNG carriers. Herbilan Group launches second feeder service Daily News Capitalizing on the success of Sri Lanka’s the first ever feeder service linking Sri Lanka with India and Myanmar,the Herbilan Group launched their second service yesterday. The total investment for the project is US$100 million. Herbilan Shipping Chairman, Herbi Silva said that the first service was very successful and it was met with high praise especially from Myanmar. “This service has also opened a new virgin market for Sri Lankan exporters and we are happy to observe that many are capitalizing on it. At present there is no dedicated feeder in operation on this route.” Sri Lanka was also losing considerable amount of transhipment cargo destined to the Middle East Europe, Africa,the US East Coast and Europe due to non availability of dedicated feeder connecting Yangon and Colombo. We have come forward to fill this void as well.” “We are going to help the Colombo Port to increase the transhipment cargo volumes,” De Silva said. Setting up of Ports Business Standard Ministry of Finance has recently given in-principle approval for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) on the proposal of Government of Kerala for development of a port at Vizhinjam on DBFOT basis. The ground breaking ceremony was held on 5.12.2015. As per the guidelines issued by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, for Financial support to Public Private Partnerships in infrastructure under VGF Scheme", the criteria for sanctioning VGF is given below:- (i) The project shall be implemented i.e. developed, financed, constructed, maintained and operated for the project Term by a private Sector Company to be selected by the Government or a statutory entity through a process of open competitive bidding. (ii) The project should provide a service against payment of a pre-determined tariff or user charge. (iii) The concerned Government/statutory entity should certify, with reasons. that the tariff/user charge cannot be increased to eliminate or reduce the viability gap of the PPP; that the Project Term cannot be increased for reducing the viability gap; and... Shipping ministry revamping archaic acts; to introduce them in Parliament within next six months: Secretary IIFL With a view to simplify the statutory provisions in the shipping sector, the Centre is in the process of revamping archaic acts and will introduce the same in Parliament in next six months, Rajive Kumar, secretary, shipping ministry said at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi today. “We are relooking at most of our acts some of which are more than 100 years old and we expect that in the next 6 months we should be able to revamp and introduce in the Parliament all the major acts which this ministry is concerned with, be it the major ports act, merchant shipping act, doing away with damp and so on,” said Kumar while inaugurating 5th International Summit on ‘Infrastructure Finance-Bridging the gap,’ organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). He informed that National Perspective Plan (NPP) for government’s ambitious Sagarmala project is likely to be ready by about end of next month. New Member Traffic Railway Board The Echo of India MohdJamshed has taken over as Member Traffic and ex Officio Secretary to Govt of India, Ministry of Railways. Prior to his promotion as Member Traffic, he was General Manager Northeast Frontier Railways and has held several important assignments in the Ministry of Railways and on Northern, Eastern and Central Railways including- GM Northeast Frontier Railways, Additional Member Railway Board, Chief Operations Manager, Chief Vigilance Officer, Chief Safety Officer, Divisional Railway Manager, and Executive Director Railway Board. Mr Jamshed during his tenure as GM NF Railways is credited with opening of Lumding –Silchar BG line for Passennger traffic and restoration of Section on Darjeeling Himalayan Railway closed for years. During his posting as Additional Member Rly Board, he was made Chairman of the Committee on Traffic Optimisation set up by Mr Suresh Prabhu,Minister for Railways. Shipping’s landmark deal – merger of Cosco and China Shipping Seatrade Maritime After months of speculation, rumours of the merger of China’s twin giant shipping conglomerates have finally been laid to rest. China’s powerful State Council officially announced last week that it has given the go-ahead for Cosco Group and China Shipping Group (CSC) to merge. A share trading halt was called on 10 August on the listed units of both Cosco and CSG, pending news of the possible merger. By then, the likelihood of the merger can be said to be an almost confirmed deal, as Beijing had also already asked the two companies to draft a preliminary merger plan within three months starting from August. The trading suspension has since been lifted after Cosco and CSG both revealed details of their merger, saying that their container shipping, ports and terminals, leasing and financial services, tankers, and dry bulk businesses will be grouped into separate entities. Due to the complexities involved, as the two companies have businesses in several sectors, their merger is expected to be a challenging and difficult process, and scheduled to be completed in 2017. FIEO urges government to check decline in exports Tribune India City-based exporters and the Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO) have urged the government to intervene immediately following a continuous decline in exports since December 2014. City-based leading dry fruit importer Balbir Bajaj, who is also the president, Indo-Foreign Chamber of Commerce, said continuous strengthening of dollar was weakening the rupee which is putting further stress on buying value in the domestic markets. He added that recessionary trends were visible as the sale of exotic materials like dry fruit came down. Reacting to the trade data for the month of November this year, which has reflected a continuous decline for the last 12 months in a row, much worse than the decline in exports during the global slowdown of 2008-09, SC Ralhan, president, FIEO, said the trade data for November 2015 had come to 20.01 billion dollars with a decline of 24.43 per cent. It was the highest decline in the last few years. First Mega Containership Coming to United States G Captain An 18,000 TEU containership will make its first-ever North American debut with calls at two U.S. west coast ports later this month. French container shipping company CMA CGM Group announced this week that its new ship, MV CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, will make its inaugural U.S. port call at the port of Los Angeles on December 26th, followed by a call at the port of Oakland on December 31. It will be the largest containership to ever to call at any port in the United States, and North America for that matter. Until now vessels of this size have been deployed exclusively on Asia-Europe trade routes. Their enormous size and carrying capacity, more than 18,000 20-foot containers, has earned them a reputation as ‘mega-ships’, or more officially Ultra-Larger Container Ships (ULCSs). CMA CGM says the Benjamin Franklin will be deployed on the Pearl River Express, a regular service connecting the main China ports, including Xiamen, Nansha and Yantian, with Los Angeles and Oakland. CM announces 2 new textile parks in Vidarbha Times of India In a major bid to boost the textile sector, the state government has approved nine new textile parks throughout the state. Of this, two are in Vidarbha, and the rest in Marathwada and Jalgaon district of north Maharashtra. Speaking at the Textile Seminar 2015, organized by the industries department, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state has identified 10 viable districts on the availability of cotton on the basis of which the textile parks are being formed. "The industry will always have a growth potential as demand for garments is never going to die down," he said. The new parks in Vidarbha include those in Yavatmal and Buldhana, Sunil Porwal the state's additional chief secretary (textile), told TOI. The state already has a textile park at Nandgaopeth in Amravati district. The state has attracted investment to the tune of over Rs40,000 crore in the textile sector during the last 4-5 years. "Now the Nandgaopeth textile park is considered to be the most promising with a capacity to attract investment worth Rs10,000 crore," said Porwal. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com