Sri Lanka offers discount for Myanmar Transshipments, threat from Vizhinjam Lanka Business Online Sri Lanka Ports Authority has decided to grant a 10 percent discount on transshipment handling charges of the ship companies who comply to carry out Myanmar transshipment operations through the Colombo port. The decision aims to attract fast growing transshipment industry in Eastern India, Bangladesh and Myanmar, to the Colombo port. Ports Authority said the transshipment volumes at East Indian ports and Bangladesh ports have been increased during last two decades though Singapore still claims the biggest portion. The Authority said the transshipment activities of several deepest ports namely Mundra, JNPT, Hazira and Kochin in Western coastal of India have now divided among several ports. The Authority however says the port of Vizhinjam has a high potential to obtain a significant portion from the transshipment handling market of Western India, Pakistan and in Gulf region.

Ports see growth via car cargo route Business Standard This virtually unlocks a huge potential for coastal shipping in India, especially for automobiles cargo, said port authorities. Hyundai Motor India Ltd recently shipped 800 cars made at its Chennai plant to its markets in western India using a roll on-roll off vessel. The cargo was loaded at Chennai Port and it reached Pipavav Port in Gujarat last week. India has already established itself as a major automobile manufacturing hub, with most vehicles sold in the country being made domestically. This necessitates huge cargo movement (by rail and road networks) from the manufacturing clusters (in and around Chennai, Pune, Gujarat and the National Capital Region) to the consumption centres spread across the country. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) recently shipped 800 cars made at its Chennai plant to its markets in western India using a Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) vessel called MV IDM Symex. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Port sector to get benefit from several governments initiatives Live Mint Indian ports sector plays vital role in fastening the country’s trade and economic growth as Indian ports handles around 95% of nation’s merchandised export-import trade and stands at 16th spot among the maritime countries. Increased import of energy, containerization of export and import cargo and fertilizer agro commodities will continue to grow the cargo volumes at Indian ports. There are 12 Major Ports & 187 Minor/Intermediate ports along the 7,517 kms long coast line of the country. The major ports in the country are Kolkata, Haldia, Paradip, Vishakapatnam, Chennai, Ennore, KandlaTuticorin, Cochin, V.O.Chidambaranar, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru at Nhava and Mumbai. Between FY07- FY15, cargo traffic grew at CAGR 2.9 per cent Over FY07-15. Cargo traffic during FY15 for solid, liquid, and container cargo was 273, 188.9, and 119.4 MMT, respectively.

Vallarpadam transshipment terminal on pace for record year JOC Despite the downturn in global trade, International Container Transshipment Terminal, or Vallarpadam, at India’s Port of Cochin remains well on track to complete a record-setting fiscal 2015-16, which ends March 31, according to the newest port figures. The private terminal, India’s first full-fledged transshipment facility, handled 372,941 twenty-foot-equivalent units from April 2015 through Feb. 22, up 12.6 percent from 331,344 TEUs during the corresponding period the prior fiscal year. An analysis of the data shows January was the most productive month for Vallarpadam during the year, processing 37,692 TEUs, a gain of 28 percent year-over-year.Ship calls reached 579 during the current fiscal year until now, compared with a total of 474 calls at this point of time last fiscal year. As a result, Vallarpadam has already surpassed its annual 2014-15 throughput of 366,376 TEUs and looks to go past 400,000 TEUs for the first time ever. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Govt. studying proposed TPP agreement The Hindu Union Ministry of Commerce is studying the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the impact that it would have on Indian trade. The Centre of WTO Studies is also analysing the possible impact of the agreement on India, according to Ravi Capoor, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He was speaking at an outreach programme on Free Trade Agreements signed by FIEO here on Tuesday. The TPP would cover 12 countries and about 35 per cent of the global trade was controlled by these countries. The agreement was expected to be signed in the next one or two years. The Ministry was looking at the possible impact it would have. India had so far signed 16 trade agreements and most of them were with South Asian and African countries. However, only 10 per cent to 12 per cent of the entire trade from the country happened under these agreements. Exporters should make use of these agreements, he said.

State refiners join forces in bid for better Opec oil deals Live Mint Indian state refiners are jointly negotiating oil purchase deals with OPEC producers for the first time, as the world’s third biggest consumer seizes on low prices to wrest better terms in a market awash with crude. In a sign of the shift in power from oil sellers to buyers, India is reviewing its import policy at a time when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members are focused more on protecting market share than boosting prices that are down some 70% in the last 20 months. While producers have shown no sign yet of willingness to discount long-term price benchmarks, or official selling prices (OSPs), they have discussed concessions on loan terms and shipping that would reduce costs, said Indian industry and government officials familiar with the talks. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Call for clarity on reforms, GST Bill Business Line For the infrastructure sector, the first and foremost expectation from the Budget is clarity in policies and reforms. Implementation of the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and consistency in the taxation regime also top the charts. These were among the wishlist of the top representatives of the core infrastructure sector who converged at the pre-Budget roundtable organised jointly by BusinessLine and Bloomberg TV. Michael Thiemann, Chief Executive Officer of the Indian operations at Thyssenkrupp, said: “We are living in the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) environment and you have to be fast and flexible. “You should have a strategy, but you should be prepared to change that.” There should be ease of doing business, Thiemann said, adding his humble wish was “don’t make too many changes”.

PIL to enhance service covering Africa, Middle East and India Seatrade Maritime Pacific International Lines (PIL) will enhance its Africa-Middle East-India (AMI) trade from March, a service to be jointly operated with CMA CGM under a new vessel sharing agreement. The enhanced AMI service will start from Jebel Ali on 4 March, deploying a fleet of eleven 3,500 teu container vessels. “The enhanced AMI service is designed as a market-leading product with wider port coverage, increased frequency and improved transit time for our customers. AMI will provide new direct routing from Middle East and India to Pointe des Galets, Walvis Bay, Luanda, Pointe Noire and Tincan,” PIL said in a statement. The weekly service will have a port rotation in 77 days. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Container Liner Shipping Companies Committed to Change Future Price Announcements Hellenic Shipping News On 16 February 2016, fifteen container liner shipping companies offered commitments to the European Commission (the “Commission”), including changes of their price announcements, as the Commission considered that the previous practices could enable those carriers to second-guess each other’s prices and facilitate coordination among them. Suspecting a breach of antitrust rules, Commission officials undertook unannounced inspections on 17 May 2011 at the premises of fifteen active companies in the container liner shipping in several Member States. On 21 November 2013, the Commission opened formal antitrust proceedings against those carriers in order to investigate the practice of publishing General Rate Increase (“GRI”) announcements. Since 2009, the carriers made “regular public announcements of price increase intentions through press releases on their websites and in the specialised trade press.”

Exporters told to make use of preferential duty tariff under free trade pacts Business Line Preferential duty tariff that exporters can claim under the FTAs (free trade agreements) is not being fully utilised. Data shows that only 10 to 12 per cent of the entire trade is happening under the FTAs, said Ravi Capoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Capoor said “FTAs are the least understood. India has signed 16 trade agreements so far out of the 200 inked by various countries across the world between 2000 and 2015. Most of the agreements signed by India are with countries in the South-East Asian region.” “While the partnering country to the agreement can avail itself of the preferential tariff agreed to by the group (of countries) amongst its members, it is not being utilised either due to lack of awareness or because of the exporter’s dependence on the clearing agent,” Capoor said. He urged the participants to look up the indiantradeportal and avail the concessional tariff. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Container ship MV Olf arrested in Malaysia for hit and run accident Maritime News The container ship MV Olf was arrested by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency for accident in Singapore Strait a few days ago. The vessel was detained by patrol boat of local authorities and escorted to anchorage on 2.7 nautical miles off the coast. The vessel was suspected by hit and run accident in Singapore Strait off Batu Ayam in Malaysia, making collision with two tankers Tina 7 and Straits 3. The container ship left the scene of the accident without reporting about collision and didn’t stop or contacted damaged ships. During the accident the both tankers suffered sufficient damages of the boards, but remained afloat. Fortunately according to police investigation, there were no injured people and no water pollution after collision.

Gujarat to get India's first roll on-roll off passenger ferry service by April 2017 Business Standard Gujarat's Dahej is all set to get India's first roll on-roll off (Ro-Ro) vessel passenger ferry services around April 2017. The Rs 550 crore project being executed by the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is expected to bring down travel time between Saurashtra region in Gujarat with its Southern parts significantly. At present travelling from Ghoga in Saurashtra to Dahej in South Gujarat takes around 10-12 hours for trucks and buses, and even by cars it is not less than 6-8 hours. Once the Ro-Ro ferry service commences, this time would be dramatically shortened to one and a half hours. Speaking about the project A K Rakesh, vice chairman and managing director of GMB said, "Ro-Ro passenger ferries are common in European countries, however, this is the first such project in India, or for that matter South Asia." Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Shippers have fewer Africa liner service options JOC Shippers face fewer delays due to less congestion and more reliability at African ports and connecting liner services, but they have less services to choose from and the delays of critical port projects may cause the continent’s port productivity gains to slip, according to two new reports. Consolidation via CMA CGM’s absorption of Europe-Africa carrier Delmas, the exit of Asian carriers from the Asia-Africa trade, and the reorganization of Safmarine representation created less choice for beneficial cargo owners, according to Port Overview Africa, a website that evaluates African port performance. Meanwhile, the World Bank has said that the privatization of container terminals in West Africa has limited shipper choice and not provided the gains it was thought would be created.

Asia Pacific to Emerge as Major Bunker Fuel Market: Strategic Location of Ports, Rising Consumerism Driving Growth. Industry Today In marine fleet operations, the fuel that is loaded into a ship’s bunker and powers its engines is bunker fuel. Bunker fuel can be obtained as a distillate or residue of crude oil, with the latter accounting for a share of close to 75% in the global bunker fuel market in 2013. Intermediate fuel oils of grades IFO 180 and IFO 380, which are residual fuel oil types, are the most preferred due to their low cost and easy combustibility. Fuel oil, as bunker fuel is also known, is used in thermal plants, gas turbines, marine engines for transportation, electrical power applications etc. Over a period of time, due to the development of high-power diesel engines that run on fuel oil, today commercial shipping has become a major industry. The occupation has enabled trade between distantly located regions across the world for economic development. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Adani Ports considering acquisitions in India, abroad Live Mint Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, India’s biggest private port operator, is looking to complete its “string of pearls” ports strategy by plugging gaps that remain in a few coastal states. In addition, the company is also eyeing overseas acquisitions. The company, part of billionaire Gautam Adani-led infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group, is actively looking at acquisitions, two company executives said, adding that chief executive officer Karan Adani is leading the drive. Karan is Gautam Adani’s son and took charge of Adani Ports on 1 January. In India, the company is looking to expand its presence in Maharashtra and West Bengal. In overseas markets, the company is scouting for port opportunities in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the US and Europe, apart from the ports planned in Australia. “The overall objective is to make the group a trans-shipment port company,” one of the executives cited above said on condition of anonymity.

Planned Colachel port could recapture India transshipment cargo JOC A new deep-sea container transshipment terminal at Colachel on the southwestern coast of India should be able to capture a significant portion of domestic cargo currently relayed over other hub ports in the region, especially Sri Lanka’s Port of Colombo, a preliminary feasibility study for the port project shows. A report by Typsa Group and Boston Consulting Group, two global management consulting firms, found that transshipment traffic via the proposed facility should go up from 700,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units in 2020 to 2.8 million TEUs by 2025 and to 3.9 million TEUs by 2030. The consulting consortium was hired by V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust, also known as Tuticorin, to determine the location and design of the new terminal, as well as to evaluate the long-term viability of the project. The study recommended that the project be set up at Enayam, near Colachel, which offers a natural water depth of 20 meters (about 66 feet) and is close to the busy Suez route. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Container volumes grow 7 per cent in January: IPA Economic Times Container volumes at major ports jumped 7% in January this year on a year on year comparison says the recent data by Indian Ports Association (IPA). Among various regions, South-based ports showed healthu volumes. Ports at Chennai, Tuticorin and Vizag recorded 6%, 26% and 39% respectively on a year on year comparison. According to a report by Axis Securities, "Aggregate cargo volume at major ports grew 5% YoY in Jan (up 3.4% YTD), which was driven by 23% growth in Iron ore and 9% rise in Coal volumes, while fertilizer volumes declined 23%." The report states, " While near term growth for Container Corporation (CCRI) and Gateway Distriparks (GDPL) may remain muted, we are optimistic on their medium term growth prospects given healthy expansion plans across strategic locations.

Budget 2016: Construction of ports should be exempted from service tax payment for reviewing the sector First Post ‘Make in India’ has been poised as one of the most ambitious programs launched by our Honorable Prime Minister, pledging lower barriers to doing business and promoting foreign investment, thereby transforming Asia’s third largest economy into a manufacturing powerhouse like China. However to support the ‘Make in India’ campaign, India needs enhanced infrastructure facilities which includes effective and efficient connectivity between ports, better road and rail connectivity between ports and plants and initiatives from the government to create more facilities to enable the seamless inward and outward movement of goods. In an economy, for any manufacturing or trade activity to breed and grow, robust backing of equally efficient infrastructure and logistics sector plays an extremely critical role. Ports are economic multipliers, as they induce factors in development of an area thus providing space for industrial clusters.

Simatech leads in Gulf feedering Seatrade Maritime Dubai’s Simatech Shipping claims to be the largest feedering player in the Gulf and is continuing to grow despite concerns over the impact of the low oil price on volumes. “I can say we are leading the market. I would say we have around 30% market share in Jebel Ali, if not more,” Simatech MD CF George, told Seatrade Maritime News in an exclusive interview. George estimates fleet capacity utilisation at between 80-90%. “We always have a policy to keep extra tonnage available, so that we don’t need to say no to customers.” He fears that volumes and rates will go down this year as low oil prices hit the market. “Major projects could be delayed or suspended. Nobody whom I have met recently has made any positive remarks on what is going to happen in 2016, [but] everybody is hoping Iran opens up.” During 2015, George said Simatech handled 1.63m teu at Jebel Ali, growth of 11% compared to 2014. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Asia Climate Partners invests in cold chain logistics firm ColdEX Live Mint ColdEX’s customers include the likes of Mondelez India Foods Ltd, Burger King Corp., Yum! Brands, Starbucks Corp., and Amul. ColdEX Logistics Pvt. Ltd, which runs a fleet of 850 refrigerated trucks known as reefers, has agreed to sell a stake in itself to private equity fund Asia Climate Partners for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal, Asia Climate Partners, backed by the Asian Development Bank and ORIX Corp. of Japan, will also buy a stake held by another private equity firm, India Equity Partners, which acquired the stake in ColdEX in December 2010. With Asia Climate Partners coming on board, this would be the second round of institutional investment in the company. The cold chain company did not disclose details of the stake sale. Cold chain refers to the transportation and storage of products such as meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, drugs and medicines under temperature-controlled conditions in order to increase their shelf life.

Why GST needs to pass in Budget:A warehousing sector perspective Money Control Given the importance of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill for several industries, its passage in this Budget season assumes far greater importance than ever before. It will not only test Modi government’s floor management skills in the Parliament but also show its seriousness on pushing ahead with economic reforms. GST will provide a big push to the manufacturing as well as warehousing and logistics sectors in India and is touted to have the potential of adding 1-2 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), from about a year after it is rolled out. GST is built into the value-added structure that would eliminate the cascading effect of taxes (tax on tax) and is expected to boost tax collection by making compliances easy and also reduce overall taxation levels. According to a World Bank analysis, India is gearing to move up the logistics performance index (LPI) from its 54th rank in 2014 among 160 countries.

Infra sector: issues and expectations Live Mint Revival of the infrastructure sector has been one of the priorities of the National Democratic Alliance government over the past 20 months. The government has increased public investment in infrastructure, announced measures to address issues impeding the sector, such as access to long-term funding, inequitable risk allocation in public-private partnership (PPP) projects, adequate institutional capacity, and so on. Sector-specific policies, such as permitting 100% equity divestment after two years of completion for all national highway PPP projects and a one-time fund infusion to revive and complete such projects that are languishing have also been put in place.Key issues faced by the sector in the past few years relate to funding, the financial situation of their developers, and inflation pressures. Overcoming such challenges will take a long time. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Scanning at ports sought to block arms as deal with Myanmar soon The Financial Express-BD The home ministry seeks mandatory scanning of incoming goods and persons at seaports before their entry into Bangladesh under a proposed coastal shipping agreement with Myanmar, officials said. The deal is part of a move for waterway connectivity with littoral countries. After examining a draft deal prepared by the Ministry of Shipping (MoS), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has made the recommendation to block entry of illegal firearms and explosives, they said. "To avoid entry of illegal weapons and explosives modern scanning machines can be installed at the entry point of seaports," the ministry said in its opinion. A senior official at the MoS said the government is giving importance on establishing coastal shipping connectivity with the littoral neighbours-India, Myanmar, the Maldives and Sri Lanka-for promoting trade and tourism.

Forget GST, let’s talk - That should be the objective of the Budget session Financial Express Given the heightened tension over the bungling at JNU and the aftermath of the Jat agitation, the Budget session will most likely be another washout with few Bills getting passed. Yet, the government has done well to try and calm things. While prime minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the all-party meeting last week was one signal, Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari also met senior political leaders to ensure ‘more discussions and fewer disruptions’. The most significant move by government, though, was choosing West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra as the chairman of the empowered committee of state finance ministers on GST. The West Bengal finance minister has taken over from Kerala finance minister KM Mani, who had to resign in November last year due to the corruption charges, and is the second chairman of the empowered committee from West Bengal. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Container freight market hit by ‘exceptionally weak’ demand, as idle capacity undermines charter earnings Hellenic Shipping News The latest Container Shipping Forecaster from Maritime Strategies International reports ‘flickers of improvement’ in February after an opening to the year which saw 1.3m teu of capacity idle, freight rates struggling and the charter market on its knees. Having suffered a torrid end to 2015, liner companies finally managed to produce some upwards movement in freight rates, albeit as a result of the slower erosion of the massive General Rate Increase imposed on January 1. As of mid-February freight rates on the China-North Europe route were assessed at $431/TEU by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, a level suggesting little positive momentum. However, since the period immediately after Lunar New Year is normally challenging for the freight markets, MSI cautions that how the freight markets develop over the first weeks of March will provide a better indicator as to the likely tone of 2016.

Budget 2016 can boost commodities business Economic Times The announcement of the Sebi-FMC merger in the last budget gave a policy boost to commodity markets. An empowered regulator and the introduction of commodity derivatives under the definition of securities in the SCRA are bold moves to drive commodity markets growth. The forthcoming budget can take this to its logical conclusion by addressing three key issues. The first, and most important, is the matter of CTT (Commodities Transaction Tax). Since it was levied, exchange volumes have fallen by 60% leading to low liquidity and making it difficult for the market to meet its key objectives of price discovery and efficient risk mitigation. It has also encouraged ‘dabba’ trading, variously estimated to be between 3 and 10 times of exchange volumes – and generating negative revenue to government in addition to allied social ills.

Inland Waterways to be the game changer in industrial development - Nitin Gadkari Business Standard Union Minister for Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari today emphasized on the need to reduce logistics cost, which would be imperative for the success of Make in India initiative. He was speaking at Sectoral Seminar on Opportunities in Shipping and Port Sectors as part of the Make In India Week in Mumbai. Shri Gadkari apprised the participants that a lot of initiatives including mechanization, modernization and capacity addition have already been undertaken in the Port sector with a massive investment of Rs. 80,000 crore. Similarly an Indian Port Rail Company has been established with a thrust on rail road connectivity. He informed the participants that 3 new ports i.e. Vadhavan (Maharashtra) with draft of 18 mtrs, Sagar (West Bengal) with draft of 14.5 mtrs and Kolachel (Tamil Nadu) with draft of 18.5 mtrs are being developed.

India to issue tenders for consultant for Colachel port by March Live Mint The government will issue tenders by March to find a consultant for the proposed transhipment port planned at Colachel in Tamil Nadu, Union minister of shipping and road transport Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Colachel, Sagar in West Bengal and Wadhawan at Dahanu in Maharashtra will be the three new greenfield ports on the Indian coast, he said on the sidelines of the Make in India Week event in Mumbai. “We have already initiated investments worth Rs.80,000 crore for mechanisation, modernisation and computerisation of ports under Sagarmala project,” he said. Colachel is being promoted as transshipment hub because of deep drought of 18.5 metres as compared to Vizhinjam in Kerala, N. Muruganandam, managing director, Indian Ports Association said. The Vizhinjam port, being developed by Adani Group, was also considered to be promoted as a transhipment hub to capture the container business. Logistics Service Chennai,Logistics service provider in chennai,International Freight Forwarders chennai,Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai,Sea Cargo Agents in Chennai,Logistics Service in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

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Chennai Port tackles truck congestion JOC Chennai Port, India’s second-largest major, public, container handler in a trade announcement said it has effectively dealt with long truck turn times and congestion in the harbor through a slew of proactive measures. Following consultation with various stakeholders, the port authority concluded that the operation of a single round-the-clock gate while traffic restrictions were in place at the other three gates was the main cause for truck delays and congestion on roadways connecting terminals. “Chennai Port had been facing severe road congestion, especially from export-laden container trailers on port approach roads, resulting in long queues. This situation has affected the productivity of container terminals in the port,” the authority said. The port said the new measures included the setting up of a task force comprising officials from terminal management and state police agencies to regulate truck flow,

ABG Shipyard likely to finalise stake sale deal by March end: CEO Economic Times Cash-strapped ship builder ABG Shipyard will likely close the deal for a 51% stake sale by the end of this financial year, its managing director and CEO said Wednesday. Syed Abdi said the company has narrowed it down to one player for the stake sale and looking to raise about Rs 500 crore for its working capital requirements. Its market capitalisation as on Thursday end was Rs 245.03 crore. He confirmed the talks are for a strategic partnership and not with a private equity investor. SBI Capital Markets is managing the deal. ABG Shipyard has been trying for close to one year to look for a buyer, at the behest of its 22 lenders that are restructuring its Rs 11,000 crore debt, under a corporate debt restructuring package. The company was earlier in talks with Beirut headquartered Privinvest Holding SAL, a manufacturer of naval and commercial vessels, but the talks didn't progress, said Syed. Logistics Service Chennai,Logistics service provider in chennai,International Freight Forwarders chennai,Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai,Sea Cargo Agents in Chennai,Logistics Service in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Lorry parking facility to come up at Vallarpadam The Hindu The long-pending problem of lack of space on Vallarpadam island for parking container carriers is expected to end soon with the Cochin Port Trust handing over 3.5 acres to Indian Oil Corporation for developing a modern truck parking yard with various amenities. The land allotment order was handed over by Cochin Port Trust chairman Paul Antony to deputy general manager of the oil corporation V. Gopalakrishnan on Wednesday. Deputy chairman of the Port Trust G. Sentilvel and the traffic manager Unnikrishnan Nair were among the senior officials present at the brief function organised to mark the occasion. The lorry parking facility will come up close to the international container trans-shipment terminal on Vallarpadam. It will have various amenities like ATMs, food courts, rest rooms and toilet block for drivers. The land has been allotted to the oil corporation on concessional rate for a period of 30 years.

Exporters seek fiscal sops, service tax exemption Business Line With exports falling continuously for the past 14 months, exporters’ body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has called for fiscal incentives for the micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME) sector, correction of inverted duty structure and exemption from service tax, in its pre-Budget proposal for 2016-17 submitted to the government. “MSME exporters need to be provided additional export benefits to help them market their products aggressively in view of the current downfall in exports,” FIEO said in its recommendation. It also said that the inverted duty structure in respect of various items needs to be corrected in the Union Budget as it not only affects exports but also the manufacturing sector and the Centre’s `Make in India’ initiative. Inverted duties (where the import duty on inputs is more than that on finished products) exist in a number of sectors in the country such as marine products, chemicals, solar equipment, rubber and silk. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

No deals in shipping, port for two years Business Standard Private equity (PE) firms have stayed away from investing in shipping, ports and logistics for two years in a row. This shows they don't believe the fortunes will change much from the current grim situation. "PEs have stopped coming into the sector and there is no easy money for the shipping business," G Shivakumar, chief financial officer at Great Eastern Shipping, said in the third quarter earnings conference call. The company, like its peers, has given a negative outlook for the dry bulk trade division and did not provide valuations for the offshore business. The recent move by shipping and logistics company, Mercator, also speaks volumes about the grim situation. Mercator not only decided to exit the weak dry bulk business held via its Singapore subsidiary but also sold it to three PE companies for a token amount of three Singaporean dollars. The dry bulk trade across globe has virtually come to a standstill.

Govt should play the role of landlord port Business Line Mark Van Peel, President of Antwerp Port, the second largest European port owned by the local government, feels that while government should play the role of landlord port, concessions or development rights to private investors should be given based on welfare parameters rather than raising maximum funds. In an interview, Peel, who is visiting India, shared his views on promoting the use of LNG at Antwerp and other issues. Edited Excerpts: What are your investment plans in India? Our relationship with Essar was fruitful (Antwerp invested €25 million in Essar Ports in 2012, and exited with capital gains of €6.8 million in December 2015). We are going to continue to cooperate with them, but also look for other partners. We will meet others regarding furthering business through two subsidiaries – training centre with JN Port and Port of Antwerp International that looks after investment and does consultancy. Logistics Service Chennai,Logistics service provider in chennai,International Freight Forwarders chennai,Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai,Sea Cargo Agents in Chennai,Logistics Service in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Hover port work in Puducherry suspended The Hindu Chief Minister N. Rangasamy on Wednesday announced that the works for construction of a hover port in the coastal hamlet of Veerampattinam had been temporarily suspended and that the government will not do anything that is against the interests of fishermen. Talking to reporters here, he said that fishermen had been agitating over the hover port citing that it would hamper their free movement and routine fishing activities. He sought to dispel their fears. The land for the proposed hover port had been acquired by the government and handed over to the Indian Coast Guard several years ago. Mr. Rangasamy said that he would talk to the officials of the Indian Coast Guard and the Ministry concerned in the wake of the protests. The government would explore the option of shifting the project to an alternative site and till then the work would be kept in abeyance. Logistics Service Chennai,Logistics service provider in chennai,International Freight Forwarders chennai,Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai,Sea Cargo Agents in Chennai,Logistics Service in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Maersk announces raft of general rate increases worldwide Sea News Maersk Line will increase the rate from north Europe to west central Asia by US$100 per TEU, $150 per FEU and 40-foot high cube from March 1. This will apply to shipments from Finland, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia to Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Maersk also issued another general rate increase (GRI) adding US$100 per TEU, $150 per FEU and 40-foot high cube from March 1 for shipments from Ireland, United Kingdom to Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Maersk will also increase the rate by US$150 per container for all shipments from north Europe to the Far East from March 1. Maersk will increase the rate $80 per TEU, $100 per FEU, reefer, 45-foot high cube for shipments from Ireland and UK to the Far East from March 1.

Cosco-CMA CGM plan with OOCL, Evergreen, would wreck most alliances Sea News A new mega alliance appears to be forming as French shipping giant CMA CGM and China Cosco lead efforts to set up a new carrier partnership that may yet include Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), reports Paris-based Alphaliner. OOCL is understood to be reviewing its options after a high-level meeting with CMA CGM and Cosco in late January, said the Paris-based research house. The plan is to include OOCL and Taiwan's Evergreen that may well split up three of today's four main east-west alliances and leave Ocean Three, CKYHE and G6 alliances in tatters. CMA CGM already stated that it will pull APL out of the G6, once it takes over Singapore's APL in the second half of the year. The Marseilles-based carrier has also expressed the hope that the merged Cosco-CSCL will join the Marseilles-based carrier in a new alliance partnership. Logistics Service Chennai,Logistics service provider in chennai,International Freight Forwarders chennai,Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai,Sea Cargo Agents in Chennai,Logistics Service in Chennai, Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Mr Governor, please explain Financial Express Monday, February 15, brought two important bits of news—one most disappointing and the second most surprising. The disappointing news was that India’s exports declined for the 14th consecutive month. I do not recall a similar sustained rout of our most employment-intensive part of the economy in recent times. Exports, which averaged $26 billion per month during 2013-14, have plummeted to $21 billion over the last 12 months. This is an average decline of more than 16% each month for longer than a year. We will, of course, blame this precipitous regression on the terrible global conditions. Suffice it to say, that with a share of a mere 1.5% in global merchandise trade, this failure was surely not inevitable. We could try and raise our market share, as China has done by raising its share from about 1% of world trade in 1998 to 7.5% at present. India’s share has remained virtually stagnant. Logistics Service Chennai,Logistics service provider in chennai,International Freight Forwarders chennai,Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai,Sea Cargo Agents in Chennai,Logistics Service in Chennai, Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com