Cabinet Gives Nod To Bill On National Waterways Conversion NDTV The government today approved a proposal for central legislation to declare 106 additional inland waterways as national waterways. "The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to carry out official amendments in the National Waterways Bill, 2015," an official statement said. The amendments are based on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and comments of states. It provides for enacting a central legislation to declare 106 additional inland waterways as the national waterways. "After the inclusion of 106 additional inlands waterways to the existing five national waterways, the total number of national waterways goes up to 111," the statement said. The changes effected in the original list of 101 waterways, which was introduced with the National Waterways Bill 2015 on May 5 this year, include omission of 10 waterways of Kerala, merger of 17 with the existing waterways and addition of 18.

JNPT moves to paperless import delivery system JOC All of the ocean carriers using terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust have begun issuing import delivery orders electronically, reducing wait times and easing congestion at India’s biggest container gateway. JNPT said the automated process has made it much easier and faster for shippers and agents to clear their cargo, which in turn would help alleviate the notorious road congestion in the port complex. “Initially, 20 shipping lines had implemented this facility; now it is 30 out of 31 lines, resulting in 99 percent of the trade being covered,” JNPT said in an advisory to shipping lines and the trade. The paperless cargo delivery system is one of several “ease of doing business” initiatives that the port administration has rolled out during the past year to improve terminal productivity and service levels. In line with that, private terminals in JNPT have already introduced automated gate systems for drayage.

Cabinet nod for Rs.4,000-crore package for ship builders The Hindu The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a Rs.4,000-crore package to spur India’s ship building industry, combined with a slew of incentives which include the right of first refusal on all government purchases for Indian shipyards, tax incentives and the ‘infrastructure’ status for shipbuilding and ship repair industry that would help them tap easier financing. To counter the cost-disadvantages faced by domestic ship makers, the government would grant a financial assistance of 20 per cent of the contract price or the fair price, whichever is lower, following the delivery of the ship. “Such assistance is to be reduced by 3 per cent every three years and will be given for all types of ships,” an official statement from the cabinet secretariat said, adding that this involves a budgetary provision of Rs.4,000 crore over the ten year tenure of this facility. This package comes at the back of an exemption granted by the finance ministry in late November on all raw materials and parts used in the manufacture of ships/vessels/tugs, and others, from customs and central excise duties.

First cargo ship arrives in Gopalpur The Hindu After Phailin cyclone of October 2013, first cargo ship reached Gopalpur port on Odisha coast on Wednesday afternoon. According to Gopalpur Ports Limited (GPL) authorities, the port’s formal inauguration is on December 12. Speaking to The Hindu , GPL executive director Prasanna Kumar Panigrahy said this proposed all-weather port would be inaugurated with a single berth. Second berth would be operational in March 2016 and another berth would be added up in December 2016. By December next year this port would be capable to handle DWT of around 80,000 MT. The berth which is ready for cargo handling is 225-metres-long. On Wednesday afternoon, cargo ship ‘MV SH Grace’ reached the port and anchored nearby. It would be brought to the only completed berth on Thursday. This vessel would transport around 20,000 MT of illuminate cargo of Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM) situated near the port in Ganjam district to China, said Mr Panigrahi. OSCOM is a unit of Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL).

Near-term volume woes for Adani Ports Business Standard After marking strong gains in the past two years, the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) scrip has come under pressure. It has lost about 12 per cent in the past month, scaling lower to its 52-week low on Wednesday, taking the total decline to 30 per cent since September this year. For the September quarter, APSEZ posted an 11 per cent growth in total consolidated income (Rs 1,842 crore), translating into a 16.4 per cent rise in net profit (Rs 667 crore), while margins were up slightly at 65.4 per cent, year-on-year. While earnings were in line with market estimates, the overall shipment volumes handled in the second quarter of FY16 grew a paltry four per cent year-on-year to 36.5 million tonnes (mt), versus expectations of 40 mt. Near-term volume woes for Adani Ports About 80 per cent of bulk cargo is contributed by coal. With India’s annual coal production set to increase from 494 mt in FY15 to 908 mt by FY20, the bulk cargo (mainly coal) segment could see muted growth.

Ford to begin exports to Europe Times of India Ford India will soon start shipping cars to Europe from its Sa nand plant from early next year. The Sanand plant, Ford's second manufacturing faci lity, was commissioned in March this year. Manager of Ford India's Sanand plant Kel Kearns said, "The com pany is currently exporting to Mexico, middle-east and South Africa from Sanand plant, and will soon begin shipping cars to Europe from Gujarat plant." Kearns was speaking at the opening of Canada-ba sed Magna International's auto components plant here in Sanand on Wednesday. He said that at Sanand plant initially 250 units were be ing manufactured per day which has now increased to 400 units per day. Currently, the Ford plant is operating on a single shift and will expand depending on the demand. Ford Motors India Pvt Ltd dispatched the first lot of its new Ford FIGO built in its Sanand plant in Gujarat for exports in August this year. The first RORO vessel, MV Grand Dahlia, berthed at Pipavav on August 26, had loaded 1,300 vehicles.

Ban on apple imports lifted at Cochin Port Fresh Plaza Following the Indian government’s restrictions on the import of apples, given that local growers were not receiving high prices and they wanted to promote the local production, a challenge was issued in the High Court of Kerala and the Hon’ble High Court has now given permission to import apples through the Port of Kerala. As reported by Abraham Philip, President of the Cochin Customs House Agents Association and one of the trustees of Cochin Port Trust, “The problem was that we do not produce apples in southern India, so it was a great blow to the country’s importers, shipping lines and customs brokers. Consequently, we went to the high court and as a result the import through Cochin will be possible. Whether the situation will go back to normal now is something that traders importing the apples must decide,” he states. In any case, he explains that, for now, this will not apply to all ports, but only to Cochin, which has some of the highest transaction costs in India which may still spell trouble for importers

Bright future for Bunkering at Indian Ports Maritime Professional Hinode’s 5th Annual conference on the Outlook for bunkering and Marine Lubricants in India clearly acknowledged the fact that India was well on its way to becoming a Bunkering destination. Lack of infrastructure, duties, quality of bunkers, etc., were issues now in the process of getting resolved and the government was actively engaged in putting necessary infrastructure in place. With the evolving scenario speakers at the conference agreed that ample opportunities exists for players to make it big in the bunkering business. The conference drew record participation with a wide response not just from India but also from South East Asia, Middle East and Far East and other countries. Significantly, the organizers who generally focus on providing ample time for Question and Answers session accommodated the barrage of queries that got raised by extending the period of time. Remarkably the net working continued far beyond the time limited for the tea/coffee sessions and lunch breaks.

Asia Pacific Global Hubs to Remain Dominant: CBRE Fibre2Fashion CBRE's Asia Pacific Logistics Hubs 2015 report reveals that Asia Pacific's global hubs share strong similar characteristics, while improvements in infrastructure, stronger population growth - particularly in China - and additional trade agreements between nations are helping to normalize the differences between these global hubs, making them more equal in logistics importance. CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, developed a new model for ranking the region's logistics hubs based on primary demand drivers: infrastructure developments, market demand and the business environment. The report categorizes hubs as global, regional or local. Based on the CBRE logistics hubs model, there are currently eight logistics hubs in Asia Pacific ranked as global - Greater China's Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin; Japan's Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe; and Singapore. The report finds that these hubs will continue to dominate in 2030.

Jute industry urges Bangladesh govt. to withdraw export ban The Hindu A jute industry delegation, led by Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) chairman Manish Poddar, met Zokey Ahad, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh, on Wednesday, seeking withdrawal of the ban on export of raw jute. The Association said that the ban, imposed through an order dated December 2, needs to be withdrawn in the interest of commerce between two friendly neighbours, who are also SAARC members. The IJMA said that even prior to the official ban, a one-month ban imposed by an order in November led to a freezing of contracts between Bangladesh raw jute sellers and Indian jute mills and traders. Commitments about 50,000 tonnes of raw jute are involved in these settled contracts. The IJMA has already made a representation before the Union Minister of Commerce and the Union Minister of Textiles seeking their intervention in this matter. The issue was also flagged at a meeting in New Delhi on the prevailing crisis in the jute industry which has triggered a 30 per cent rise in prices of the golden fibre and an artificial shortage created by hoarding.

Free trade pacts: India to move away from ‘zero-duty’ model Business Line India will move away from a ‘zero-duty’ model in future free trade agreements (FTAs) it negotiates as it is not very comfortable with arrangements where tariffs have to be eliminated. “We are doing some restructuring on how we negotiate. Territorial Joint Secretaries have been asked to examine how to fast-track potential trade agreements in a manner that India is comfortable with. We are not very comfortable with zero and this is a clear signal we are giving to our trade partners,” a Commerce Ministry official told. India is examining possible FTAs with a host of countries, including Russia, Canada, Peru, Chile, Iran, New Zealand, Australia and the European Union. “The idea is to either not move to zero duties on any item in such pacts or keep such items to the bare minimum,” the official said. Where it is a legacy of the past and commitments have been made, it would not be possible to backtrack, the official said. “We have already agreed to zero duties for a substantial number of items in our FTAs with Japan and Korea and the Asean.

CMA CGM levies US$1,200 in three rate hikes this month and next Sea News French shipping giant CMA CGM has announced that a US$100 per TEU rate increase for all cargo from Asian ports to all Middle East Gulf ports to take into effect December 15. "In order to maintain its service quality on CIMEX Lines, CMA CGM Group informs its customers of a Rate Restoration Programme in two successive steps," said the company in a notice to trade. The second step will come with a rate increase effective from January 7 for all cargo from Asian ports to all Middle East Gulf ports of $150 per TEU. This came after a December 4 announcement of a $950 per TEU rate increase for cargo from Asia to north Europe will go into effect December 14.

G6 without APL not expected to cause disruption given surplus capacity Sea News With so much surplus capacity afloat, the disappearance of APL with its purchase by CMA CGM from the G6 Alliance is not likely to make much difference as laid up ships from the surviving partners NYK, Hapag-Lloyd, MOL, Hyundai and OOCL can easily replace what's needed - until newbuilds start to arrive in 2017. That's the assessment of Paris-based analyst Alphaliner after noting the size of the of the G6 collective order book by TEU as of December 8 was NYK, 140,000 TEU on order (27.7 per cent of its fleet); Hapag-Lloyd, 52,500 TEU (5.6 percent); MOL, 140,920 TEU (25.2 per cent); Hyundai, 60,000 TEU (15.7 per cent); OOCL, 126,600 (22.7 percent) and APL coming in at 0 TEU (0 per cent). An executive from one G6 carrier said CMA CGM's announcement did not come as a surprise and neither did news that APL would be withdrawn from the alliance, reported IHS media. But he did not expect any major disruptions. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com