Shipping Ministry plans to float tenders to develop three greenfield ports Business Line The Shipping Ministry is planning to float tenders by March, for the development of three greenfield ports in the country. Out of the three, it is most positive about Wadhwan port near Mumbai, as it does not require any major land acquisition. It would be developed on 5,000 acres of reclaimed land and serve as a satellite port to the main Jawaharlal Nehru Port. About ₹10,000 crore of investment would require in the first phase. In June 2015, an MoU was signed between Maharashtra Maritime Board and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) for the port development. A senior Shipping Ministry official told BusinessLine that along with Wadhwan, Sagar port in West Bengal and Colachel in Tamil Nadu would be developed. Sagar port requires land acquisition but due to the attitude of the State government, the process is expected to be delayed. About 5,000 acres would be also be required for Colachel port, but the site will require more investment in terms of road and rail connectivity, the official said.

New policy to boost port development The Hindu The Maharashtra government is set to announce a new maritime policy for the development of the sector. The cabinet is likely to approve the policy on January 27, said people familiar with the development. The draft policy was submitted to the government some time ago and it has been drafted by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) with inputs from various stakeholders and experts. A senior MMB officer confirmed to The Hindu that the policy is awaiting Cabinet approval, but declined to share details. Senior government officials said it would be announced by the Chief Minister. On Friday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted: “We will soon declare a comprehensive policy for development of ports.” The maritime policy once approved will supersede all previous policies The new policy envisages a proactive role for the MMB in the entire project life cycle. The MMB will be the nodal agency for all approvals concerning the development of the port and related infrastructure.

Vainganga to get first inland water transport project: Gadkari Times of India Vainganga river in Bhandara district would be the first to get inland water transport project when the legislation for inland water transport is passed by the Parliament, announced union minister for road transport, highways and shipping, Nitin Gadkari, on Saturday. Gadkari laid foundation stone of two flyovers in Lakhani and Sakoli on NH-6. "The central government has designed a policy for inland water transport. It will soon take shape and will be implemented. It will start from Vainganga river. Vehicles that can ply on both land and water, hovercraft and other vehicles will be pressed into service. Bramhputra, Ganga, Yamuna rivers too have been shortlisted for inland water transport," said Gadkari. Stating that organic farming is the need of the hour, Gadkari said government has decided to give 1,500 per MT subsidy to municipal council, municipal corporations and gram panchayats for preparing organic manure from solid waste.

Exempt VAT on Bunker Fuel New Indian Express The Centre has requested the State Government to exempt VAT on bunker fuel used by Indian Flag vessels operating along the coast and inland waterways. In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has said such a step will boost coastal shipping. Maintaining that the Shipping Ministry is actively considering various measures to promote shift of cargo to coastal shipping to decongest roads and railway lines, Gadkari is understood to have impressed the Chief Minister about the urgency to exempt VAT on bunker fuel. Union Shipping Ministry Secretary Rajive Kumar has also written a letter to Chief Secretary AP Padhi in this regard. After getting the Centre’s request, the Finance Department has started examining the proposal.

Gulf Petrochem bullish on regional oil market Khaleej Times Gulf Petrochem Group, a leading player in the oil industry, has announced details of its expansion of Fujairah terminal ahead of its EPC tender expected to go out to market early next week with the project set to start in April 2016. The Gulf Petrochem Fujairah Terminal is strategically located and connects to Port of Fujairah's common matrix manifold and able to handle various vessels. It currently has a storage capacity of 412,000 cbm with 17 tanks ranging from 13,000 cbm up to 40,000 cbm, handling Class III petroleum products such as fuel oil and gas oil to name a few with 348,000 cbm dedicated to fuel oil across ten tanks. Following the expansion, earmarked for completion in March 2017, the group will increase its storage capabilities by 243,280 cbm bringing total capacity at its Fujairah terminal to 655,280, across tanks with a capacity ranging from 9,000 cbm and 37,699 cbm. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Our good show prompts rivals to spread rumours: VPT official The Hindu Improvement in efficiency parameters on the recommendation of Boston Consulting Group by Visakhapatnam Port Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu and his team has reportedly led to spreading of rumours by rivals on shutdown of operations during the International Fleet Review from February 4 to 8. Beating the global slowdown, the port had improved its performance in the last quarter increasing the total cargo handled to 42 million tonne. Going by the trend, it is likely to either cross or come close to last year’s 58 million tonne. While refusing to name their rival, Visakhapatnam Port Deputy Chairman P.L. Haranadh told The Hindu that there was no truth in rumours that they would suspend their operations to facilitate smooth holding of IFR. “There is no connection between the two – IFR and port operations,” he said pointing out that they would only stop POL tanker handling near naval jetty for just two days.

Gold Star Line to enhance its Asia-West Africa Service Sea News Gold Star Line is pleased to announce an upgraded and enhanced Far East-West Africa Service (FAX) from February 2016. Two direct sailings per week, offering improved transit times from more ports of loading in Asia to more ports in West Africa are the key advantages of this improved service. The FAX, or Far East-West Africa Express, deploying 11 vessels, will rotate through Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Guangzhou-Nansha, Singapore, Port Kelang, Colombo, Lagos (Apapa), Tincan (TICT), Tincan (P&CHS), Tema, Cotonou, Abidjan, Singapore and back to Shanghai. FA2, or the Asia, West Africa Service operating 12 vessels will rotate through Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shenzhen-Shekou, Guangzhou-Nansha, Singapore, Lome, Lagos-Tincan, Lagos-TICT, Tema, Abidjan, Colombo, Port Kelang, Singapore and back to Shanghai. The new service lineup will add Xiamen and Shekou to the ports of loading and Abidjan and Lome in West Africa

Despite containerization, breakbulk carriers still in natural rubber game JOC Breakbulk shipping has retained a share of the market for U.S. imports of natural rubber, despite a global trend toward use of containers to transport the essential but damage-sensitive industrial commodity. Containers have become the preferred transportation mode for many shippers in markets including China, which imports more than a third of the world’s approximately 12 million tons of natural rubber production, and the U.S., which has about a 10 percent share. Annual U.S. containerized imports of natural rubber ranged from 21,655 to 23,086 20-foot-equivalent units a year since 2010. Savannah, Virginia and Charleston each had about one-fourth last year’s 21,865-TEU volume, according to PIERS, a sister company of JOC.com within IHS. New York-New Jersey and Baltimore handled most of the rest. Breakbulk shipments of natural rubber to the U.S. are dominated by New Orleans and Morehead City, North Carolina.

Industry calls for clarification of box weight rules on national level Sea News There is still confusion among terminal operators and shippers on how individual countries will enforce the new International Maritime Organisation (IMO) rules, effective July 1, that require shippers to provide the verified gross mass (VGM) of containers before loading. The Brussels-based Federation of European Private Port Operators (FEPORT) said there is still a need for "clarity on implementation" of SOLAS container weighing rules "at national levels," reported American Shipper. According to FEPORT there is "still a lack of information and harmonisation at national level regarding their implementation," saying there is a need for "national authorities to develop guidelines that protect the efficiency of the logistics chain and do not create competitive distortions between member states." Said FEPORT customs and logistics chief Jasper Nagtegaal: "A lack of national guidelines will ultimately lead to confusion in implementation and will have an adverse impact on operations." Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Garment exporters for rule changes Business Standard Nine months after the new foreign trade policy (FTP) was introduced, garment exporters have called for changing key operational mechanisms in the export process. The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has asked the textiles ministry to simplify the policy’s authorisation, inspection and classification norms. Among their requests is to withdraw the need for a landing certificate for exported goods, required as proof to claim benefits under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Introduced in April 2015, the scheme aims to boost sagging exports, covering tariff lines for 5,012 items that earn duty credits. Exporters have said getting the documents to show proof of landing at the destination country entails cost and delay. AEPC says electronic shipping bills should be sufficient for declaration of intent. While filing the said bills, exporters are required to declare they are claiming rewards under MEIS and to mark ‘Y’ in the reward item box.

Invest heavily in transport, logistics The Daily Star Bangladesh's transport and logistics sectors offer immense opportunities for investors, as the country is found most wanting in the area. Given the country's growth forecasts, there is huge scope for investments in infrastructure, said Salahuddin Kasem Khan, managing director of AK Khan and Company Ltd. Khan's comments came at a discussion on the opportunities for investing in the country's transport, infrastructure and trade logistics at the Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit. The Board of Investment, the Prime Minister's Office and the Business Initiative Leading Development jointly organised the two-day event at the capital's Radisson Blu Hotel. Khan gave an overview of the transport and logistics challenges facing Bangladesh and laid out a number of opportunities for investment. He said a modern multimodal transport system is a must to improve Bangladesh's competitiveness in the global economy and to increase the access to goods at reasonable prices.

MOL Liner adds ports to existing Asia-West Africa WA1 Service Sea News MOL Liner Ltd has announced the enhancement of its existing Asia West Africa service by adding new ports of call in Asia to West Africa from February 1. The new rotation will add new Malaysia and Sri Lanka calls to MOL's existing WA1 service. It will provide better coverage and direct connections between markets in Malaysia and Sri Lanka to West Africa. The first sailing on the upgraded WA1 service will be on February 1, from Shanghai. MOL will operate five vessels out of total eleven 2,800-TEU ships. The upgraded WA1 service will rotate through Shanghai (Mon/Tue), Ningbo (Tue/Wed), Hong Kong (Fri/Fri), Guangzhou-Nansha (Sat/Sat), Singapore (Wed/Thu), Port Kelang (Thu/Fri), Colombo (Tue/Tue), Lagos-Apapa (Mon/Wed), Lagos-Tincan (Wed/Sun), Tema (Mon/Fri), Cotonou (Sat/Sun), Abidjan (Tue/Tue), Singapore (Mon/Mon) and back to Shanghai (Mon/Tue).

Marine Bunker Exchange: Bunker prices to hover around $25-$28 a barrel Hellenic Shipping News Oil prices are now near 2003 lows on oversupply. Oil Futures have hit their lowest levels since 2003 this week as investors worry that a glut of crude is combining with slowing demand due to economic weakness especially in China. The oil market is still on its way downward. When will the downward trend stop? – When the shale oil producers run out of steam. The oil price level today, which is hurting badly the shale oil drillers in the U.S., but oil price will continue downward, until the a balance has been reached between demand and supply. – The reduction of crude oil that will lead to balance will start from the U.S. when enough shale oil drillers’ gone bankrupt or put their wells on hold. We must not forget the shale oil boom in the U.S. was the start of the oversupply problem. The traditional oil suppliers such as OPEC, Russia and other non-OPEC countries, kept their production level and the oversupply production began in the U.S.

Pharma exports to developed nations become easier as government scraps 'No Objection Certificate' rule Economic Times The Modi government's ease-of-doing business drive is set to benefit India's drug manufacturers, especially companies such as Sun Pharmaceuticals, Wockhardt, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Cipla, which export their products to highly regulated developed countries. The government has scrapped the requirement of obtaining a 'No Objection Certificate' from the health ministry for drugs exported to developed countries including the US, Canada, Japan and Australia and the European Union. Clearance of consignments often takes long on account of delays by regulatory agencies in granting approvals. As per the relaxation, the waiver has been given to drugs, medical devices and cosmetics meant for export to developed countries with effect from January 1. "These are highly regulated markets and they do sufficient scrutiny before importing from us. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Apples: Chamber welcomes amendment to import policy conditions Business Standard Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), local chapter, today welcomed the amendment to the import of apples, curtailing restrictions of importing it through only one port in the country. The Director General of Foreign Trade's September 2015 a notification, wherein import of fresh apples was restricted only through Nava Sheva Port in Maharashtra, created lots of problems for fruit merchants all over India, particularly apple merchants, ICCI president D Nandakumar said. He and ICCI Secretary Rajesh B Lund, along with a member of Coimbatore Fruit Merchants' Association had met Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman when she was here in October last and given a representation on it, In response to this, DGFT had issued another notification on January 12, curtailing the restrictions and allowing apple imports through sea ports and airports in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Cochin and Land Port and Airport in Delhi, he said.

Mumbai airport unveils cargo mobile app The Hindu GVK Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) along with technology provider Kale Logistics Solutions has introduced Cargo Mobile App as an extension to its air cargo community platform, GMAX to foster better communication and effective dissemination of information among members of the trade. It is India’s first such app, the airport operator said. The app provides important functionalities for the trade, enables end-to-end tracking of shipments, and helps all members of the logistics chain in planning their resources, MIAL said. The GMAX mobile app can be downloaded from Google Play store on all Android mobile devices. The app enables Export General Manifest (EGM) tracking, which can expedite the export incentive realisation process, and provides complete visibility of vehicles/shipment within cargo terminal.

Industry Bodies Launch Measures for Owners Selling Ships for Scrap World Maritime News Shipping companies are being strongly encouraged to use new ‘Transitional Measures for Ship owners Selling Ships for Recycling’ launched by an inter-industry working group led by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). According to ICS, the purpose of the new Transitional Measures is to help ship owners ensure to the greatest extent possible that their end of life ships will be recycled at facilities that are compliant with the standards enshrined in the IMO Hong Kong Convention, in advance of the global regime entering into legal force. The Transitional Measures set out detailed advice on the preparation and maintenance of inventories of hazardous materials, as required by the IMO Convention and a separate new EU Regulation which has already entered into force and which has implications for non-EU ships calling at EU ports. The guidelines also address measures which shipping companies are strongly recommended to take now when selling end of life ships for recycling. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

K Line car carrier M/V 'HYPERION HIGHWAY' makes her maiden call to the Port of Hambantota, Srilanka. Port News K 'Line car carrier with a load of vehicles from Japan called at the Port of Hambantota, Srilanka recently, the company said in its press release. The vessel M/V 'HYPERION HIGHWAY' with an LOA of 199.5M and a cargo capacity of 7,700 units, discharged 523 units from Japan for domestic use. A plaque exchange ceremony was also organized on board between Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), the agents for the vessel M/V 'HYPERION HIGHWAY' ABC Shipping (Private) limited and the Master of the vessel, to mark the occasion and to commemorate the maiden call of M/V 'HYPERION HIGHWAY'. The Japanese owned shipping line, K Line's contribution towards the Port of Hambantota has seen an improvement compared to last year especially with the transshipment volumes from India to Gulf Ports.

Centre Mulling Dollar Debt to Fund Infra Projects New Indian Express The Central government is considering borrowing in US Dollars from financial institutions to fund major infrastructure projects like inland waterways and port infrastructure, according to Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. Delivering the Indian Maritime University’s second convocation address, Gadkari said that borrowing in rupees resulted in an interest rate of 12 per cent per annum from financial institutions while taking a loan in US dollars would result in only two per cent interest charge per annum. “We will be taking loans in dollars for key infrastructure projects like port infrastructure,” he said. This year, the government is planning to develop three major ports, including Colachel in Tamil Nadu, Sagar Island in West Bengal and Dahanu in Maharashtra. The government is also planning to develop 70 of the 1,300 islands as tourism hubs to create jobs for the youth. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

DP World terminal at India's biggest port reopens after protest JOC Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal reopened to partial operations this afternoon after striking employees forced a temporary halt to all shipping activities at the DP World facility by staging blockades at entry gates on Sunday, adding to the trade woes that had already been building at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India’s busiest, public, container gateway. Shipping sources in JNPT told JOC.com that the private terminal shut down at the beginning of the second shift Sunday. NSICT, one of four container-handling facilities in JNPT, has been troubled by work slowdowns over the past three weeks. The strikers are pushing for wage improvements and better working conditions. “NSICT has been facing protest from a few employees due to certain demands. This industrial unrest has affected our terminal operations further in the past 24 hours, which went beyond our control,” DP Nhava Sheva told.

Gujarat comes out with policy to help Alang ship-breaking industry Economic Times Gujarat government today announced `Ship Recycling Policy-2015' to give a boost to the ship recycling industry at Alang, Asia's biggest ship-breaking yard which is passing through a slump. Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced the policy. "The state government has decided to implement a new policy for consistent development and uplift of ship recycling industry at Alang where more than 1.50 lakh people get direct or indirect employment," she said in a statement. Finance Minister Saurabh Patel said the state government and Gujarat Maritime Board formulated the policy to promote the industrial activity at Alang. The policy extends utilisation period of ship-breaking plots to 10 years from five years, and provides for resizing, readjustment, realignment of the plots to enable accommodation of bigger vessels in a safe manner. The policy will be reviewed after three years to ensure its practical implementation, he added.

Goods exports decline 14.75% in December to $22.29 bn Business Line Goods exports from India declined for the thirteenth consecutive month in December 2015 falling 14.75 per cent to $22.29 billion, compared to last December, as the turmoil in the Chinese economy and a continued slowdown in the global market shrunk demand. The trade deficit during the month widened to $11.66 billion as imports declined at a lower 3.88 per cent to $33.96 billion. Non-oil imports, in fact, increased in December 2015 by 7.63 per cent to $27.30 billion, with a near trebling of gold imports to $3.80 billion. “The trend of falling exports is in tandem with other major world economies such as the US, the European Union and China where exports have fallen by 10.30 per cent, 10.83 per cent and 6.94 per cent respectively in October 2015,” according to a Commerce Ministry release. Fall in exports in India in December is spread across all major sectors including engineering goods, petroleum products, gems & jewellery,... Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Rail union plans secret ballot in February on strike Business Line The All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF), which claims to represent the majority of the transporter’s 13 lakh employees, has threatened to go on “indefinite strike” if its demands, such as review of the national pension scheme (NPS) and filling up of the large number of vacancies among others were not heeded. “We will conduct a secret ballot on February 11 and 12, to decide the date and future course of action (on strike),” AIRF General Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra told reporters here on Monday, adding that if employees voted in favour of an indefinite strike, “we will go for it and accordingly a date would be announced.” Mishra said about 2.5 lakh posts, including those of loco pilots, assistant station masters and track men, were lying vacant. Meanwhile, in support of the demand of the joint committee of all Central government employees, Railway staff in all State capitals plan to sit on a three-day dharna from January 19-21...

Paradeep Port cargo up 5% in Apr-Dec Business Standard Paradeep Port Trust (PPT) has recorded 5.23 per cent growth in its total cargo in April-December period of 2015-16. The port's cargo traffic in the period rose from 52.39 million tonne (mt) to 55.13 mt. The port handled 1156 ships compared to 1064 ships in the year-ago period. PPT has taken a slew of measures which has ensured improvement in productivity of ship days from 17,289 tonne in 2014-15 to 19,856 tonne in the period under review. The port recently declared its facility of CQ-1/CQ -2 and South Quay for handling Baby Cape ships up to 260 metres length, beam with 43 metres and draft of 14.5 metres. The port infrastructure like road and railway and drainage system is accordingly being realigned to augment the cargo handling capacity matched with the discharge /load rate of baby Capesize ships.

Dredging for Inland Water Transport Link Begins New Indian Express Following the Government’s proposal to develop an inland water transport (IWT) linking Kalinga Nagar industrial area, Paradip Port, Dhamara Port and Talcher, the authorities have started dredging work in river Tantighai, Kharasrota and other rivers. “We have started dredging work in river Tantighai to spruce up the river and make it navigable to build a temporary terminal at a cost of `47 crore in Earada,” said Avinash Roul, Deputy Project Director of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Bhubaneswar. “Some villagers of Earada and its nearby areas recently demanded compensation in lieu of their land as they have land near the river. We along with the officials of the district administration are trying to sort out the matter”, said Roul. “The water levels of some of the rivers were not adequate to run a cargo vessel for which we will properly dredge the rivers up to a depth of three metres to the make rivers navigable for vessels carrying 3000 tonnes”, he added.

Iran sanctions lift-off: 'India-Kazakh transport corridor can become operational' Business Line A multimodal freight link between Kazakhstan and India through Iran can “technically” be operational once sanctions on the Islamic Republic is formally off. Ambassador of Kazakhstan to India, Bulat Sarsenbayev, said here at the MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry that the rail link until the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas was already established. However, he said, there were certain bottlenecks that needed to be removed. “Kazakhstan railway authorities have given mandate to Adanis to work for two terminals at Mundra and Bandar Abbas. They are now doing the due diligence on the proposed projects”, Kazakhstan Ambassador said. He said that Kazakhstan might consider buying or having on lease rent such assets. Sarsenbayev said that the rail link could currently carry two to three million tonnes of freight annually. “This capacity is proposed to be upgraded to eight to 10 million tonnes. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

India ranks third on world emerging markets logistics index: Agility Live Mint Climbing two rungs by overtaking Brazil and Indonesia, India ranked third in an emerging markets logistics index for 2016, which rates countries based on business environment. The report, which was released on Monday, ranked China and the United Arab Emirates first and second, respectively. The index ranks 45 leading emerging markets using three metrics. Size and growth attractiveness make up 50% of the overall index score, while compatibility and connectedness each account for 25% of the overall score. The index findings use data on economic output, project growth, financial stability, population size, market access and business regulation, foreign direct investment, market risk and security threat along with country’s domestic and international transport infrastructure, and look at how well they connect.

India's exports growth unlikely to improve due to weak global demand: EEPC DNA The growth in India's exports is unlikely to improve in coming months as global demand is expected to remain weak, experts on Monday said. The fall in exports, particularly in the engineering sector for several months in a row, is worrying, Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) said in a statement. "Exports are a crucial component of GDP and overall job-creating activity, and the onus must now be on the finance minister to be liberal with export incentives without waiting for the Budget. February end will be too late," it said. Richa Gupta, Senior Director, Deloitte, in India too said trade situation is not likely to gain traction. "Overall, we do not see the trade situation improving much in coming months as global demand is expected to remain weak. Export revival would also be difficult as other emerging markets try and export their way out of the latest slowdown," she said.

Chinese firms eye opportunities in Indian maritime sector Money Control “The shipbuilding companies in China are looking out for business opportunities in India as the latter has a long coastline and growing shipbuilding sector. The shipbuilding sector in China is saturated and it is presently facing slowdown. India has a huge market in the shipbuilding sector and Chinese companies have the capability to build ships and meet India’s demand,” remarked Ms. Le Hongxia, Chairman, Global Trade Union and Chairman, Yangzhou Juneng Export and Import Company, in her keynote address during an interactive meeting with the business delegation led by her. The interactive meeting was jointly organised by MVIRDC World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai and All India Association of Industries (AIAI) at World Trade Centre Mumbai. Speaking about the Global Trade Union, Ms. Hongxia said the body was set up in Hong Kong in 2010 to provide a platform for Chinese companies to explore commercial ties with their counterparts abroad. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

Biggest issue of 2016? Consolidation JOC “To quote Albert Einstein: ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” So wrote Michael White, president and CEO of Maersk Line North America, in one of 150 executive commentaries in The Journal of Commerce’s January 2015 Annual Review and Outlook. For sure, as 2015 opened, global supply chain interests may not have imagined just how disruptive the year would be, despite the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers already being more than six months into contentious labor talks and with sporadic disruption already hitting West Coast ports. Though the contract was resolved early in the year, the residual impact lasted well into spring, and importers and exporters lost billions of dollars in sales and damaged product. The Federal Reserve said the dispute likely contributed to the 0.2 percent decline in second-quarter U.S. GDP. Without doubt, it became the story of the year.

Economy may grow at 7.9% next fiscal: India Ratings Business Line The Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.9 per cent in the next fiscal and may progress at a similar pace over a couple of years extending beyond 2019, India Ratings & Research (Ind—Ra) said today. “Ind—Ra expects the gross domestic product (GDP) to expand at 7.9 per cent in 2016—17 compared with 7.4 per cent in 2015—16. “After bottoming out in 2012—13, it believes the GDP so far has followed a steady growth trajectory and is expected to do so even in the medium term”, the agency said in its yearly growth projection outlook. It added that the various macro parameters show that India has and is likely to perform better than its peers in the near term. “India still remains a growth story. The population dynamics is extremely favourable for India. Even though the consumption demand is seen up, investment demand is still slow. Most of the investment growth is largely by government. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com

First vessel arrives at Zuari terminal, Kochi The Hindu Underlining Kochi port’s emerging status as a cement hub, the first vessel with a consignment of 7,612 tonnes of cement arrived at the Zuari Cement bagging terminal here on Tuesday. Cochin Port Trust chairman Paul Antony, deputy chairman G. Senthivel and secretary Gowri S. Nair were among those present when the ship anchored at the port. Cochin Port Trust sources said that two full-fledged cement terminals were in operation at the port and the third one is operational now with the arrival of the cement vessel. The two terminals in operation belong to Ambuja and Ultra Tech Cements and Malabar Cements is in negotiation with the Cochin Port Trust for obtaining six acres for a cement bagging and clinker import facilities. Penna Cements has begun construction work on its cement bagging facility. The three terminals now in operation are capable of scaling up their throughput to five lakh tonnes of cement each year, Port Trust sources said.

Slowdowns hurting shippers at India's biggest container port JOC Long truck lines and gate congestion that flared up off-and-on last year have come back to haunt shippers and ocean carriers using Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India’s biggest, public container handler, according to trade updates issued by local logistics services providers. The Container Freight Station Association of India, which represents all off-site storage facilities in the harbor, in an advisory on Tuesday said all three terminals in JNPT are facing lengthy truck queues. “Traffic towards the terminal approach way at the JNPT area is spanning over seven miles, and is extremely slow moving,” Continental Warehousing Corporation (Nhava Seva) said in a notice to customers. “We shall not be responsible for delayed movements, if any, on account of traffic or such reasons out of CFS (container freight station) purview.”

Static Cargo Ships Between Europe and North America Show Global Slowdown New Indian Express In yet another indication of a major economic slowdown, trade activity between Europe and North America has literally come to a standstill, with container ships between the two major continents remaining either anchored or in-port. “The North Atlantic has little or no cargo ships traveling in its waters. Instead, they are anchored. Unmoving. Empty,” according to a blog post in The Dollar Vigilante. “For the first time in known history, not one cargo ship is in-transit in the North Atlantic between Europe and North America. All of them (hundreds) are either anchored offshore or in-port. NOTHING is moving,” says New York-based website www.superstation95.com. The Baltic Dry Index, an assessment of the price of moving major raw materials by sea, slid to a fifth consecutive record low on Monday on economic worries over China and a surplus of vessels, reports Reuters.

Madras HC stays apple imports from Nhava Sheva circular Business Standard The Madras High Court has granted a stay against a notification by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) restricting imports of apple only through Nava Sheva port in Maharashtra. The order was issued on a petition filed by a batch of eight importers in Chennai. Eight importers, including from the South Indian Fresh Fruit Importers Association, have filed the petition alleging the DGFT notification revises the policy condition to restrict import of fresh apples through Nhava Sheva Port in Maharashtra. As a result, the importers in Chennai were not able to import fresh apples, which has been contracted and dispatched, through the Port of Chennai. "Incidentally, some importers in Cochin Port had moved Hon'ble High Court of Kerala challenging the notification wherein the Stay of the notification was granted and pending.

Logistics cost must be brought down: VPT Chairman Business Line The logistics cost in India is too high at 18-19 per cent of the product cost and it has to brought down to the international average of 7-8 per cent for Indian goods to be competitive in the international markets, according to Visakhapatnam port Chairman M.T Krishna Babu. He was speaking at a session on port-led development at the CII Partnership Summit which concluded here on Tuesday. He said the Andhra Pradesh Government was planning to establish a number of new ports along the coast to stimulate economic growth but connectivity with the hinterland should also be improved. Evacuation of cargo from the ports was of the essence, he pointed out. He said Visakhapatnam port had undertaken a number of projects to augment its capacity and efficiency and the PPP projects were under progress satisfactorily, in spite of some initial issues.

Goa proposes jetties to augment inland waterways Times of India Goa government will submit a detailed project on floating jetties in the state to revive the inland waterways, on the lines of its usage during the Portuguese period. "Union shipping minister Nitin Gadkari, during his recent visit, had informed the state government that we can submit the proposal for floating jetties which would be cleared with Central government fund. Before March this year, the proposals will be sent," chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar told the Legislative Assembly during Question Hour today. Parsekar was responding to a question by BJP legislator Glenn Ticlo about the use of inland waterways, like during the Portuguese time, to reduce the load of vehicular traffic on the roads.State tourism minister Dilip Parulekar, initially responding to the question by Ticlo, said his department and the river navigation department have already initiated...

CMA CGM improves North Madagascar port coverage Port News CMA CGM Group's Indian Ocean Feeder North will extend its coverage to Nossi Be and Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) in addition to Majunga, the carrier said in a press release. First vessel will be m/v HH SOUTH, calling at Longoni on January 27th, 2016. The Indian Ocean Feeder North will connect with Swahili service at Longoni hub, allowing a faster and easy connection from Europe, Mediterranean, India and Middle East Gulf to Indian Ocean "North Zone". The fortnightly service is operated by CMA CGM with one vessel of 738 TEU nominal capacity. Port coverage is the following: Longoni - Moroni - Mutsamudu - Nossi Be [alternate call] - Antsiranana [alternate call] - Majunga - Longoni. Marseille-headquartered CMA CGM was founded in 1978 by Jacques R. Saadé. Today the French company has become the world’s third largest container shipping group and number one in France operating across the world’s oceans.

Adani to drop anchor in AP Times of India Having established several ports across the country including Gujarat, the Adani Group is now eyeing Andhra Pradesh as its next major destination. According to a senior official of the group, the Adani Group wants to develop ports in Andhra Pradesh with a total capacity of around 100 million tonnes, which is likely to require an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore during the next few years. While the group is yet to sign any specific MoUs with the AP government, it is likely to participate in bids for development of three minor ports planned by the state government. Speaking to TOI, Adani Group director Gudena J Rao said, "The Adani Group wants to develop a capacity of 100 million tonnes in Andhra Pradesh. We are also going to bid for the Bhavanapadu Port being promoted by the AP government." Referring to the investments, he said, "Ports with a capacity of 100 million tonnes translates to an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore."

Broker’s call Business Line As detailed in our recent report, we expect the shift of north-bound volumes of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to the Gujarat ports to restart soon and possibly accelerate. With increased relevance of inland transportation cost for shipping lines (other costs have declined) and with DFC still some time away, the decision to continue offloading north-bound cargo at JNPT would be contested. The shift of 0.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) from JNPT can support 1-3 per cent outperformance of Gujarat ports versus the sector in the next few years. The recent exim line addition of Shipping Corporation of India to Pipavav port is a weekly service to Gulf region (started from December 22). The service involves smaller vessels (half the length and one-fourth the capacity of the typical 6,500 TEU capacity vessels associated with GPPV).

Focus on project exports like advanced nations Times of India Andhra Pradesh industrialists should concentrate on exporting projects, as that is the policy adopted by the advanced countries to make their presence felt in international markets, chairman and managing director of EXIM Bank Yaduvendra Mathur said. Speaking at a plenary session on 'Driving Prosperity Through Port-Led Development' at the three-day 22nd CII Partnership Summit on Monday, Mathur said that India had already advanced USD 19 billion to 65 countries with the condition that they should import 75 per cent of their project needs from India. The Modi government had made available USD 10 billion for advancing to African countries with the same condition, he disclosed. He said the AP government had signed an MoU with the EXIM Bank for such project exports and this should give a boost to the manufacturing sector in the state to go for project exports.

Hasina keen to restore rail connectivity with India: Min Nyoooz Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is keen to restore rail connectivity with India, which was snapped after the 1965 Indo-Pak war, and has agreed to give access to India for use of its Chittagong and Mongla ports, a state minister said today. Tripura Transport and Power Minister Manik Dey, who met the Bangladesh Prime Minister in Dhaka yesterday, said she was keen to restore the rail link and expressed her satisfaction at improvement of trade and business between the two countries through border haats and Land Custom Stations (LCS) through Tripura. "She also assured us that there was no problem in access to Chittagong and Mongla ports and asked officials to cooperate with India in constructing a bridge on river Feni in South Tripura district to connect Chittagong with Southern Tripura," Dey said.

Govt to boost exports of chemicals, plastics The Hans India The Centre is working with manufacturers of chemicals, plastics and allied products to boost their shipments as it expects the segment to play a major role in achieving its vision of $900 billion exports by 2020, a senior official said. "We are working closely with the chemicals, plastics and allied products industry players and implementing strategies to exploit the opportunities for investments and increasing Indian exports," B S Bhalla, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said here. "With the new and simplified Foreign Trade Policy 2015 in place, we are confident of making Indian products as the most competitive globally," he added. Chemicals, plastics and allied products will play a major role in achieving the government's vision of raising exports to $900 billion by 2020, Bhalla said.

Use crane barges seaward of docked ships to ease congestion: expert Sea News One solution to LA-Long Beach container congestion - and perhaps elsewhere - is to bypass the terminal infrastructure using crane barges to load/unload on the seaward side of ships while docked at the quay. That's the view of Dubai container handling consultant Praveen Raveendran, who has helped clients in Australia, India, Russia and UAE with cargo handling problems. Writing in IHS Media, Mr Raveendran said this will ensure containers go directly from a container freight station to the ship using a container crane barges (CCB). "CCBs will pick up containers from a container freight station [CFS], berth along the sea side of a vessel in port and load and unload containers directly to and from the vessel," he said. "All vessels in port could be serviced in this manner. Each CCB is expected to cost around US$20 million, with the cost of the operation around $90 per TEU,

New IMO secretary-general sets out his agenda Seatrade Maritime Kitack Lim of South Korea has issued a message outlining his priorities as incoming secretary -general of the International Maritime Organization, a post he assumed on January 1 following endorsement of his mid-2015 election by member states at the IMO Assembly in November. After paying tribute to his predecessor Koji Sekimizu and fellow IMO senior officials, Lim noted that IMO “currently faces an array of issues” in order for shipping to continue to meet the needs of the world “in a safe, secure and sustainable way.” These challenges could be met through what he called his “vision” of strengthening partnerships – between developing and developed countries, governments and industry, IMO Member States and regions, he said. “I will also endeavour to strengthen communication between the maritime industry and the general public,” he added. Logistics Chennai,International Freight Forwarders in Chennai, Custom Clearance Agents in Chennai , Checkout http://www.jupiterseaair.com