DAILY SHIPPING NEWS - MONDAY JANUARY 30, 2017

Air Freight News :

Logistics industry remains optimistic on emerging market growth despite free trade concerns.

·         The transport and logistics industry remains optimistic about future growth in emerging markets despite concerns the world could retreat from free trade.

The 2017 Emerging Markets Index from Agility and Transport Intelligence (Ti) showed that 53% of respondents agreed with the International Monetary Fund’s estimate that emerging markets would grow by 4.6% in 2017, 4.2% said it was too pessimistic and 42.8% felt it was too optimistic.

The survey also revealed that 21.1% of the 800 respondents were 'very concerned' about threats to free trade, while 47.6% were 'somewhat concerned'.

The survey results were revealed the day after US president Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that would have cut 18,000 tariffs between 12 nations accounting for 40% of the world’s economic output.

However, Ti chief executive John Manners Bell said that despite concerns over free trade deals there was “more confidence than in the past”.

Modest growth for US cargo airports in early filings.

·         Miami airport

Early filings from a handful of US airports indicate modest growth in cargo volumes for 2016.

Miami International (MIA) saw a 0.37% increase in total cargo volumes (international and domestic) to just under 2m tonnes in 2016, while Ohio’s Cincinnati and Rickenbacker airports both recorded full year increases versus 2015 of 1.7% to 742,000 and 92,000 tonnes respectively.

The big three US cargo hubs, Memphis, Anchorage and Louisville — all of which feature in the top ten global cargo hub rankings — have yet to file their full year 2016 cargo statistics.

Another boost for IATA's Cargo-XML messaging standard.

·         IATA’s Cargo-XML messaging standard has taken another step towards becoming the industry standard after being integrated into a United Nations (UN) automated customs management system.

The integration of Cargo-XML into the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) ASYCUDAWorld customs system standardises electronic communications between airlines and customs authorities in the 90 countries that use the system.

The new data standard reduces message duplication and simplifies communication across the supply chain facilitating trade growth, improving cargo security, modernising customs operations and fostering participation in global commerce through advance electronic data submission for air cargo shipments, IATA said.

Sea Freight News :

Multi-modal terminal at Varanasi to be major logistic hub: Gadkari Financial Express The Rs 170-crore multi-modal terminal at Varanasi is set to emerge as a major logistics gateway connecting north India to the eastern and north- eastern states, extending up to Bangladesh, says the Shipping Ministry. The ongoing construction of the Varanasi terminal that will have waterway, rail and road connectivity is part of the government’s Rs 5,369 crore Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP). “Government is working hard to bring down the huge logistics costs in the country and the project is part of that initiative,” said Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. The terminal will help correct India’s transport modal mix that imposes huge logistics cost on the economy, he said. At 15 per cent of GDP, the logistics costs in India are about twice in the US, as per the Ministry officials. The work on the upcoming terminal at Varanasi – part of JMVP, being implemented by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), under the Ministry of Shipping was awarded to AFCONS Infrastructure in May last year.

Gwadar, Chabahar ports: Pakistan, Iran agree to expand cooperation: Boroujerdi Hellenic Shipping News Chairman for the Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security of Iran, Allauddin Boroujerdi on Friday said that Pakistan and Iran have agreed to expand co-operation between Gwadar and Chabahar ports with a view to connect these two seaports with Central Asian states and China for grater regional co-operation. Speaking at a news conference, the visiting Iranian leader stated that the two counties have also agreed to enhance the bilateral trade to $5 billion from the existing $ 1 billion, adding the there is a lot of potential to increase the unsatisfactory volume of two-way trade between the brotherly countries. He said Gwadar and Chabahar are sister ports and they will help boost bilateral trade between the two countries, adding the two sides have agreed to expand co-operation between the two ports so that these could be linked to Central Asia and China.

Mwani Qatar begins direct service to Shanghai The Peninsula Qatar Ports Management Company, in association with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, has announced the launch of the first-ever regular direct service between Hamad Port and Shanghai under MSC’s New Falcon Service. The first vessel to sail on the new service, MSC ELMA FK701A, left Shanghai on January 5, and arrived in Hamad Port on Thursday, marking the beginning of the port’s transshipment capabilities. The addition to the company’s New Falcon service will see container volumes able to travel west from the Far East and South East Asia, to Qatar. Customers will also benefit from a competitive transit time and better service coverage over all the major Ports and Inlands from Far East/South East Asia. This first ever regular service, which connects Hamad Port directly with the world's second-largest economy and works to reduce the time it takes to get ships from this global market to 20 days only.

Andhra Pradesh gets 2 coastal economic zones of Rs 20,000 crore Economic Times Andhra Pradesh, the Southern India state that reported healthy double digit growth, would get two coastal economic zones (CEZs) involving an investment of Rs 20,000 crore. Addressing a two-day CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, union roads transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said India was looking to promote port-based economy through CEZs, primarily targeting to achieve double digit growth. The union minister said the two proposed CEZs were among the 14 that the government planned to set up across the country, involving cumulative investments of over Rs 8 lakh crore to generate nearly one crore jobs. The two CEZs planned for Andhra Pradesh include the one from Srikakulam to Vijayawada and the other from Vijayawada to Nellore, both falling under the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.

Sagarmala, industrial corridors to boost economy: Gadkari Business Line The ambitious Sagarmala project and the industrial corridors being built in the country will give the economy a tremendous boost, bringing down the logistics cost substantially, according to Union Minister of Roads, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. He was speaking here at the partnership summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Saturday at a session on industrial corridors. He said the government was planning to spend Rs. 15 lakh crores on the Sagarmala project and Rs. 4 lakh crores would be spent on port modernisation and mechanisation projects. Gadkari said, “in Visakhapatnam port, the second largest major port in the country, we have already executed schemes worth Rs. 1,665 crores and for ongoing projects we are spending Rs. 2,700 crores. Very soon, we we will take up projects worth Rs. 1,200 crores or so.

Cargo ships collide at Ennore port Business Line Two cargo ships had a minor collision at the outer anchorage of Karmarajar Port in Ennore in the early hours on Saturday. The incident occurred at 4 a.m when the vessel, MT Maple, was leaving the port after offloading an LPG consignment. It collided with MT Dawn Kanchipuram, which was entering with a full load of petrol and lubricants, and damaged the ship. According to the port authorities, the collision happened about two nautical miles from the shore owing to “miscommunication” or “misjudgment.” The Indian Coast Guard pressed a helicopter into action for aerial assessment to ascertain extent of oil spill, including drift pattern. Another helicopter has been kept on standby for aerial spray in case of any contingency. CG Ship Abheek with 200 litres of oil spill dispersant has been dispatched from Chennai for further assessment of damage to MT Dawn Kanchipuram and extent of oil spill from the vessel.

IWAI gears up to start moving cargo on NW1 by 2019 The Hindu NW1 is economically viable, without increasing tariffs, says IWAI Vice Chairman Pravir Pandey. Though the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was set up way back in 1986 and five National Waterways (NW) were designated for several years and some for decades, it is only now that there is progress on developing a sustainable water transport system in key rivers and inland waters across the country, in a bid to take the pressure away from the rail and roadways as well as ensuring drastic reduction in emission and logistics costs. In 2014, the Union Government announced the ₹5369 crore NW1 project spanning 1,400 kms from Allahabad to Haldia on the river Ganga that would come up with technical and financial assistance of the World Bank (WB). The primary objective is to enable movement of cargo on vessels up to 1,500 to 2,000 tonnes.

Mangaluru Customs Commissionerate among 10 top in India Times of India Mangaluru Customs Commissionerate has found a place in the top 10 performers rankings at the national-level in facilitating expeditious clearance of import and export goods, said M Subramanyam, commissioner, Customs, Central Excise and Service tax. This has been achieved due to the single window facility implemented last year which further enabled expeditious clearance. Presiding over International Customs Day event, organized by customs commissionerate on Friday, Subramanyam in line with this year's theme of World Customs Organization - Data Analysis - Effective Border Management, highlighted levels of facilitation that could be improved owing to a proper data analysis. Customs is monitoring dwell time of import and export cargo, which is currently about 5% and 21% respectively, out of the total time taken to complete the activity.

Port sector wants a solid tax anchor in Budget DNA Tax incentive, tax exemption, easing of monetization of operational ports, enhanced funds, etc are the pointers that the port sector is looking forward to in the upcoming Union Budget to be presented on February 1. "It will be helpful if the ministry of finance comes up with some tax incentive for port-based industry. This port-based industry could be anything, right from cement to power to marine to petrochemicals, etc," said Neeraj Bansal, deputy chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). Apart from that, the other expectation by the public port is to have policies that will promote coastal and marine sectors. "The ports sector has been grappling with issues such as last mile connectivity. The allocation of corpus to government backed bodies like Indian Port Rail Corporation Limited should be enhanced with a clear road map laid down for them to take pro-active role in improving the logistics connectivity to port projects," opined Sandeep Upadhyay, managing director and CEO at Centrum Infrastructure Advisory Ltd.

Govt's focus on infra to cut down logistics cost: Nitin Gadkari Business Standard Government is working on boosting infrastructure, particularly ports, roads and waterways, to significantly reduce logistics cost that is "very high" in the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday. He made a pitch for port-led development which is "crucial" for higher economic growth. "Our logistics cost is very high. It is 18 per cent. It is easy to take any material from Mumbai to Dubai or from Mumbai to London, but it is very difficult to take material from Mumbai to Delhi as it is costly and complicated... We want to give highest priority to that on how we can reduce this cost," he said. Speaking at the Andhra Pradesh Investors Summit, the road, transport, highways and shipping minister hoped that the target 40 km of road construction per day will be achieved by next year. "It was 2 km per day, last year, it was 18 km per day and by the end of this March, it will be 30 km per day.

Smaller carriers jostle for share on Asia-North America trade Sea News Zim Integrated Shipping Services is one of several container lines reworking their transpacific presence in 2017. Together with Wan Hai, Pacific International Lines and new trans-Pacific carrier SM Line are revamping strings or launching new services across the Pacific from April, the same month the new Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance start their operations and go head-to-head with the 2M Alliance and strategic partner Hyundai Merchant Marine. The carriers are planning to capitalise on growing US containerised imports that IHS Markit Maritime & Trade senior economist Mario Moreno expects to expand four to five per cent in 2017, reaching a new peak of 21.4 million TEU, mainly because of stronger economic growth. US real GDP is forecast to grow 2.3 per cent this year after expanding by only 1.6 per cent in 2016.

Wan Hai to Set Up Two Transpacific Services World Maritime News Taiwanese container carrier Wan Hai Lines plans to launch two Transpacific services through a vessel sharing agreement (VSA) with an undisclosed party, starting from April 2017. The company said the new services will cover the Southern and Northern Central China. 8,000 TEU vessels will be deployed in the CP1 service (South China) and 5,500 TEU containerships in the CP2 service (Northern Central China). Both of them will be serviced by six ships, with a six-week turnaround, according to Wan Hai. Port rotation of the CP1 service will be as follows: Xiamen, Nansha (China), Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Yantian (China), Long Beach, Oakland (USA), Xiamen. The CP2 service will call the following ports: Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo (China), Los Angeles, Oakland (USA), Qingdao. Apart from the CP1 and the CP2 services, Wan Hai said it will offer additional Transpacific service coverage through slot exchange.