Jupiter Sea and Air Service Pvt Ltd

Tuesday, 19 April 2016

UPDATED DAILY SHIPPING NEWS FOR WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2016

Shipping industry: Synergy to anchor ports push

Indian Express
At the recently concluded Maritime India Summit (MIS) in Mumbai, a high decibel pitch for aggressively developing the country’s port sector was accompanied by claims of firm commitments worth $12 billion and another $60 billion in the pipeline for projects in the sector. Industry experts, though, are clearly of the view that any development related work in the ports sector is unlikely to succeed if viewed in isolation and that the approach necessarily has to be holistic and needs to be taken up in close coordination with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Railways, with the concerted aim of ensuring that the port is comprehensively connected to the hinterland. At the launch of the summit last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was emphatic about the scale of the investment challenge. “Our vision is to increase port capacity from 1,400 million tonnes to 3,000 million tonnes by 2025.

ZIM to Enhance its Asia to US East Coast and Gulf Services

Port 2 Port
ZIM is pleased to announce an enhanced Asia to US East Coast and Gulf service offering, with seven different weekly services, extensive direct port-to-port coverage and best-in-market Transit time from key ports in Asia to US East Coast & Gulf. The full scale services offered by zim in this trade: ZIM Seven Star Express (Z7S), inaugurated in May 2015, a premium service from South China, Vietnam and India Sub continent to US East Coast, will be upgraded with a direct Port Kelang call, offering 24 days transit time to New York. ZIM Pacific Atlantic Service (ZPA) brand new service by ZIM, covering Central China and Korea to Miami, Jacksonville and Charleston, will commence in early May, subject to FMC approval. China East Coast (CEC) and South Asia Suez Service (SAS) will continue to offer extensive coverage from South East Asia to USA and Canada East Cost

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Overcapacity warning as MSC moves big ships to 'more robust' Europe-Middle East/India trade

The Load Star
Having already been obliged to idle two of its flagship 19,000 teu vessels because of weak Asia-North Europe bookings, MSC is cascading some of the 13,000 teu ships from the overcapacity-plagued trade onto its Europe-Mid East-South Asia service where demand is said to remain “comparatively robust”. In an updated analysis of the trade, Drewry said the Geneva-headquartered carrier was leading the way in increasing ship size on the route, noting that it had deployed the 13,102 teu MSC Cristina and MSC Maria Saveria on its Himalaya Express service, operated with Shipping Corporation of India. The rotation of the service is Felixstowe-Hamburg-Antwerp-Le Havre-Gioia Tauro-King Abdullah-Colombo-Nhava Sheva-Mundra-King Abdullah-Gioia Tauro-Felixstowe. In a further boost to capacity, MSC will also add the 11,660 sister ships MSC Luciana and MSC Sola to the service, Drewry added.

Vessel owners, cargo traders trivialise Sundarbans

The Daily Star
Though experts think, cargo vessels plying through the Sundarbans' rivers are like “mobile bombs” for the tigers, the vessel owners are putting pressure on the government, demanding to reopen the Shela river route for cargo operations. The government suspended the operations on March 23, following the accident of coal-laden cargo MV Sea Horse near Harintana on March 19. Inland Water Transport Owners from Khulna division and other business groups made the demand at a joint press conference held at Khulna Press club yesterday morning. The government has opened alternative Mongla-Ghosiakhali channel after dredging, but vessels with more than 10 feet draft are unable to operate through it, they said. “Around 70 percent vessels are unable to come to Khulna, Mongla, and Nowapara from Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet,” said advocate Saiful Islam, secretary general of the coordination committee, who read out the statement.

The ‘Great Game’ Reborn in the Indian Ocean: A Tale of Two Ports

Geo Political Monitor
The historic 19th century ‘Great Game’ of Lord Curzon’s making may be in the process of revival, albeit in different setting with different actors and varying interests. From the vast deserts of Central Asia, the new Great Game seems to be shifting to the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, the premier commercial waterway of international trade. The actors are not the old imperial powers aspiring for empires but shrewd traders seeking large markets for their merchandise and accompanying political clout. They act not in isolation but in collaboration without losing sight of their respective national interests. China, USA, Russia, India, Iran, Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the conspicuous actors of this new game. Actually, regional states in the Central and South Asia desire to forge new bilateral and multilateral relationship outside abandoning the model of the days of Great Game.

Technological lag is hurting advance in maritime trade

The Hindu
Countries that had once established supremacy in maritime trade were now lagging for want of updated technology or lack of interest in seafaring among the youth, experts noted At a daylong international conference on ‘shipping: indispensable to the world,’ the International Maritime Organisation’s theme for 2016, on Tuesday, speakers dwelt on the challenges facing shipping and ways to address the maritime trade scenario. Universities have a big role to play, said Devinder Grewal, professor (Indian chair), Port Management, World Maritime University, Sweden. With advanced technology it is important that universities ensure students are prepared for the changes, he said. Like India, Eritrea, was strategically located and the centre of trade until 1950, said Eritrean Ambassador Alem Tsehaye Woldmariam. But the 30-year war of independence with Ethiopia had damaged it completely.

Reviving exports

Business Line
A combination of a slump in petroleum prices and the continuing slowdown in global growth has wreaked havoc with India’s merchandise exports. Merchandise export earnings slumped 16 per cent in fiscal year 2015-16 to $261.14 billion. Exports have shrunk for 16 successive months, while earnings from petroleum product exports collapsed 47 per cent in the last fiscal year to $30.2 billion. Also, the share of petroleum products in India’s export basket contracted to just about 12 per cent, from over 18 per cent a year ago. Such devastation was not seen even in the midst of an economic slowdown in 2009-10 triggered by the financial crisis of 2008, when petroleum prices slumped from the peak of over $140 a barrel to about $32. India’s exports had contracted a mere 3.5 per cent in 2009-10. But this time it’s different. The world is drowning in surplus oil with the US becoming a major oil producer thanks to shale oil, and Iran returning to the global oil market following the lifting of sanctions.

Delayed turnaround to be the drag on exports front

Indian Express
India’s exports, which dipped 16 per cent in 2015-16, are unlikely to see an uptick in the near future due to the delayed turnaround in the global economy, according to a DBS report. According to the global financial services firm, weak global demand weighed on India’s exports, with falling commodity receipts and the strengthening of the real rupee value playing their part. “Looking ahead, India’s exports are unlikely to improve in a hurry due to its close correlation with global imports,” DBS said in a research note. Incidentally, the World Bank and the IMF have downgraded their global growth outlook, with most of India’s key trading partners facing sluggish growth at home. “More measures to support the trade sector are on the cards. Though they might provide short-term relief to the external sector, they are no panacea,” the DBS report added.

Scrapping of export duty on chrome ‘to hit industry’

Business Line
The Centre’s decision to abolish 30 per cent export duty on chrome ore is a setback for domestic ferrochrome producers and stainless steel companies. India Inc fears that much of the high-grade chrome ore will be exported to countries like China, which in turn will choke domestic supplies and push up prices of steel. Domestic players, who have invested 5,000 crore for ramping up ferrochrome capacity to about 1.75 million tonne per annum, will be in a fix if a significant amount of ore is allowed to be exported. Speaking to Bloomberg TV India, R Ganesh, Director (Sourcing) of Jindal Stainless Ltd, says the decision will benefit China and hurt the domestic industry. The demand for stainless steel, which by and large matches the GDP growth, should rise by 8-9 per cent in FY17, he said.

FIEO flags concerns of job losses if export decline continues

Deccan Herald
A day after the government released 2015-16 exports data showing a slump across the sectors, India’s premier exporters body, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), on Tuesday flagged concerns about massive job losses in labour intensive sectors such as leather, textiles and gems & jewellery, if the decline persisted. It also demanded interest subsidy for merchant exporters on the lines of medium and small scale industries. “Job losses have roughly reached 5% of total workforce in the labour intensive sector. Not very alarming now, but if export slump persists for this year too, the situation will be serious,” FIEO President S C Ralhan said. India’s exports shrank 16% in 2015-16 to stand at $261 billion. This is the lowest in the last five years.

Mars better mapped than the world's oceans, placing mega ships at risk

Sea News
The grounding of a mega ship could result in a cargo loss of up to US$4 billion, the insurance industry warns. It's a possibility that cannot be ruled out as the world has better maps of the surface of Mars and the moon than of the bottom of Earth's ocean, according to a NASA oceanographer. It "could take two years to remove all the containers from a 19,000-TEU ship in the event of an incident, assuming that it was possible at all," Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Insurance wrote in its Safety and Shipping Review. The risk of such a catastrophic loss only increases as more mega ships begin calling at ports around the world that have never seen ships of that length, width and depth. A new study by the Global Marine Practice at insurance brokerage Marsh highlighted that surveys of ocean depths are inadequate or non-existent in large expanses of the world,

Short sea shipping : Waiting to be unlocked

Once the coastal shipping commences it is going to be the direct short distance trade ever made available between the two neighbouring trade partners. Ushering in a new era of connectivity and enhancement of bilateral trade, coastal movement of vessels between India and Bangladesh is all set to commence. With India and its biggest trade partner in South Asia Bangladesh signing a treaty on coastal shipping in June last year, deliberation and development of special River Sea Vessels RSVs are made from the Bangla side and by the first week of March, 2016, three laden RSVs would commence its voyage between ports of East Coast India and port of Pangoan of Bangladesh. This, provided the final clearance on tariff is accorded by the Finance Ministry, Government of India (GoI). Though every technical aspect as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) between the two countries were followed,

Sunday, 17 April 2016

UPS moves to annul European veto on TNT takeover.

UPS is asking the Luxembourg-based General Court to overturn a European Commission veto on its failed bid three years ago to take over European express operator TNT, a company which is now on course to be acquired by FedEx, arch rival to UPS. News agency Reuters said that the UPS challenge - an action originally lodged in April 2013 and now subject to a hearing - is considered important because it allows Europe’s second-highest court "to rule on key merger principles that could affect other problematic deals".

UPS' takeover of TNT was rejected by the Commission because of its concerns over the impact on competition. According to documents filed with the European General Court, the UPS appeal is based on five pleas. It argues that the Commission committed an error of law and assessment when examining the likely price effects of the merger; diverged from the standard set by case law; misapplied the concept of closeness of competition; breached UPS' right of defence by denying access to evidence; and made an error of assessment in analysing customers' ability to restrain the merged entity.

The merger of UPS and TNT would have created one of the largest express companies in Europe, although not the largest. Based on figures from DHL, published in 2013, the combined entity would have had a European market share of 38%. This compares to DHL's European marketshare of 41%.

CargoLogicAir to fly Beirut freighter for ABC.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) is furthering its partnership with UK-registered CargoLogicAir (CLA) by launching a weekly Boeing 747 Middle East freighter link to Beirut out of London-Stansted via Amsterdam. The Beirut service is due to begin on April 17 and extends the operational contacts between Stansted-hubbed CLA and Russian-owned ABC.

CLA conducted its first scheduled flight in February this year in association with "partner airline" ABC, flying out of Stansted to Frankfurt, Libreville (Gabon) and Johannesburg, with further routing to Nairobi. The newly registered CLA, which hopes to operate a fleet of five Boeing 747 freighters by 2018, has also carried out charter flights for broker Chapman Freeborn Italia.

On March 28, CLA applied to the US Department of Transportation for a foreign air carrier permit and related exemption that would enable it to provide foreign air transportation of property and mail between the US and the European Community and the member states of the European Union.

This week also saw CLA sign a ULD management agreement with CHEP Aerospace Solutions, the global provider of outsourced ULD pooling and repair.

Etihad's new freighter begins operations on Malpensa-Bogota service.

Etihad Cargo has transferred its recently delivered Boeing freighter onto its service between Milan Malpensa and Bogotá. The service has been running since November 2014 with a wet lease Boeing 747, but Etihad has now transferred one of its own B777 freighters onto the route.

The new aircraft joined the fleet at the end of February 2016 and takes Etihad Cargo’s dedicated freighter fleet to a total of 11 aircraft. It is also the first time Etihad has used one of its own aircraft on the sector.

Etihad said the aircraft is capable of transporting more than 100 tonnes of cargo on each flight and will strengthen the cargo division’s operation between South America and Europe. Bogota has been growing rapidly in recent years and last year saw volumes jump by around 5% to more than 660,000 tonnes.

It hasn’t all been good news for the airport of late – earlier this year Lufthansa Cargo axed a freighter service from the airport to Europe that targeted the flower market because of weak market conditions. Meanwhile, Italy is Europe’s third largest cargo market and Milan is growing as an important European cargo hub. Last year, Malpensa saw volumes jump by more than 8% to over 500,000 tonnes.

US and Azerbaijan sign open skies deal

The US and Azerbaijan have signed an open skies agreement in Baku, capital city of the southwest Asian country. Jahangir Asgarov, president of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), and Robert Cekuta, the US ambassador in Baku, signed the open skies agreement on April 6 for the liberalisation of air transport market between the two countries.

Baku-based freighter operator Silk Way West, with a fleet of two Boeing 747-400Fs and three Boeing 747-8Fs, said on its website: "The bilateral agreement will simplify the process of organising flights between the US and Azerbaijan, and contribute to the increase in the number of commercial flights."

Silk Way West Airlines has been operating the Baku-New York regular flights once a week since May, 2015.

In March this year, Malpensa airport-based Silk Way Italia, part of the Silk Way Group, applied for a foreign air carrier permit to offer scheduled and on-demand cargo charters by B747-400Fs out of Italy and intermediate points to the US and beyond.

Port congestion surcharge withdrawn by Railways

Economic Times
Facing a decline in freight volumes, Railways has withdrawn the port congestion surcharge levied on cargo moving to inland, a move aimed at attracting imported coal and iron ore traffic. The port congestion surcharge levy, which is 10 per cent of the basic freight rate, has been withdrawn with immediate effect, according to a railway notification issued yesterday. The decision is in line with the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu's promise to make rail a competitive mode of transport in comparison to roads, and will be effective till March 2017. The move is likely to benefit companies in the coal and iron ore sectors, apart from shippers of containerised cargo. The removal of congestion surcharge will lead to 15 million tonnes of incremental traffic in the current financial year alone, said a senior Railway Ministry official.

PM Modi pitches for Rs 1 lakh crore investment to develop ports

Business Standard
The Centre has prepared a comprehensive plan to increase India’s port handling capacity to 3,000 million tonnes by 2025 from the present 1,400 mt. The government envisages an investment worth Rs 1 lakh crore to meet this target, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his inaugural speech at the maiden Maritime India summit. The Union ministry of shipping is showcasing about 250 projects for investment opportunity in the sector. The proposed plan includes development of five new ports in addition to the existing 12 major ports and ongoing development at three new ones. He said a slew of initiatives, including the Sagarmala project, will help revive and restore India’s position in the global maritime sector. He added the Sagarmala project would allow leveraging the 7,500-km long coastline.

India planning to add eight major ports: Nitin Gadkari

Live Mint
As part of its aggressive plans for port-led development, the government on Wednesday said it is looking to add eight major ports to the already existing 12. “We are planning to add eight new major ports, including the three already announced at Wadhwan in Maharashtra, Sagar in Bengal and Colachel in Tamil Nadu,” Union minister of road transport and highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari said a day ahead of the Maritime India Summit. He did not reveal the locations of the other five ports, but added that the three ports entail an investment of Rs.25,000 crore and work on them will start this year itself. After Kandla in the 1950s, India has not built any other major port. Following rapid economic growth, country saw the development of private sector non-major ports. Gadkari said the 12 major ports together have delivered Rs.4,200 crore profit in fiscal 2016, and their growth rates are faster than private sector rivals as well as global peers.

Ports to be modernised, not corporatised: Nitin Gadkari

Economic Times
Rejecting any notion about the government being pro-big business, Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari today said it is not pursuing any corporatisation agenda for the state-owned ports and the priority is to modernise them. "It is not a problem of the unions. It is a political problem. The opposition parties want to establish that the government is against poor, this government is pro- industrialists. So it is a fight for the image," Gadkari said. He was replying to a question on whether the pressure from unions was coming in way of the corporatisation of state-run ports. "That policy which was already there regarding corporatisation of ports, presently we don't have anything in mind to take any decision on this subject," Gadkari said. The minister said the government has thought "seriously" on the matter and decided to modernise the ports, give them new systems and all advantages through beneficial policies.

Sagarmala project to be completed in 5 years

Economic Times
The government will halve the previously estimated 10-year timeframe to complete the Sagarmala port development project, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said. The minister for shipping, road transport and highways also spoke about an agreement with the defence ministry that could potentially lead to orders worth Rs 50,000 crore for Indian shipyards, including private ones. The Sagarmala project is estimated to create 10-million jobs, he said at the Maritime India Summit here. Developing India's 7,500-km coastline will boost merchandise exports by $110 million and increase coastal shipping volumes by as much as five times of the current levels to about 330-420 million tonne per annum, he said. It could mobilise investment of about Rs 4 lakh crore in India's infrastructure sector over the next 10 years. The National Perspective Programme for Sagarmala was launched here by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Gujarat signs pacts worth Rs35,000 crore at Maritime India Summit

Live Mint
Gujarat received investment proposals worth Rs.35,000 crore for port projects from companies including Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) on the first day of the Maritime India Summit in Mumbai. Apart from IL&FS, the state signed an agreement with Simar Port Pvt. Ltd and a tripartite accord with the Union shipping ministry and the Indian Ports Association, according to a statement on Thursday by the GMB, the regulator for all non-major ports and maritime activities in the state. IL&FS plans to develop a completely integrated maritime complex at Nana Layja in Gujarat’s Kutch district at a potential investment of Rs.10,049 crore. Simar Port, a special purpose vehicle set up by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, was granted a letter of intent by GMB for development of a LNG terminal at Chhara port, in association with HPCL, under a sub-concession agreement.

New bill for PPP port projects to be tabled soon

Economic Times
The government will in the next two months table a new bill that will facilitate a model agreement for forging public-private partnerships in the port sector. "In the next two months, we will have a new model agreement, hopefully by June 30. Ministry of shipping is coming up with a separate bill that can handle long term concessional arrangement between port and terminal operators", Rajive Kumar, secretary, Ministry of Shipping said. Kumar said there are several investment opportunities in the dredging and barges development as the coastal cargo movement is set to rise by 6 times in the next 10 years. Kumar said the objective is to bring down bunker fuel cost further for all cargoes. States have been requested to bring down Value Added Tax ( VAT) on bunker fuel and three states have responded, he said.

Sagarmala can save India Rs 35,000 cr year on logistics: report

The Hindu
The Union government’s Sagarmala project, aimed at promoting port-led development in India, could lead to annual logistics cost savings of Rs 35,000 crore and boost India’s merchandise exports to $110 billion by 2025, the Sagarmala National Perspective Plan report said. The report was released by the Prime Minister on Thursday. It said the Sagarmala programme will also create one crore new jobs, of which 40 lakh will be in the nature of direct employment. Shipping Minister, Nitin Gadkari, told reporters that the objective of the plan is to substantially reduce export-import and domestic trade costs with minimal investment. The minister said: “This plan is based on four strategic levers: Optimising multi-modal transport to reduce the cost of domestic cargo, minimising the time and cost of export-import cargo logistics, lowering costs for bulk industries by locating them closer to the coast and improving export competitiveness by locating discrete manufacturing clusters near ports.”

Concor announces new scheme to benefit exim trade in Coimbatore

Business Line
In a major initiative to benefit the exim trade in Coimbatore, the Container Corporation of India (Concor) has announced a special scheme to transport empty containers from Kochi Port to Irugur ICD free of cost. This will ensure that empty containers required for stacking export cargo from Coimbatore will be mobilised free of freight cost. It will reduce the overall transport cost of containers exported through Kochi as movement of empty from Kochi was one major contributor to the cost. The last quarter of the previous financial year had witnessed over 15 per cent growth in container handling through Vallarpadam terminal. One of the initiatives that resulted in the growth was the commencement of the regular Saturday container rail service from Coimbatore to Kochi.The present scheme announced for the next six months will further help Coimbatore exporters by making empty containers available readily and at much less cost.

Adani group: Will focus on completion of existing port projects

Financial Express
Having bagged multiple port projects, the Adani Group today said it will focus on execution over the next year. “Right now, we are focusing on finishing our existing projects. We are expanding at Dhamra, and want to complete the Ennore project. “Next one year, we will just focus on completing our expansion of the existing projects,” Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Chief Executive Karan Adani told reporters here at the Maritime India Summit. When asked if the company will be bidding for any of the new five major projects announced, Adani said, “Nothing on the cards.” Vizhinjam transshipment project in Kerala is progressing as per the schedule, he said, and exuded confidence that the company will complete it within 1,000 days as promised. He also welcomed the Sagarmala Project for integrated approach which he said has been lacking till now and added that the results will be visible in 18 months.

Defence ministry to give Rs50,000 crore orders to shipping ministry

Live Mint
The defence ministry is channelling projects worth Rs.50,000 crore through the shipping ministry, which will in turn enlist Cochin Shipyard Ltd to farm out some of the work to debt-ridden private sector shipyards. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar told reporters at an event dedicated to the maritime industry that his ministry would sign an in-principle agreement with the shipping ministry to that effect. A shipping ministry official said on condition of anonymity that the in-principle agreement had been scheduled for signature on Thursday, but had been delayed. Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari said the projects would include one costing Rs.18,000 crore to construct nine ships to carry liquefied natural gas (LNG). The plan is aimed at offering debt-ridden private ship builders a helping hand by channelling the projects through the shipping ministry and Cochin Shipyard.

Bunker market poised for radical change

Motor Ship
If all goes to plan, 2016 will be the year the bunker industry gets some much-needed clarity about its medium-term future, writes Thomas Roller, managing director, Bomin Bunker Holding. A committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), meeting in October, will consider the findings of a study into the availability of low-sulphur bunkers. Once it has completed its deliberations, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) will recommend whether 2020 or 2025 should be the date the world’s merchant fleet switches to fuels with a sulphur content of no more than 0.5%. Whether the cap is implemented in four or nine years – although the majority of opinion formers believe 2020 will be enforced – shipping companies will be required to face a complete overhaul of their bunker strategies.

Krishnapatnam Port to be now linked to Oman with a new service

Business Standard
Krishnapatnam Port, the country's largest all-weather deep water port on the east-cost, will be connected with a new service from Salalah, Oman by Maersk Line India, starting April 17. The new service will connect the customers in the surrounding areas of Andhra Pradesh, Northern Tamil Nadu and Eastern Karnataka directly to Oman and neighbouring region. It will offer fast transit time between Eastern coast of India, Sri Lanka and Oman, Krishnapatnam Port said. The ports of rotation for the services are: Salalah-Colombo-Krishnapatnam Port-Kattupalli-Salalah. Commenting on the development, KPCL managing director Chinta Sashidhar said "We are very pleased to welcome Mearsk Line and look forward to a rewarding professional relationship. The new service will substantially reduce transit time in these areas and will also minimise the cost, which will be of a huge benefit to our customers."

Money is not an issue for port-led development: Nitin Gadkari

Business Standard
The Centre has taken a number of initiatives to further strengthen ports and shipping and thereby make India competitive. In an interview with Sanjay Jog, the Union minister of ports and shipping Nitin Gadkari explains the government’s intent. Edited excerpts: The national perspective plan, released by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Maritime India Summit, aims to promote port-led development by harnessing the 7,500-km coastline, 111 waterways of 14,500 km. At least 150 projects have been identified — infrastructure development (Rs 4 lakh crore), industrial investment (power, steel, manufacturing, Rs 8 lakh crore), augmentation of coastal shipping and inland waterways to cut logistic cost (Rs 35,000-40,000 crore). The reduction in logistics cost will boost both domestic and external trade.

Wednesday, 13 April 2016

UPDATED DAILY SHIPPING NEWS FOR WEDNESDAY APRIL 13, 2016

India keen to develop ports in Africa, Bangladesh, Iran: Nitin Gadkari

Business Standard
Pursuing its pro-active maritime policy, the government has expressed keenness to develop ports for various countries, including Africa, Bangladesh and Iran. "During the recent summit of heads of African nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj expressed desire that India can join hands with various African nations for building roads and ports. My ministry will take up such works once the responsibility is given to us," Road Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said here on Monday. Talking to journalists at Foreign Correspondents Club here, the minister said the agreement between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal to work on mutual infrastructure development and cooperation is unique and has gone down "very well".

Cargo volume growth at ports to remain sluggish, says ICRA

Business Line
Cargo volume growth at Indian ports will remain sluggish in the near term on account of uncertainty associated with some of the cargo categories, including coal and container, according to a report by credit-rating firm ICRA. There is uncertainty in imported coal due to ramp up in domestic coal production and persisting delays in execution of Greenfield power projects. Container movement will be affected due to the relatively weak global environment and exim trade. In the first half of 2015-16, total cargo handled at Indian ports registered a 20-per cent increase to 516 million tonnes (MT) over first half of 2014-15. The growth was pegged down by de-growth in volumes by 1 per cent at non-major ports (under the control of State governments), which had registered a 13-per cent y-o-y growth in volumes, to 471 MT in financial year 2015.

Government to plug holes in online payment of customs duty to boost exports

Times of India
The government plans to boost exports by plugging loopholes in online payment of customs duty and ensuring round-the-clock customs clearance at ports and airports. This will also help India fulfil its commitments under the World Trade Organisation's Trade Facilitation Agreement, officials said. "We want to reduce transaction costs because exports have been declining. One such way is to streamline existing procedures through better coordination between various agencies...we have to think out of the box," said one of the officials, who did not wish to be named. "We should use the Trade Facilitation Agreement to promote exports," he said. The commerce department plans to extend the timings of customs clearance at ports and airports so as to reduce congestion during peak hours of 2-6 pm."Even though there is 24x7 customs clearance,

U.S. and India Agree Maritime Security Initiatives

Maritime Executive
On Tuesday in New Delhi, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reaffirmed the strategic importance of the U.S.-India defence relationship. Carter shared with the prime minister his views on the unprecedented military-to-military ties between the two countries. He highlighted recent advances in the U.S.-India defence relationship including Tuesday’s agreement in principle on logistics cooperation and a new maritime security dialogue. The leaders agreed that continued collaboration on defence technology including aircraft carrier design and jet engines will open new opportunities for co-development and co-production. The secretary reinforced his view that India, like the United States, seeks to be a net exporter of security, and the two countries will continue to work with other partners to shape a regional security architecture that will allow all to rise and prosper.

Gwadar port to be operational by 2017

The Hindu
A multi-million dollar port being developed by China in Pakistan is set to be at “full operation” by the end of the year, a Chinese official said on Tuesday, part of Beijing’s ambitious economic plans in the region. Gwadar port will see roughly one million tonnes of cargo going through it by 2017, said Zhang Baozhong, chairman of the Chinese public company in charge of the development. Current trade there is “basically nothing”, he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar about the port’s development on Tuesday. Gwadar, in Balochistan province, forms what officials call the “heart” of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a grand $46 billion project giving Beijing greater access to West Asia, Africa and Europe through Pakistan. The port was built in 2007 with technical help from Beijing as well as financial assistance of about $248 million.

Overcapacity warning as MSC moves big ships to 'more robust' Europe-Middle East/India trade

The Loadstar
Having already been obliged to idle two of its flagship 19,000 teu vessels because of weak Asia-North Europe bookings, MSC is cascading some of the 13,000 teu ships from the overcapacity-plagued trade onto its Europe-Mid East-South Asia service where demand is said to remain “comparatively robust”. In an updated analysis of the trade, Drewry said the Geneva-headquartered carrier was leading the way in increasing ship size on the route, noting that it had deployed the 13,102 teu MSC Cristina and MSC Maria Saveria on its Himalaya Express service, operated with Shipping Corporation of India. The rotation of the service is Felixstowe-Hamburg-Antwerp-Le Havre-Gioia Tauro-King Abdullah-Colombo-Nhava Sheva-Mundra-King Abdullah-Gioia Tauro-Felixstowe.In a further boost to capacity, MSC will also add the 11,660 sister ships MSC Luciana and MSC Sola to the service, Drewry added.

Use forex reserves to lower exporters’ credit costs: Commerce Min

The Hindu
The commerce ministry wants the RBI to use a part of Forex reserves to give long-term loans at low interest rate to the Exim Bank of India, which then can on-lend to exporters at lower rates than bank credit. The aim is to help reduce the costs and enhance the competitiveness of exporters at a time of global trade slowdown and weak demand overseas, the ministry has said. A senior government official, wishing not to be identified, said the RBI had initially rejected this proposal. But the commerce ministry then took it up with the finance ministry, which in turn is in discussions with the RBI on the issue, the official said. According to the commerce ministry, a part of India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserve can be used for this purpose as the forex reserve has now increased to a record high of around $360 billion.

India’s trade policy ambivalent, says chief economic advisor

The Hindu
There is ambivalence in India’s trade policy and this is partly due to the disruption and dislocation that trade is causing across the world, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said. “We have had lot of reforms…the barriers have come down significantly, our trade has expanded, but when it comes to trade policy, there is a kind of genuine ambivalence on how rapidly India needs to open up domestically…and to engage internationally whether it is the WTO or the TPP. There is ambivalence within India,” Mr Subramanian said here during a talk on ‘Can India ever become a great power?’ at the think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This is a problem even in the U.S where presidential candidates are campaigning on anti-trade planks, he said.

Analysis: Chabahar-Gwadar port contest does not end in a tie

Tribune
In an ideal world, India’s partnership with Iran in Chabahar completes its strategic goal of encircling Pakistan, as the port’s development aims to bypass her in Afghanistan. Even Afghanistan’s CEO Abdullah Adbullah shares former Afghan president Hamid Karzai’ ambition of forging deeper ties with Delhi to lessen dependence on Islamabad. Though both countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on development of the port in May 2014, there is little to report about progress on the ground. As per the MoU, the Chabahar port will be used to ship crude oil and urea. India aspires to set up a multi-purpose cargo and container terminal besides petrochemical and fertilizer plants. Last year, India allocated mere $150 million for work on the Iranian port situated 72km west of Gwadar harbour while core issues, such as land allocation for its special economic zone (SEZ), face teething problems.

Expect More Volatility in Dry Bulk Freight Rates as a Consequence of Structural Shifts in the World Economy, IHS Says

Business Wire
Shipping rates for vessels transporting commodities such as coal, iron ore and grains racked up impressive gains in the first quarter of 2016 after hitting record lows, but the rally could flatten out into the second half as the macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain, the latest forecasts show from IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight. Freight rates for large Capesize vessels carrying iron ore along Australia-Far East routes reached $2.99 per tonne in Q1, 2016 and are expected to hover at $3.30 per tonne for the rest of Q2, 2016 after an increase of over 11 percent quarter-on-quarter, while average rates for the Transatlantic Brazil-Far East routes reached $5.8 per tonne in Q1, 2016 and will continue its current upward trend averaging at $8.5 in Q2, 2016 as higher earnings are expected in April and going into May and June.

A portal for Willingdon

Times of India
From being a hub of trade, which once housed an airport and railway station along with the sea port, Willingdon Island currently looks a pale shadow of its former bustling self. But all this may change with the Cochin Port Trust looking to develop it as a tourism hotspot complete with hotels and walkways, an exclusive zone for water sports and a cable car service. The CPT has also plans to develop part of the property into a Special Economic Zone. Recently , Nitin Gadkari, union minister for road, transport & highways and shipping, had revealed plans to develop around 1,300 islands as tourist destinations. The CPT, which is exactly not in the pink of health, is laying its bets on the tourism potential of the huge tranche of land - nearly 863.755 hectares that it owns.

Portable container weighing system for shippers with no access to weighbridges

The Loadstar
UK firm Strainstall has produced a new portable container weighing system for shippers to calculate the verified gross mass of their export containers. The firm, part of shipping services company James Fisher Group, said the system was aimed at shippers with no access to weighbridges and whose gateway ports and terminals do not intend to provide weighing services. Managing director Simon Everett said: “In many countries around the world, ports and terminals are preparing to offer a container weighing service to help shippers comply with the SOLAS requirements. Whilst this is the most cost-effective place to obtain a VGM, some ports are choosing not to offer a service. “We therefore identified a need to develop a simple, quick and cost-effective solution for shippers to be able to comply with this legal requirement where the option to weigh at the port isn’t available.”