Indian Government relaxes cabotage law for special vessels like Ro-Ro.

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Government said it has relaxed the cabotage law for five years to allow certain special foreign vessels like Ro-Ro, to facilitate transportation of cargo between different ports along the Country’s coastline. The development comes in the wake of long standing demand of the shipping industry for relaxation of the cabotage law. Cabotage is transport of goods between two points in the same Country.

“The Central Government has decided to relax cabotage for special vessels such as Roll-On Roll-Off (Ro-Ro), Hybrid Ro-Ro, Ro-Ro cum Passenger, Pure Car Carriers, Pure Car and Truck Carriers, LNG vessels and Over-Dimensional cargo or Project Cargo Carriers for a period of five years,” Shipping Ministry said in a statement.

With this relaxation, vessel operators will be allowed to bring foreign flagged vessels of this category to ply on the coastal routes, it said.

“Such special vessels are in short supply in the Country but since they cater to specific class of cargo, their availability will make it possible to shift cargo movement for these commodities from road and rail to coastal shipping,” it added.

The Government said availability of Ro-Ro vessels is essential for the success of efforts to develop coastal shipping and decongesting roads and railways.

“As an example, large automobile clusters exist at Manesar and around Chennai. Large numbers of cars are transported from north to south and vice-versa. It is possible to shift major part of this transportation to coastal shipping,” it said.

Not only would availability of Ro-Ro vessels decongest roads/railways, it would also enable a green mode of transport reducing fuel intensity and also reduce carbon emissions, the statement said.

So far, the cabotage policy in India allows first preference to Indian flagships over cargo. Cargo and foreign ships are allowed only when no suitable Indian flag vessel is available for the same.

Indian importers and exporters use Colombo, Salalah, Singapore and Dubai hubs for shipments adding to their costs.

Industry experts say relaxation in the cabotage policy is expected to bring more trade to Major Ports in India.

At present about 60 per cent of India’s exports and imports containers are transhipped through ports like Singapore and Colombo. This transhipment through ports outside the country involves not only huge expenditure but also extra 7-10 days of transit time.

Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination.

India at present has 12 Major Ports which fall under Centre’s jurisdiction and about 200 Non-Major Ports under the control of states.

Indian Government allows Import of Apples only through Nhava Sheva Port

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Dated: 14 September, 2015

Amendment in import policy conditions of apples under Exim code 0808 10 00 of Chapter 08 of ITC (HS), 2012 – Schedule – 1 (Import Policy).

The Central Government has hereby amended the Import Policy Conditions of apples under Exim code 0808 10 00 of Chapter 08 of ITC (HS), 2012 – Schedule – 1 (Import Policy) as under:
Exim Code    Item Description    Policy    Policy Condition    Revised Policy Condition
0808 10 00        Apples               Free             —–               Import only through Nhava Sheva Port.

2. Effect of this Notification: Import of the item ‘Apples’ covered under EXIM Code 0808 10 00 is allowed only through Nhava Sheva port.

The 20 most influential people in container shipping.

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EVERY year, Lloyd’s List publishes itsTop 100 ranking of the most influential people in shipping. While the list consists of power brokers from all areas of global shipping, there is always strong representation from the container sector.

To highlight the most influential people in box shipping, the Containerisation International team has compiled its own top 20 list of leading personalities to give our readers a better idea of how these individuals compare with their container peers.

From the top guard at the leading container lines to the most influential people in ports and with some regulators thrown into the mix for good measure, this list will give you an insight into what motivates the sector’s power brokers.

The results of the top 100 are required reading for the entire shipping industry and beyond. We similarly believe that this inaugural CI ranking will clearly indicate how some characters have continued to influence the market through clever advances, well-timed deals and seized opportunities.

GatewayRail introduces online submission of shipping line DOs for import deliveries

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Gateway Rail Freight Ltd (GatewayRail), a subsidiary of Gateway Distriparks Ltd (GDL), has announced that it has achieved yet another landmark in its endeavor to implement the latest technology across its inland container depots (ICDs).

Starting September 15, 2015, GatewayRail will introduce online submission of shipping line Delivery Orders (DOs) through its web portal for import deliveries (FDS and YDS). Importers will now no longer be required to submit physical copy of the shipping line DO to take delivery of container/cargo.Physical copies will only be required in cases where shipping lines have not yet started transmitting online DOs.

Initially, GatewayRail has introduced this facility at its ICD-Garhi Harsaru, Gurgaon and ICD-Piyala, Faridabad.

This will help importers clear their consignments on a fast-track mode, emphasised a release.

MOL Testing New Windshield on Its Boxship

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Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. has started demonstration tests of a new windshield for containerships, which has the potential to reduce wind resistance, save fuel, and reduce CO2 emissions.

The new windshield was installed on the bow of the MOL-operated containership MOL Marvel, and a demonstration test of its effectiveness in reducing CO2 emissions is under way.

The move was driven by the need to address the greater wind resistance arising from the increasing height of the containers loaded on the decks of today’s ever larger containerships.

“Development of the new device began with an examination of the bow’s aerodynamic form through wind tunnel testing. This led to the adoption of a horseshoe-shaped design, which encloses the front line of the stacked containers to maximize the wind resistance-reducing effect while minimizing the weight of the main unit. The new windshield has enough design strength to meet the ClassNK rules concerning wave impact pressure. In addition, by obliquely setting the containers placed along the sides of the vessel behind the windshield, the sides of the vessel will be more streamlined, further reducing wind resistance,” MOL explained.

MOL expects an annual average reduction of 2% in CO2 emissions, assuming the device is mounted on a 6,700 TEU containership plying the North Pacific Ocean route at speed of 17 knots. The new windshield is also expected to protect ships from green water on the bow deck when sailing in bad weather.

MOL jointly developed the device with MOL Techno-Trade, Ltd., Ouchi Ocean Consultant, Inc., Akishima Laboratory (Mitsui Zosen) Inc., and the University of Tokyo. The project was backed by the “Joint R&D for Industry Program”, in which Nippon Kaiji Kyokai promotes wide-ranging R&D activities in cooperation with industry, government and academia.

Manila Streamlines Container Handling

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The Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), operated by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), has started implementing a vehicle appointment system called Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS) an electronic platform for booking containers in the two international ports of Manila.

TABS is designed to optimize the entry and exit of containerized cargo to and from MICT, and developed in response to restrictive road policies that were introduced to combat the congestion of Manila ports in 2014 as a result of the truck ban imposed by the Manila City Government.

“The implementation of TABS is a move in the right direction. It is the port sector’s contribution to easing road congestion in the Philippine capital by implementing a system that will schedule movements of trucks in and out of the Port,” said Mohamed Ghandar, MICT General Manager.

“With a booming economy and the ongoing major infrastructure projects in the metropolis comes the issue of road capacity. Movement of trade in the Port of Manila, specifically that of container-handling trucks, has to co-exist with the movement of the commuting public.”

TABS will address the current unpredictable surge of trucks that ply the roads by scheduling the time slots for container pickup and drop-offs.

The system is scheduled for an official launch in October 2015. The soft launch comes ahead of the expected surge in economic productivity in Manila in September as shipments increase in preparation for the holiday season.

First Consignment of 90-Tonne Egyptian Onion Hit Indian Market.

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The first consignment of three reefers (around 90 tonnes) of imported onion has hit local market which helped its price stabilise, albeit temporarily. The reefers that hit Mumbai and Navi Mumbai Ports early this week, were supplied to Mumbai and Bengaluru cities, trade sources said.

Anticipating price hike, private traders had placed their orders early this month at substantially lower than the current prevailing price. They had booked onion from Egyptian suppliers at $320 a tonne of which landed cost in India works out to around Rs 32-35 a kg. Now, these suppliers pushed imported onion at Rs 40-45 a kg in local mandis which led its price to stabilize or fall abysmally.

“Yes, we have received this year’s first consignment of imported onion from Egypt. But, continuation of import in future would be difficult as onion price moved up substantially after India entered into Egyptian markets. Owing to the lack of alternatives, India has two options, either to  continue import at high price or suspend import. In both cases, onion prices would remain firm until new season crop hits markets which seems over a month away,” said Atul Shah, Director, Agricultural Produce Market Committee (Pimpalgaon).

Pakistan is another supplier of onion for which the Indian Government needs to take initiative. “The price decline is temporary”, said Shah.

The Centre has hard pressed the State Governments especially in Maharashtra, the largest onion producer, to identify hoarders and act harsh on them.

Despite India being self sufficient with around 19 million tonnes of annual production and over 1 million tonnes of exports, crop damage during the last rabi harvesting season due to unseasonal rainfalls created shortage. Apart from that, the deficiency of rainfalls in major growing areas this monsoon season aggravated the supply problem.

Indian Government plans to set up 7 new Major Ports.

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Government is mulling to expand the network of Major Ports in order to cater increasing global trade from India. Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, while highlighting the recent development in the ports sector, said that the Union Government has decided to open up seven new Major Ports in addition to 12 existing Major Ports, out of which one will be based in Bengal namely Sagar Port and the other will be in Dahanu in Maharashtra to be opened up jointly for Maharashtra and Kerala. He said that the works on these two projects have already begun.

Gadkari also released a vision document at the Sixteenth Meeting of Maritime States Development Council (MSDC) held on 24th Aug 24 2015. Releasing the vision document the Minister said in order to increase the share of coastal shipping in modal cargo mix to 10 per cent by 2019-20 and to promote cruise tourism leading to development of coastal regions, the Ministry has prepared a vision for coastal shipping, tourism and regional development in consultation with stakeholders along with an action plan to achieve the objectives.

The Minister expressed confidence that in the next five years the share of coastal shipping in transportation of domestic trade will increase.Pipavav-Port-India-65i0dya3alomlcv2y1sbrw620xx5oaa7lbzxnnrieau

Port of Aden Reopens for Business.

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The port of Aden has opened after being shut down for four months due to armed clashes in the country, according to a circular issued by Yemen Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation.

As informed, Aden has received more than ten vessels since the cessation of hostilities.

The port operations were inaugurated by the aid ship M/V Han Zhi in the oil harbour general cargo berth, and M/V SCL Bern at the Aden Container Terminal on July 21st, 2015, the circular said.

“In noting these calls by commercial ships, we confirm that the port is ready to receive all types of ships according to the design capacity of the port’s terminals and wharves,” the circular further adds.

Aden Ports Development Company said in a separate advisory that Aden Container Terminal (ACT) was undamaged during the crisis and is ready to resume handling commercial vessels.

Yemen shut down all major ports in late March amid bomb strikes launched by the Saudi Arabia, targeting positions of Houthi militias, a rebel force believed to be backed by Iran.