Category Archives: Shipping

AVEVA offers a complete suite of technology solutions that enable shipyards become more agile, while shipping lines can better share and analyse data from ship to shore, explains Herve Lours, Vice President – Marine, AVEVA. It is a $1.6 billion software company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It’s a leader in industrial software business, primarily focusing on gas, power and marine. AVEVA is also one of the largest software companies in the maritime sector and has some unique capabilities – this is the only software supplier in the maritime world providing a complete software suite for the entire lifecycle, starting from engineering design and moving down to operations of the shipyard and ships as well. Talking about the lifecycle, engineering and design, AVEVA is a leader in this area, with an approximate 60% market share in engineering and design software, which means we are active in most of the important shipyards. AVEVA is also the leader in the shipping sector, providing solutions to ship owners, system integrators and more than 3000 ships are using AVEVA software on-board.

The Adani Group owned Mundra Port will offer a 50% discount on Port related charges to ships running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). India has been aggressively initiating strategies to cut emissions under its green ports plan. LNG fueled ships are said to emit significantly less CO2 and other forms of pollutants compared with conventional shipping fuel. “Port will offer 50% discount on Port Dues, Pilotage and Berth hire charges,” the notice to shippers, issued by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, said. The discount scheme will be functional for a period of six months from August 1 and will apply to vessels with dual fuel engines that use LNG as a primary fuel.However, the waiver on port charges would not apply for vessels carrying LNG cargo and using LNG fuel, it said.

In the recently concluded 18th meeting of the Maritime States Development Council (MSDC), which was organized by the Ministry of Ports Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) the central government has proposed and asked ministers from the state governments for the discussion on the new ‘Draft Indian Ports Bill 2021’. Moreover, the state governments oppose it because many powers currently implemented by state governments would be transferred to the Union Government. While the central government says that the proposed bill would enable the best management and utilization of the coastline by way of participation by both the central government and maritime states/union territories (UTs).

The railways have decided to run MEMU express special trains between Kakinada Port and Visakhapatnam. Train no. 07265 Kakinada Port-Visakhapatnam MEMU special train will leave Kakinada Port at 4.25 a.m. with effect from July 19 and arrive in Visakhapatnam at 9.40 a.m. In the return direction, 07266 Visakhapatnam-Kakinada Port MEMU special will leave Visakhapatnam at 5.05 p.m. with effect from July 19 to reach Kakinada Port at 10.10hrs. These trains will have stoppages at Kakinada Town, Samalkot, Pithapuram, Gollaprolu, Annavaram, Tuni, Gullipadu, Narsipatnam Road, Regupalem, Elamanchili, Narasingapalli, Anakapalle and Marripalem. These trains will have 16 coaches of MEMU rake.

The CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, launched its Carrier Haulage service from Kolkata to Biratnagar via road, where the first shipment was successfully transported on July 6th 2021. With this service, the Group is able to provide a seamless, one-stop solution to its customers for moving their cargo from Kolkata to Biratnagar. Since 2017, the CMA CGM Group has been successfully operating its Rail Service to ICD Birgunj via Kolkata & Visakhapatnam. With the launch of the new Carrier Haulage Service, Biratnagar is the second key location in Nepal being covered by CMA CGM global network. CMA CGM connects Nepal with its global maritime service via its hub ports in Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang which is connected to Kolkata and Visakhapatnam via dedicated feeder services.

Cargo handled at India’s dozen state-owned major ports soared 27.16 per cent during the April-June quarter to 180.609 million tonnes (mt) from 142.033 mt a year ago. The rebound in cargo volumes during the first quarter of the current fiscal was led by solid growths in containers, iron ore and pellets, thermal and steam coal, as well as coking coal, according to the Pinistry of ports, Shipping and Waterways. The 12 major ports handled a combined 2.753 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 57.86 per cent more than the 1.744 million TEUs handled during the first quarter of FY21. Of this, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s busiest state-run container gateway, handled 1.364 million TEUs from 848,000 TEUs during the same period last year.

Ocean carriers could be in line for profits of $100bn this year and look assured of continued medium term profitability as capacity remains an issue globally in a market described as “crazy”. The Loadstar reports a substantial upgrade of Drewry’s quarterly Container Forecast report from an ebit (earnings before interest and tax) figure of $35bn to $80bn this year. Senior manager of container research and author of the report Simon Heaney, said: “If freight rates surpass expectations in the remainder of the year, we would not be surprised to see an annual profit line in the region of $100bn.” Incidents such as the Ever Given Suez grounding and Yantian port restriction have helped fuel a market where triple digit annual growth figures for spot rates are no longer surprising, Heaney said. Although Drewry expects ebit to drop by a third next year, it still predicts industry profits of almost $70bn.

Logistics major DP World is planning to acquire South Africa’s Imperial Logistics Ltd for $890 million, one of DP World’s most significant acquisitions in Africa so far. DP World is interested in acquiring Imperial and all its businesses to expand its logistics footprint in Africa and Europe. Imperial’s Logistics International business is within the scope of the offer and as such will not be sold separately under this proposed offer. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “We are excited to announce the proposed acquisition of Imperial, which will add significant strategic value to DP World given its attractive footprint and strong logistics solutions capability. Imperial has a significant presence in Africa, a market where trade is expected to grow at more than 2x GDP driven by population growth, accelerated urbanisation and rising middle classes. Imperial’s business strongly complements DP World’s existing footprint in Africa and Europe and will allow us to deliver a fully integrated end-to-end solution to cargo owners across a wider market.”

With the easing of lockdown restrictions and pickup in the domestic economic activity, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), one of the premier container handling ports, recorded a throughput of 441,984 TEUs in June 2021 as compared to 289,292 TEUs in June 2020. A growth of 52.78% as compared to the same period last year. In terms of rail operations, JNPT handled 88,849 TEUS of ICD traffic from 548 rakes in June 2021, and the Rail-Coefficient is 20.10%. Commenting on the performance, Shri Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT, said, “We are proud to see the efficiency of the entire JNPT ecosystem improve, resulting in increasing numbers in container handling, overall container traffic, and throughput even during a pandemic. At JNPT, we appreciate the efforts taken by our talented and skilled workforce, esteemed and valuable Stakeholders. Our ever-aiding Trade Partners have shown in maintaining JN Port’s position as a major contributor to India’s economic growth and the nation’s fight against Covid-19 by relentlessly handling the evacuation and procurement of Medical Grade Oxygen and other Medical accessories and supply”.

Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world’s biggest container shipping companies, has suspended carrying fresh Bangladesh-bound cargoes from Singapore port, which may worsen the ongoing container crisis in Chattogram port. The company has stopped it as per the advice of the Port of Singapore just a couple of days ago, according to a document obtained by the FE. The advice reads: “The German shipping giant will not carry Bangladesh-bound cargoes up to 4 weeks.” People at the shipping circle in Dhaka and Chattogram said that many big container transportation firms were now focusing on China, Europe and USA routes for their recent economic booms coupled with higher freights. Hapag Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest shipping firm by fleets, has a significant market share in Bangladesh as it carries nearly 9,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of imports per month.