Category Archives: Shipping

The CMA CGM Group and Hasti Petro Chemical & Shipping (HPCSL), known as The Thar Dry Port also, have jointly received their first ever Block Train from Mundra to the Thar Dry Port (ICD) at Sanand, Gujarat. This new service is the first block train by a shipping line between Mundra and ICD Sanand. The fully loaded 90-TEU train was flagged off from Mundra port on April 2nd and was received at ICD Sanand on April 3rd in the presence of representatives from The Thar Dry Port (A unit of Hasti Petro Chemical & Shipping) and CMA CGM India. The new weekly block train service is the first and only block train service by any shipping line, for Ahmedabad, Ex- Mundra. The train provides fixed window and dedicated service for customer import shipments ensuring a reliable departure schedule. The schedule departure of train from Mundra Port will be on every Saturday/Sunday. This new service from Mundra to Sanand offers customers effective cargo handling and provides priority loading for urgent import shipments with no additional cost. Another key feature of the service is to have no partial loading from Mundra, as all the containers will arrive together as per bill of lading (BL). Going forward, the CMA CGM Group is planning on streamlining the service even more to have a priority connection with the Group’s Indamex and EPIC services, two major services of CMA CGM India, calling the Gujarat region. The company is developing sustainable door-to-door solutions to allow its customers to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of their transported goods. Compared to cargo movement via truck, the block train option reduces CO2 emissions by up to 67%.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) is announcing the acquisition of the residual 25 per cent stake in Adani Krishnapatnam Port (Krishnapatnam Port) for Rs 2,800 crore. This will result in APSEZ increasing its stake from 75 per cent to 100 per cent in Krishnapatnam Port. Together with the 75 per cent ownership acquired in October 2020, the acquisition implies an enterprise value of Rs 13,675 crore implying an EV/ FY21 EBITDA multiple of 10.3x. Krishnapatnam Port is located on the east coast of India in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh (~180 km from Chennai Ports) close to the border between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Krishnapatnam Port is an all-weather, deep water port has multi-cargo facility with a current capacity of 64 MMTPA. With a waterfront of 20 km and 6,800 acres of land, Krishnapatnam Port has a master plan capacity of 300 MMTPA and a 50-year concession. The port is expected to have volumes of 38 MMT, revenues of Rs. 1,840 cr and EBITDA of Rs. 1,325 Cr in FY21. Since the acquisition, Krishnapatnam Port has focused on business process re-engineering which has resulted in EBITDA margins improving from 57% in FY20 to 72% in FY21. Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director, APSEZ said, “The consolidation of our ownership in Krishnapatnam Port reinforces APSEZ’s stride towards 500 MMT by 2025 and achieving our broader strategy of cargo parity between west and east coasts of India. Krishnapatnam Port is on track to handle double the traffic by 2025 and will deliver high growth through a multi-product and cargo enhancement strategy while enhancing return on capital employed. We are confident that we will be able to …

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has registered a throughput of over 4.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in container handling as against 5.03 million TEUs during FY 2020. The total traffic handled at JNPT during the Financial Year 2020-21 is 64.81 million tons as against 68.45 million tonnes in FY 2019-20. The total container traffic handled in March 2021 stood at 527,792 TEUs, which is the highest container volume handled in a month, since inception. The total traffic handled at JNPT during the month of March-2021 is 7.33 million tonnes as against 5.93 million tonnes in March 2020, which is 23.53 per cent higher than the total traffic over the same month of last year. Major improvement in average turnaround time of all vessels by 2.62 per cent i.e from 29.42 hrs to 28.64 hrs as well as for container vessels by 2.01 per cent i.e from 25.82 hrs to 25.30 hrs from Pilot Boarding to De-boarding in FY 2020-21 in comparison with FY 2019-20. JNPT has five container terminals, taking an overview of the numbers terminal wise, APM Terminals Mumbai (GTI) handled 1.66 million TEUs, DP World NSIGT with 0.78 million TEUs, DP World NSICT with 0.75 million TEUs and the Port owned JNPCT with 0.54 million TEUs. The Newly developed BMCT handled around 0.93 million TEUs during the FY 2021. NSICT and BMCTPL have recorded 41.33% and 15.36% growth in FY 2020-21 in comparison with FY 2019-20 respectively. JNPT BPCL Liquid Cargo Terminal handled highest LPG during FY 2020-21 of 1.04 million tonnes from 70 vessels which is 22.35% higher as compared previous highest of 0.85 million tonnes from 57 vessels in FY 2019-20. JNPT also handled 6,097 …

In view of tremendous potential of cross border trade between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Shankar Shinde, Chairman Elect, the Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) has recommended for seamless multimodal connectivity and strong logistics infrastructure in each of the above countries. Speaking at a webinar on ‘UN TIR System and its benefits of expansion to Bangladesh and other BBIN countries’, which was organised by FICCI in association with IRU Geneva, ICC Bangladesh and FFFAI, Shinde observed that accession to TIR Carnet would be immensely beneficial for the hassle-free cross border trade in this region. It would be pertinent to mention that FFFAI is one of the associates of TIR Carnet and have been working with the Government of India for International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, under TIR Carnet. He also emphasised on well-defined policies to be framed up by the respective governments and well-trained officers including Customs and allied agencies engaged at the border check posts. Based on the INSTC route experience, where FFFAI had launched a trial run of containers, Shinde stated that point to point vehicle movement would be the pragmatic solution instead of re-working of unloading and reloading transshipment, to save cost and reduce dwell time. Accordingly, accession to TIR would expedite the process in this regard. He, however, highlighted various other challenges as regard to cross border cargo transportation, as witnessed in INSTC route. Shinde further suggested that the governments will have to provide more impetus on private logistics companies, NVOCC or multimodal logistics operators’ participation in the BBIN project and also important would be to create a BBIN website portal with complete information for trade participation and addressing issues. …

In a major push and with a vision to achieve seamless trade, new Inter Terminal Route connecting BMCT Terminal with all the other four Container Terminals of JNPT was inaugurated at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). The newly inaugurated route will reduce the container movement distance between BMCT and the other JN Port Terminals from the existing 5 kms to 2.5 kms in one direction. This route will be used exclusively for the movement of TP (Transhipment) & ITRHO (Inter Terminal Rail Handling Operation) containers between BMCT and other terminals of JN Port offering a smooth and continuous flow of ITRHO and TP containers. The Inter Terminal Route was inaugurated by Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT in the presence of Unmesh Sharad Wagh, IRS, Deputy Chairman, JNPT and HODs, JNPT Terminal Operators and other stakeholders. Sethi said, “The inauguration of Internal Terminal Route will help in smoothening the overall trade cycle and further enhance our efficiency. It will further streamline the movement of rail containers between BMCT with all the other four Container Terminals at the port. JNPT has also taken various other initiatives under ‘Ease of Doing Business’ that has helped save significant amount of time and cost for the EXIM community.” ITRHO aims to maximise train placement, track productivity, efficiency, cost effective handling, reduce dwell time of import ICD boxes, connecting export ICD boxes to respective terminals in time and also increase rail quotient at JNPT. Trade will be benefitted, as the new route would ensure timely connection of export containers arriving by trains in mixed condition to the particular vessel in any of the terminals and also enhance the train handling time at JN Port. Overall the …

The Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) is acquiring the 58.1% stake held by DVS Raju and family in Gangavaram Port (GPL). The acquisition is valued at Rs. 3,604 crore and subject to regulatory approvals. APSEZ had announced acquisition of Warburg Pincus’s 31.5 per cent stake in GPL on March 3, 2021 and together with this acquisition, APSEZ would have 89.6 per cent stake in GPL. GPL is located in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh next to Vizag Port. It is the second largest non-major port in Andhra Pradesh with a 64 MMT capacity established under concession from Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) that extends till 2059. It is an all-weather, deep water, multipurpose port capable of handling fully laden super cape size vessels of up to 200,000 DWT. Currently, GPL operates 9 berths and has free hold land of ~1,800 acres. With a master plan capacity for 250 MMTPA with 31 berths, GPL has sufficient headroom to support future growth. The Port handles a diverse mix of dry and bulk commodities including Coal, Iron Ore, Fertilizer, Limestone, Bauxite, Sugar, Alumina, and Steel. GPL is the gateway port for a hinterland spread over 8 states across eastern, southern and central India. GPL will benefit from APSEZ’s pan-India footprint, logistics integration, customer centric philosophy, operational efficiencies and strong balance sheet to deliver a combination of high growth by enhancing market share and add additional cargo types and improved margins and returns. In FY20, GPL had a cargo volume of 34.5 MMT, revenue of Rs. 1,082 crore, EBITDA of Rs. 634 crore (59% margin) and PAT of Rs. 516 crore GPL is debt free with a cash balance of over …

Mentioning the commissioning of a dedicated freight corridor, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), reports that India’s logistics sector looks stable in financial year 2021-22 as a recovering economy builds demand. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was among ports that reported resilient volumes in FY21. Ind-Ra estimates an 8 per cent year-on-year improvement in volumes for Indian ports in FY22, compared to an estimated 4 per cent year-on-year decline in FY21. The 8 per cent year-on-year rise will be led by private ports, which in five years have displayed a median multiplier (vs real GDP growth rate) of 1.4x, thus outperforming growth from major ports. India’s ports volumes closely follow the country’s GDP growth, with container growth coming in 2x of overall cargo volumes. For inland container depot/container freight station operators, Ind-Ra forecasts a healthy pickup in volumes though competition remains intense and realisations remain soft. The reduced dwell time after the commissioning of Dedicated Freight Corridor and increased double stacking volume will support higher operating efficiencies, which is likely to support EBITDA margins in FY22-FY23. For warehouses, Goods and Services Tax led consolidation and rationalisation of occupancy rates could continue in FY22.

According to ports’ apex body the Indian Ports Association (IPA), India’s top-12 ports witnessed considerable decline in cargo traffic for the 11th straight month in February to 600.62 million tonnes (MT). Cargo traffic at 12 major ports that are under the control of the Centre dropped by 6.61 per cent to 600.62 million tonnes (MT) during April-February this fiscal, compared with 643.10 MT in the year-ago period, IPA said in its latest report. All ports, barring Paradip and Mormugao — which recorded 0.27 per cent and 30.93 per cent increase in cargo handling to 102.90 MT and 19.28 MT respectively, saw negative growth. Cargo handling at Kamrajar Port (Ennore) nosedived 23.29 per cent during April-February to 22.23 MT, while ports like Mumbai and VO Chidambaranar saw their cargo volumes dropping by over 12 per cent during the said period. Cochin and Chennai ports suffered a sharp decline of about 10 per cent. JNPT saw a decline of 8.06 per cent in cargo volumes, while Deendayal Port Trust and Kolkata ports logged an over 6 per cent drop in cargo volume. Cargo handling at New Mangalore and Visakhapatnam slipped 5.30 per cent and 4.87 per cent, respectively. India has 12 major ports under the control of the central government — Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), VO Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia). In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, sharp declines were witnessed in the handling of containers, coal and POL (petroleum, oil and lubricant), among other commodities. These ports handle about 61 per cent of the country’s total cargo traffic. They handled 705 MT of cargo last fiscal. Ports, Shipping and …

India has supplied the second shipment of equipment to Chabahar port in Iran. “Continuing with our commitment to develop Chabahar Port, second shipment of equipment reaches Shahid Behesti Terminal,” informs, Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Ports Shipping and Waterways, Government of India, in a tweet. In January, India had supplied a consignment of two mobile harbour cranes to the Chabahar port, having a total contract value of over US$ 25 million. Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran’s southern coast, the port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties. Last month, Ports, Waterways and Shipping (MoPWS) Additional Secretary Sanjay Bandopadhyaya had said two more cranes are standing for loading near the port near Venice, which will reach by March-end to the Chabahar port. He had said two more cranes will be supplied to the port by June-end. Bandopadhyaya said after mobile harbour cranes are delivered, there are plans to procure rail-mounted cranes for which bidding is going on. Till January 31, 2021, about 123 vessels had berthed at the terminal and approximately 13,752 TEUs and 18 lakh tonnes of bulk/ general cargo had been handled there. The bilateral contract between Iran and India was signed on May 23, 2016 with a total value of US$ 85 million ‎for equipping, mechanising and starting operations at the port under the first phase. In this regard, a special purpose vehicle — India Ports Global (IPGL), Mumbai — was incorporated under the shipping ministry.

For Indian trade, 2020 was a year dominated by unprecedented challenges, irregular manufacturing and buying patterns, disrupted trade environments and lack of predictability. With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the world in a staggered manner and in varying proportions, the impact on containerised trade was felt the most in Q2 / 2020 when exports contracted by 34%. As societies began to find ways to coexist with COVID-19, trade started recovering in the second half. Exports ramped up sharply in Q3, not only recovering from Q2 slump, but even increased by 14% year on year, however the economic impact on consumers led to substantially lower imports, which dropped by 28% as compared to the same period of 2019. The last quarter of the year showed growth in both imports and exports, thus making solid strides towards returning to normalcy. Demand for Indian exports across multiple categories continues to remain exceptionally strong, much of it driven by consumer demand in North America and Europe. Steve Felder, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia, said “Despite unprecedented challenging conditions, stakeholders across supply chains – from manufacturers to consumers, from Government bodies to logistics enablers – all stood up cautiously to fight the pandemic. Without the contribution from all the moving parts in the complex machinery of global trade, the path back to normalcy would not have been possible.”