Category Archives: Shipping

To enhance its customers’ experience and mitigate risks in the current challenging times, DMICDC Logistic Data Services (DLDS) has revamped Logistics Data Bank (LDB) portal. The redesigned LDB portal brings in a well-defined layout and navigation and delivers a visually pleasing platform to its customers. The portal now provides detailed voyage tracking of EXIM containers with end-to-end tracking map view. Earlier the information was provided only for next destination but now detailed information can be accessed about container port of loading and unloading. International location tracking plays a huge part in planning supply chain, and now imported containers can be tracked from the port of loading. Users can do multiple container tracking and group container tracking through a grid console to enable user-friendly engagement. “We did a lot of brainstorming to see how we could help shape the portal and information to better suit those who need it the most. LDB users can now see dwell time of containers at Ports, CFSs, ICDs on a real-time basis. We have also added the feature of gate cut off and expected vessel departure information to enable our customers to plan their daily operations efficiently,” said Surajit Sarkar, COO, DLDS. Speaking about the project update Mr. Ichiro Oshima, CEO DLDS said, “The new portal is designed to empower our customers to mitigate risks in the current challenging times. The interactive map with DPE/DPD and next delivery information will make it easier for users to plan and monitor their operations.”

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) recorded 26.33 per cent decline in consolidated profit to Rs 757.83 crore for April to June quarter due to COVID-19-induced lockdowns. The company had registered a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,028.69 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier. Despite the fall in cargo volumes, Mundra port became the largest container handling port in India by handling 0.97 million TEUs in Q1 FY21, surpassing JNPT volume of 0.85 million. Lockdown measures to tame the spread of COVID-19 resulted in lower import and export, impacting cargo throughput in first quarter of FY21. Its total income declined to Rs 2,749.46 crore for the first quarter, as against Rs 3,216.92 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s total expenses during the quarter under review rose to Rs 1,805.24 crore as compared to Rs 1,796.34 crore in the year-ago period. “In the first quarter of FY21, we were able to perform operationally at par with pre-COVID levels. During this period, we relooked at fundamentals of port operations and realigned costs, thus maintaining Port EBIDTA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margin of 70 per cent,” says, Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director, APSEZ. The company said there has been a steady increase in cargo throughput across the ports from July 2020. During July 2020, APSEZ handled cargo volume of 18.30 MMT, a growth of 6 per cent on year-on-year basis and 31 per cent over June 2020. “This trend gives us confidence that worst is behind us and going forward cargo volume in FY21 is expected to stabilise. Shift from road to rail and increase in services enabled Adani Logistics to achieve …

With an aim to transport millions of tonnes of cargo in a cost-effective manner, the Andhra Pradesh government has requested the Railways to extend its dedicated freight corridor to ports in the state. Mentioning how significant the freight-only corridors could become for goods transport, NP Ramakrishna Reddy, CEO, Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board wrote to the Dedicated Freight Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), requesting its support in the state’s upcoming port development projects. He said the DFC connectivity will act as a catalyst for the overall development of the ports and ensure effective and pollution-free transportation of the cargo, besides being cost-effective. “For this purpose, MoU may be entered into to ensure better coordinated efforts,” he said in the letter, dated August 10. The DFCCIL is presently working on two corridors; Western Corridor and the Eastern Corridor. Four other corridors are proposed. In his letter, Reddy told the DFCCIL that handling of cargoes at all the non-major ports, already developed or under development, in the state is to be done either by road or rail. He said the existing ports have rail links, but DFC connectivity will catalyse the overall development of the ports.

CSP Abu Dhabi has announced the start of a direct, weekly service to several ports across Europe and the Indian Subcontinent. The new direct service will be served by a fleet of eight vessels on rotation, ranging in capacity between 10,000 to 13,000 TEU. Direct exports from Abu Dhabi to the ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg, London, Antwerp, and Le Havre, will consist primarily of polymers while returning vessels will carry a mix of general and project cargo imports. The ports of Karachi, Nhava Sheva, and Mundra will also benefit from the new service. Naser Al Busaeedi, Deputy CEO, CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal, said, “Our new services will significantly increase the movement of cargo exports and imports between Abu Dhabi, Europe and India, providing our customers with solutions to tackle their international shipment needs, as well as the opportunity to target new markets.” Mohamed Eidha Tannaf Al Menhali, Acting Director, Khalifa Port, said, “This new dedicated service marks an important strategic step in Abu Dhabi Ports’ vision to transform Khalifa Port’s end-to-end logistics capability.”

According to the Indian Ports Association (IPA), India’s major ports continued to witness a fall in cargo handling, registering 18.06 per cent dip to 193.38 million tonnes (MT) between April and July this fiscal. Cargo volumes at these 12 major ports under the control of the Centre declined for the fourth straight month in July 2020 and all ports barring Mormugao saw a negative growth. These 12 ports had together handled 236.01 MT of cargo during April-July 2018-19. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, sharp declines were witnessed in handling of containers, coal and POL (petroleum, oil and lubricant) among other commodities. Ports like Chennai, Cochin and Kamrajar saw their cargo volumes nosedive over 30 per cent during April-July, while JNPT and Kolkata suffered a drop of over 20 per cent. 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), V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia). These ports handle about 61 per cent of the country’s total cargo traffic. These ports handled 705 MT of cargo last fiscal. While Chennai port saw 32.53 per cent decline in cargo handling to 11.08 MT, Kamarajar (Ennore) port suffered a drop of 35.64 per cent to 7 MT in April-July, as per IPA data. Cochin Port saw a dip of 32.78 per cent to 7.76 MT during the period. Cargo handling at JNPT port slipped 27.69 per cent to 16.94 MT, while the same at Kolkata declined 26.09 per cent to 16.05 MT. Mumbai port logged a fall of 19.79 per cent to 15.85 MT.

To enhance reliability while building a network that helps customers with more resilient and agile supply chains, A.P. Moller – Maersk announces improvements to its network between Europe and the Middle East & Indian Subcontinent (West Central Asia). The updated network will connect more cargo via the Maersk hub in Colombo (Sri Lanka), allowing customers to do consolidation from different origins and better connect their cargo from both Asia and West Central Asia. Furthermore, by linking Middle East stronger to Maersk key hubs in Europe, the changes provide customers additional flexibility and agility to move cargo between different markets. “To meet changing customer needs, we have reviewed our service network and identified opportunities to create new solutions for how we connect Europe and the Middle East & Indian Subcontinent region. Through increased flexibility and connectivity these changes will offer new, interesting ways for our customers to connect their supply chains both from an import and export perspective,” says Johan Sigsgaard, Head of Europe and Middle East Trades, A.P. Moller – Maersk.

Expressing concern over the high logistics cost in the country, which was 30 per cent more than those in developed nations, Mansukh Mandaviya, Shipping Minister, informs, “The government has initiated multiple steps, including strengthening inland waterways, to reduce high logistics cost. He urged private players to join hands to propel India’s growth. “The government of India has taken a large number of steps to reduce logistics cost in the country in order to fuel growth. These include making a network of inland waterways to transport cargo in a cost-effective manner. We have made 1,400 km of waterways operational. The aim of creating a network of waterways is to reduce logistics costs, boost exports and make the country self-reliant, as per Prime Minister ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative,” Mandaviya said. “It is time that private players join hands with government in PPP (public private partnership) projects including ports to fuel economic growth,” the minister said. He urged private sector companies to come forward for initiatives like indigenous building of cranes for ports which so far were being imported at an annual cost of about Rs 10,000 crore. The shipping ministry has taken initiatives like introducing the ‘PCSIx’ platform to reduce logistics costs. Port community system ‘PCS1x’ is a cloud-based technology that offers services like notification, work-flow and track and trace and it is estimated that this feature alone will reduce up to two days in the life of a transaction. “Inter-ministerial consultations were on to boost multimodal transport in the country. Enhanced focus on waterways has resulted in higher cargo movement on inland waterways as well as the Indo-Bangladesh protocol route which has enabled faster delivery of cargo to north eastern states, including …

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust registered a throughput of 344,316 TEUs in container handling, which is 19% higher as compared to June 2020. The port handled total of 196 vessels and the overall traffic handled in July was 4.85 million tonnes (MT) which is an increase of 19 per cent as against 4.07 MT handled in June 2020. Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT said, “JNPT will continue to extend support for the country’s economic growth and perform its duties to steadfast growth trajectory of the port sector. In July we have seen exports increasing and expect even the imports to get back to normal by the end of this month. There were few ups and downs but we have managed to keep the operations up and running. Also, JNPT is the first port where port-led economic development is evolving successfully and we are confident of attracting leading global companies for investing here at JNPT SEZ.“

Hindustan Infralog Private Limited (HIPL), a joint venture between DP World and National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has announced an investment of Rs 1000 crore in developing its Nhava Sheva Business Park (NSBP) Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Mumbai. NSBP, a Special Purpose Vehicle, is a co-developer for the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) SEZ. The company has signed a lease agreement with JNPT for the project. The FTZ is on a long-term Lease of 60 years, and is located 5 kms away from JNPT. Rizwan Soomar, CEO & MD, DP World Subcontinent, said, “The Free Trade Zone will be ready towards the end of 2021. This investment reinforces DP World’s strategy and commitment to India, and strengthens our integrated logistics portfolio in the country. Alongside DP World’s global network of ports & terminals and inland logistics infrastructure in the region, the FTZ will provide a seamless experience for both domestic and international customers.”

To facilitate container truck movement from one bank to another, the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is weighing the option of constructing a tunnel under the Hooghly River. This move could potentially free city roads of 700-800 trucks daily. Buoyed by the success of underwater tunnelling work for East-West Metro corridor, the KoPT, rechristened as the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, is planning to appoint a consultant to conduct a feasibility study for building a similar structure under the river. Meanwhile, speaking at a seminar organised by CII, Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Centre has waived off waterways charges. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) had levied the waterway usage charges at a rate of Rs 0.02 per gross registered tonnage (GRT) per km for inland cargo ships and Rs 0.05 for cruise vessels on national waterways.