Category Archives: Shipping

To facilitate assessment of containers requirement as well its fulfilment, FIEO has developed a first level marketplace wherein exporters can post their container demands online. The e-module will help in ground level assessment of containers required in the country while simultaneously enabling the exporting community to negotiate competitive quotes for their requirements. The web link has been made live and exporters across the country have started posting their container requirement for various origin-destination pairs. The containers requirement uploaded through the e-module are also made visible to shipping lines, freight forwarders or others so that they can express their interest to fulfil such demands. This will also help them to better assess the demand of containers in the country so as to meet it with repositioning of containers or bringing empties. The e-module will also address the issue of container shortage reported by exporters, affecting their shipments and pulling down country’s exports and claims made by shipping lines that they are fully equipped to provide containers between 1-3 days at all locations for all destinations except for few destinations in Africa as congestions and berthing of ships at these destinations is taking 8-10 days’ time.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the Ministry of Ports and Shipping of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, acting on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, pursuant to approval from the Sri Lankan Cabinet of Ministers for the development and operations of West Container Terminal (WCT) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. APSEZ will partner with John Keells Holdings PLC, Sri Lanka’s largest diversified conglomerate, and with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) as a part of the consortium awarded this mandate. The WCT will be developed on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis for a period of 35 years as a public-private partnership. WCT will have a quay length of 1400 meters and alongside depth of 20 meters, thereby making it a prime transhipment cargo destination to handle Ultra Large Container Carriers. The project is expected to boost WCT’s container handling capacity and further consolidate Sri Lanka’s locational advantage as one of the world’s top strategic nodes along the busiest global transhipment route. The Colombo Port is already the most preferred regional hub for transhipment of Indian containers and mainline ship operators with 45 per cent of Colombo’s transhipment volumes either originating from or destined to an Adani port terminal in India. The network impact of this partnership is significant and expected to be mutually benefitted from the string of 7 container terminals across its 12 ports that Adani operates along the Indian coastline handling an annual volume of over 6 million TEUs. This partnership will multiply and accelerate the transhipment options that will become available to serve various shipping lines and other potential port customers across the …

project44 has announced that it has acquired Ocean Insights to expand its ocean solution by adding the broadest container tracking capabilities in the market, as well as one-of-a-kind sailing schedule and ocean analytics products; terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Combining Ocean Insights’ tracking and analytics with the project44 platform and ecosystem establishes project44 as the clear market leader with an unrivaled set of multi-modal solutions for end-to-end supply chain visibility. Surging global trade since the outset of the pandemic has resulted in massive disruptions in the global supply chain. Since March 2020, freight rates increased by as much as 174 per cent due to the increased global demand for electronics, PPE goods and stay-at-home consumer products. At the same time, COVID-19 and other restrictions have caused significant port congestions, and rollover percentages have never been higher. To meet these global challenges and build resilience, supply chain leaders are adopting global freight visibility and digitalisation. Headquartered in Germany and founded in 2012, Ocean Insights pioneered ocean freight visibility by combining carrier data, live vessel tracking and sailing schedule data in one data-rich platform. Tracking 350,000 containers daily, Ocean Insights provides track and trace functionality across the vast majority of shipping lines, 700 seaports, and more than 5,000 vessels as well as handling over five million sailing schedule changes per day. “Ocean freight is a linchpin for global supply chains. For organisations shipping internationally, the lack of ocean visibility can start a costly domino effect throughout the supply chain,” said Jett McCandless, Founder and CEO of project44. “Ocean Insights has dominated the container tracking space and we look forward to providing the industry not only the best ocean capabilities, but …

DP World and CMA CGM jointly received their maiden Block Train from Mundra, Gujarat to DP World PFT (ICD) Panipat, Haryana. This new service is the first block train by a shipping line between Mundra and Panipat. The fully loaded 90-TEU train was flagged off from Mundra port on February 27, 2021. The service was received in the presence of representatives from DP World and CMA CGM India. The dedicated connections between the Port of Mundra and the inland container depot of Panipat will provide dedicated and seamless connection from Mundra Port to PFT (ICD) Panipat, thereby, making customers’ cargo reach internal markets faster. With priority rail out option and fixed train schedule, customers will be able to minimise waiting time at the Port as well as plan their cargo movements effectively. Train will depart Mundra Port on Saturday/Sunday. Ranadhir Reddy, CEO, Rail & PFT, Subcontinent, DP World said, “At DP World, it is our constant endeavors to offer bespoke solutions to our customers to solve their supply chain challenges and support their strategic growth ambitions. Our pan India network provides seamless connectivity that helps customers connect their cargo to global markets as well as across India’s vast hinterland. Through our investments, we are committed to enhance India’s rail freight share and offer trade solutions using multimodal logistics.” Atit Mahajan, General Manager, CMA CGM India, declares, “We are pleased to be the first shipping line to offer a block train service between Mundra and Panipat in collaboration with DP World. This service is the 10th dedicated block train service being operated by the CMA CGM Group in India. This service will provide a dedicated and direct loop from port to …

The Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) is acquiring the 31.5 per cent stake held by Windy Lakeside Investment (an affiliate of Warburg Pincus) in Gangavaram Port (GPL). The acquisition is valued at Rs 1,954 crore and subject to regulatory approvals. 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, multi-purpose 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. GPL 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, western, southern and central India. In FY20, GPL had a cargo volume of 34.5 MMT, generated revenue of INR 1,082 crore, EBITDA of INR 634 crore (margin of 59%) and PAT of Rs 516 crore GPL is debt free with cash balance of over INR 500 crore. The Company has a paid up equity share capital of 51.7 crore shares of which 58.1% is owned by DVS Raju and Family (Promoter), 10.4% by Government of Andhra Pradesh and 31.5% by Warburg Pincus. APSEZ is acquiring the Warburg Pincus stake of ~16.3 crore shares (31.5%) at Rs 120/share which works out to a consideration of Rs 1,954 crore. …

Railways undertook a successful trial run of double stacked dwarf container train from Mehsana (Gujarat) to JN Port on March 3, 2021. The ‘dwarf’ containers provides 67 per cent increase in volume when double-stacked and can carry a weight of 71 tons, against 40 tons by an ISO container. Indian Railways has given 17 per cent discount on haulage cost for double stack dwarf container trains compared to double stack ISO container trains coupled with additional volume benefit. JN Port is in the process of finalising an Operator for “Management, Maintenance and Operation of Dedicated Dwarf Container Depot (D-Depot) inside the Port area at JNPT”. Inside the D-Depot, ISO EXIM containers will be destuffed/restuffed and then re-stuffed in Dwarf Containers for further movement on rail to and from JN Port. The train with five wagons of double stacked dwarf containers arrived at 11:30 hours and departed at 13:00 hours. The concept of Dwarf container would be game changer as the rail movement of EXIM cargo through double stacked dwarf containers would significantly provide cost advantage to the customers and enhance rail traffic at JN Port.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited the world to come to India and be a part of India’s growth trajectory. India is very serious about growing in the maritime sector and emerging as a leading Blue Economy of the world. Through the focus areas of upgradation of infrastructure, boosting reform journey, India aims to strengthen the vision of Aatamnirbhar Bharat, he said. Prime Minister has inaugurated the ‘Maritime India Summit 2021’ through video conferencing. He noted that instead of a piecemeal approach focus is on the entire sector as one. He informed that capacity of major ports have increased from 870 million tonnes in 2014 to 1550 million tonnes now. Indian ports now have measures such as Direct port Delivery, Direct Port Entry and an upgraded Port Community System (PCS) for easy data flow. Our ports have reduced waiting time for inbound and outbound cargo. He also informed that mega ports with world class infrastructure are being developed in Vadhavan, Paradip and Deendayal Port in Kandla. The Prime Minister asserted that “Ours is a Government that is investing in waterways in a way that was never seen before. Domestic waterways are found to be cost effective and environment friendly ways of transporting freight. We aim to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030.” He also pointed out that India has as many as 189 lighthouses across its vast coastline. “We have drawn up a programme for developing tourism in the land adjacent to 78 lighthouses. The key objective of this initiative is to enhance development of the existing lighthouses and its surrounding areas into unique maritime tourism landmarks”, Shri Modi informed. He announced that steps are also being taken to introduce urban …

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has signed over 30 MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with potential investors for port projects, technology transfer and development of plots in JNPT SEZ for an amount of around Rs27000 crore. The MoU was signed by Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT in presence of Unmesh Wagh, IRS, Deputy Chairman, JNPT. The investments by DP World, JM Baxi & Co., Ganesh Benzo, BPCL, NITIE, SS G Pharma, Sooraj Agro, JWR Logistic, Cineline India are some of the companies that have signed MoUs towards Manufacturing, IT services, Warehousing/Cold Storage, FTWZ, Pharma, Confectionary Manufacturing, Engineering Services, Food Processing. Speaking on the occasion, Sethi said, “JNPT is dedicated towards setting quality benchmarks for the port industry across the globe and we have systematically invested in improving the port’s operating efficiency and handling capacity to enable seamless trade escalating its growth trajectory. We have signed over 30 MoUs with various companies at the ‘Maritime India summit’. This will help establish JNPT as one of the premier investment destinations in the country, as we continue to remain an attractive investment destination even after the impact of COVID -19 across the globe. Even during these trying times, JNPT has attracted around Rs27,000 crore worth of new investments. The signing of the MoUs will provide vast employment opportunities and various benefits to the EXIM Trade. Additionally, this will open opportunities within India and in the international coastal lines.”

Deendayal Port, one of the 12 major ports in the country has crossed the 100 million tonne mark in cargo handling. Mansukh Mandaviya Ports, Union Minister of Shipping and Waterways termed it a significant indication that the economy is bouncing back to pre-COVID times. “Deendayal Port Trust, one of the 12 Major Ports of India, has crossed 100 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) in cargo handling. Deendayal Port, erstwhile known as Kandla Port, is situated in Kutch, Gujarat,” Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said in a statement. The port handled 13.25 MMT of liquid cargo and 43.76 MMT of dry cargo & containers at Kandla. It also handled 43.30 MMT at Vadinar (which includes transhipment), the containerised cargo crossed 4.50 lakh TEU during this period, grossing a total of 100 MMT overall. Major commodities handled by the Deendayal Port are crude oil, petroleum products, coal, salt, edible oil, fertilizer, sugar, timber, soya bean and wheat. The achievement can be attributed to the user-friendly approach of port with the shipping fraternity / stakeholders and constant consultations with them to improve ease of doing business.

DP World operated International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Cochin has completed 10 glorious years as partner in India’s trade growth. This milestone comes with the terminal achieving its all-time highest monthly throughput of more than 70,000 TEUs in January 2021, registering a 36% Year-on-Year growth over January 2020. ICTT is India’s first transshipment hub strategically located in close proximity to major global east-west trade routes. Since inception, the terminal has handled 4.68 million TEUs and 5,661 vessel calls including 1,858 Mainline vessel calls. In 2020, despite major business disruptions, DP World Cochin handled 6.31 lakh TEUs, registering marginal decline of -0.35% over 2019 volumes while South India market collectively registered an average degrowth of -11.2%. ICTT has played a key role in making Cochin a strategic hub to enhance trade in the South India Region. The terminal provides fast and reliable connectivity to hinterland through multimodal transportation including rail and inland waterways. Cargoes from all industrial clusters in Kerala and the major ones in Tamil Nadu (like Coimbatore, Pollachi and other hubs) can reach the terminal within six hours. In 2020, DP World Cochin launched a direct weekly rail connection to Bangalore. This resulted in an impressive five-fold increase in rail volumes. DP World Cochin offers various direct connections to Europe, the Mediterranean, the Fareast, South East Asia and the Middle East. Thereby, providing reduced transit time, cost and reliable reach to global markets. In 2020, the terminal handled 42 per cent of EXIM cargo on mainline vessels positioning Cochin as port of choice for customers. The terminal continues to be highly efficient and productive with truck turnaround time at an average of 27 minutes, and an average Gross …