Category Archives: Shipping

JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) has inaugurated its new Container Terminal Data Centre equipped with the state–of-the-art technical infrastructure. It is a significant move towards seamless integration of technology into port operations, in order to be a future ready port. The port is constantly looking at enhancing their operational efficiency to provide quality service and ease of doing business for the EXIM community. Sanjay Sethi, Chairman, JNPT, said, “It is imperative for ports to integrate new technology trends and automation into their processes to stay relevant and connected in this digitalised global business environment. But the backbone of these automated services is a robust and efficient data system network providing real time data-support and enhancing the operational efficiency. Our new Container Terminal Data Centre will also play the same role in our port modernisation and digitalisation of services, which will not only benefit the EXIM community but also drive our next phase of transformation.”

Bahri, the leading direct, full-liner service provider from US East and Gulf Coast ports and Canada to Jeddah, Dubai, Dammam and Mumbai (including way-port calls along the liner service route in the Mediterranean and Europe), has announced the expansion of its market presence in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region’s maritime industry. The stronger presence will help the company gain deeper insights into market trends as well as customer needs in chemicals and logistics sectors in Singapore and the wider APAC region. The expansion will also enable Bahri Logistics and Bahri Chemicals, two of five business units of the company, to market their offerings, acquire new clients, serve existing clients, and channelise communications. The company also plans to expand the services of its other business units to the APAC region in the future. Bahri’s global network of destinations already includes ports in China, India, Singapore, and South Korea.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) registered an all-time high in bulk cargo throughput, touching 8.5 million tonnes (MT) in 2018-19. This was a 5.58 per cent increase over 2017-18. JNPT’s overall throughput was over 70 MT in the just-concluded fiscal, inclusive of bulk and liquid. Meanwhile, in its core competency, the port ended FY2018-19 on a high note by handling 5.13 million TEUs, which also included 4.71 lakh TEUs in March 2019, the highest in a month. It had handled 4.83 million TEUs in 2017-18. As part of its effort to automate procedures and digitalise processes, JNPT has also discontinued manual Form 13 and Form 11, and now has e-versions. It also has RFID-enabled gate automation systems in order to provide faster and efficient entry and exit for container trucks. The port plans to further enhance efficiency with the addition of three mobile scanners and a drive-through scanner equipped with the latest technology.

Maersk Trade Finance has announced its global loan disbursement projection of US $500 million for the year 2019 with US$ 200 million target for India. The company has disbursed a total of US $0.7 billion globally, till date, since its inception in 2015, with over 150 million in India in the year 2018, a 53 per cent Y-o-Y increase as compared to 2017. Vipul Sardana, Global Head, Maersk Trade Finance, said, “Indian Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) sector continues to play a significant role in India’s economic development. As the sector is gearing up for its digital transformation, the rapid technological advances are putting trade finance in the spotlight and playing a significant role in changing the way global supply-chains are managed and monitored.”

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) has inaugurated its first distribution logistics centre at Ennore, Chennai. This is the existing facility of NOR Infrastructure, which has been selected as the company’s partner for Distribution Logistics Facility at Ennore, Chennai. The first-of-its-kind facility will act as a fulfilment centre for the customers of different manufacturers and importers. CONCOR is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Indian Railways, which was incorporated in March 1988 under the Companies Act and commenced operation from November 1989, taking over the existing network of seven ICDs from the Indian Railways.

Navayuga Container Terminal (NCT) reached an important milestone by handling 500,000 TEUs for the first time in 2018-19. The half-millionth TEU was handled on vessel MV SSL Kutch. NCT witnessed stellar volume growth of almost nine-fold increase in the five-year period starting from a modest 58,577 TEUs in FY 2013-14. Anil Yendluri, Director & CEO, Krishnapatnam Port, said, “NCT has taken giant strides in getting established as a transhipment hub on the East Coast of India and we are working towards making it the hub port in the Bay of Bengal.” Jithendra Nimmagadda, Chief Operating Officer, NCT, added, “We are further expanding our terminal capacity from 1.2 million TEUs to 2 million TEUs by the end of 2019 to be ahead of the demand.”

The country’s first Multi-Skill Development Center (MSDC) in maritime logistics was launched by Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation, at Bokadveera, Uran near JNPT, over video-conference from New Delhi. Allcargo Logistics will play a key role in overseeing the operations, maintenance, and management of the MSDC. The center is a collaborative initiative of the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) which has been set up under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) programme to boost the efficiencies of maritime logistics in the country. “The youth living in the vicinity of ports need to be imparted with specific skill sets to boost their employment prospects in the country’s maritime trade sector. The MSDC is a reiteration of the government’s commitment to boost maritime logistics in the country under the ambitious Sagarmala programme,” stated Gadkari. “The logistics sector in the country is growing at an exponential pace and will require highly skilled manpower to run operations across key supply chain verticals. Allcargo is privileged to be associated with the MSDC initiative of the government and remains firmly committed to building the skill competencies of the youth and steering the country’s maritime logistics sector on a higher growth curve,” stated Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman, Allcargo Logistics.

According to the Q4 2018 trade report released by Maersk, India’s containerised trade with the world has grown steadily, recording an overall import-export trade growth of six per cent. Increasing demand for refrigerated cargo from India coupled with improved trade relations with China, with introduction of favourable trade policies, has driven exports to grow a healthy three per cent in Q4. The demand for India-made goods such as vehicles, cereals and rice supplemented by refrigerated cargo such as fish, seafood, vegetables and pharmaceuticals saw maximum growth in exports. Imports maintained a stable growth of nine per cent, largely driven by substantial inflow of metals and paper. Overall, the containerised trade witnessed stable growth withstanding the fluctuations of global trade tensions. Steve Felder, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia, said, “We witnessed a stable trade environment in the last quarter of 2018 due to base effects, weakening demand of goods in China, overall contraction in manufacturing around the world, and the global trade tensions between major economies. The stable growth in trade indicates that the economy has been able to sail through some of these challenges, including the impact of regulatory reforms such as demonetisation and implementation of GST.”

At FFFAI’s ninth Executive Committee meeting in New Delhi, several issues, including the recently-announced national cargo policy, draft logistics policy, recent changes in GST, and trade opportunities between India and Iran, were discussed. Asghar Omidi, Counsellor, Economic Section, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, emphasised on the strategic importance of Chabahar Port in Iran to script the success of the Indo-Iran trade relationship, which has already been enjoying a rich cultural as well as personal relationship of people of the two countries. He pointed out that presently, India is Iran’s sixth trade partner, with $13.10bn in trade, and with support from Indian logistics stakeholders, the bilateral trade can be increased manifold. “The India-Iran bilateral trade can easily reach $20bn in the near future,” he said. Omidi also invited Indian freight forwarders and logistics companies to visit Iran to witness infrastructure facilities, including Chabahar Port, and explore business opportunities. Facilities at Chabahar Port are being developed in association with Government of India and Indian expertise, and the first phase of the port is operational now.

The Indian government has introduced a new transhipment procedure using an electronic cargo tracking system to facilitate the transport of Nepal-bound transit cargo from Kolkata, a significant move that will simplify border formalities, reduce transit time, ensure safety of the consignment, and boost bilateral trade. The first train carrying Nepal-bound transit containers under the new simplified transhipment procedure was flagged off on February 15 by Kolkata Port Trust. According to a press statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs of the Government of India launched such a modality on pilot basis on rail route from Kolkata/Haldia to Birgunj via Raxual Land Customs Station and Biratnagar via Bathnaha Railway Station and Jogbani Land Customs Station.