Category Archives: Shipping

Maersk Line has added Pipavav as an additional port of call for its ME1 service. The ME1 will now have three gateway ports, Pipavav in addition to Nhava Sheva and Mundra. With the Maersk Group strategically placed at Pipavav, there would be no impact on the transit time. This will be beneficial for the customers in northern India as they will have more options to route their ICD cargo to and from North Europe, Mediterranean and West Africa. Franck Dedenis, Managing Director, Maersk Line (India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) said, “We continue to work towards creating a more efficient business environment. This addition is a part of our continued efforts to provide enhanced global footprints for our customers. With no impact on the transit time, the customers can look forward to a refined supply chain”

APM Terminals Pipavav has reached a milestone of 100,000 automobiles handled at the port’s Roll On-Roll Off (Ro/Ro) facility, 20 months after commencing auto-loading and discharging operations. Ro/Ro services were introduced at the port in August 2015, after NYK Auto Logistics India (NALI) invested in a state-of-the art stock yard and pre-delivery inspection facility. With USD $3 billion investment expected by automobiles companies in Gujarat by 2020, more than two million passenger vehicles are projected to be produced in the region in the next five to six years. Most of the manufacturing in Gujarat is for the Indian export market. “With the Indian government’s “Make in India” initiative, we have seen a surge in automotive manufacturing investment in the Sanand, Hansalpur and Vithalapur belt in Gujarat, and our modern and efficient Ro/Ro facility can play a major role in India’s emergence as a major automotive exporter” said, Keld Pedersen, Managing Director, APM Terminals.

Gateway Distriparks announced the fifth rail linked container terminal of its subsidiary, The company at Viramgam near Ahmedabad has been notified by Western Railway for handling container traffic. The terminal will be a double stack switching hub for the company on the North – West trade route. Gateway Rail has invested over Rs. 100 crores on infrastructure with an ICD facility at this terminal over 35 acres of land. The Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) of Government of India has already cleared the Inland Container Depot at this terminal. Sachin Bhanushali, Director & CEO, Gateway Rail, said “This Terminal will cater to the needs of the Gujarat region, specifically addressing the EXIM business of Ahmedabad, Sanand, Mehsana and Behchraji industrial area offering multimodal logistics services such as rail transportation, first and last mile road transportation, warehousing and clearance of international containerised cargo.”

Maersk Line has announced key offerings for the NCR region that are aimed at enabling and facilitating trade. These offerings namely, introducing end-to-end carrier haulage for rice exports, bringing reefer imports to the northern hinterland, introducing import store door service are an industry first. Franck Dedenis, Managing Director, Maersk Line (India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) said, “Our role is to simplify and enable trade through our increased service offerings and constant innovation to help our customers. This is in line with our belief of enabling the India growth story by providing customers with a reliable, cost-effective and viable logistical solution.”

The commencement of International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) will be flagged off by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on April 13 from Mumbai. The beginning of multimodal transport services between India, Iran and CIS countries from April this year has been jointly promoted by the Ministry of commerce, export organisations and FFFAI. Sunil Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India informed, “To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia the Prime Minister would flag off the first containerised shipment, to be transported via INSTC route. This route links India and Central Asia and Russia via Iran by saving significant amount of time.”

Samir J Shah, Chairman, FFFAI believes, “The recent bold steps from the government pertaining to fiscal discipline, restructuring of tax regime, capacity building through setting up of appropriate infrastructure and connectivity have further been strengthened by the Budge 2017-18 announcements. For instance, budgetary allocation of Rs 2,41,387 crore for multimodal transportation sector, increase of allocation for highways from Rs 57,976 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 64,900 crore for 2017-18, identifying 2,000 kms of coastal connectivity roads for construction and development, more emphasis on agro- based produces through NABARD and appropriate logistics facilities for them, emphasis on MSME sector, port connectivity, Greenfield ports, airports in Tier-II & Tier-III cities through PPP mode, logistics parks, etc would have long-term and significant effects on India’s manufacturing and merchandise trade.” “Remarkably, the finance minister has announced the government’s decision to set up 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes across the country. For these, Rs 1,700 crore has been allotted for FY 2017-18. This highlights the government’s firm commitments towards adding value to capacity building in a larger perspective. FFFAI, in its pre-Budget memorandum had urged the Finance Ministry to address the micro issues related customs clearance. We are optimistic that the finance minister’s commitments on ease of doing business would resolve those in the days to come,” he states.

Prakash Tulsiani, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, Allcargo Logistics, wishes, “While there is a wish list of reforms that the sector deserves, a few points need to be considered on priority. At the outset, GST implementation is key for ease in movement of goods in the domestic market, the benefits of which are well discussed in the recent past. Secondly, focus on provisioning for infrastructure development, including better transportation system that will improve business efficiencies, thereby benefiting the sector immensely. The government should also look at fast tracking approvals for new infrastructure projects to boost foreign investors’ confidence.” “The government should consider giving tax benefits for capital intensive infrastructure. The development of logistics parks across the country for speedy delivery is also the need of the hour. Logistics parks will help provide services and facilities to reduce costs, boost efficiency and improve the flow of both raw material procurement and finished goods. The sector is also in need of skilled labour. The government should look at allocating funds for education and skill development in this area as this will be of great help to all logistics players,” he continues. “With the current demonetisation move, the industry and the common man at large have high expectations of lowering tax rates and reviving positive sentiments in the economy. Besides, it would be interesting to see what the budget has in store to boost the manufacturing sector and pump up the rural economy. Reforms in this direction are a ready welcome for the logistics industry,” stresses Tulsiani.

Chander Agarwal, Managing Director, TCIEXPRESS, shares, “Timely implementation of GST would result in absorption of various taxes involved in transportation of goods and services and will increase efficiency in our operations. Last year, Rs 2.31 lakh crore was announced to be invested in infrastructure, which shows the importance of upgrading infrastructure. Hence, will look forward to some emphasis on improving the infrastructure this year as well as it is a boon not only for express delivery players but many industries. Thirdly, with the recent implementation of demonetisation, the industry is moving towards a digital and cashless mode of transaction. Hence, more incentives for every cashless transaction are expected. This will motivate increased adoption towards technology. Lastly, it will be interesting to look forward to more schemes under Make in India, Skill India, and Digital India initiatives.”

At least six new mega ports have been cleared to be built under the ambitious Sagarmala Project, taken up by the Ministry of Shipping. The National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the much talked about project envisions these new infrastructural facilities as part of its multi-pronged strategy to enhance India’s cargo handling capacity. The Ministry of Shipping’s project, that aims to modernise India’s ports, is estimated to save up to Rs 40,000 crore per year spent on logistics by key industries. The new ports will also boost up coastal shipping, thus decreasing the dependence on transportation through railways and roadways. This is likely to cut down the inland transportation costs by up to 80 percent. Presently the country has 12 major ports.

As per Maersk Line, India maintained its strong trading position with the United Kingdom (UK) registering a 6 per cent year on year growth in EXIM container trade volumes for the first half of 2016. This despite a 2 per cent decline in the UK’s EXIM container trade volumes with the rest of the world during the same period. The full year container trade volume growth forecast for 2016 is expected to slightly lower at four to five per cent, but better than the three per cent growth witnessed in 2015. In terms of overall trade, India ranks 3rd on EXIM trade volumes with the UK with a share of six per cent behind China (38 per cent) and USA (8 per cent).