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News on Shipping
P&O
seeks parity in vessel charges with Tuticorin P&O Ports,
which operates the Chennai Container Terminal, has reportedly
sought the assistance of Chennai Port Trust (CPT) authorities
to meet its contractual obligations for bringing in mainline vessels
to the container terminal within the three-year deadline set by
the Union Government. Piqued at the slow pace at which the Port
Trust is tackling outstanding issues, P&O Ports has urged port
authority to resolve issues expeditiously so that it can market
the port. P&O wants the Port Trust to declare a flat vessel-related
charge for mainline vessels, on par with Colombo and Tuticorin
ports. It wants this charge to be on par with Tuticorin Port Trust,
which charges flat rate of $15,000 per call for mainline vessels.
The container terminal at Tuticorin is operated by Sical-PSA combine.
The P&O also wants improvements in rail connectivity of the port,
especially lowering of the Concor rates, which it says is exorbitant.
Chemplast
set to demerge shipping Chemplast
Sanmar Ltd. has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that
it intends to "consider a scheme to demerge the shipping
business of the company". Chemplast Sanmar holds 50 per cent
of the equity of Sanmar Shipping Ltd, which was created a couple
of years ago by hiving off the shipping division of Chemplast.
This 50 per cent stake is held through Polygon Holdings Ltd, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Chemplast.
US
Customs 24-hour rule from February 2 The World
Shipping Council has strongly recommended that all carriers, shippers
and marine terminals handling US-bound cargoes should be prepared
for the enforcement of the US Customs Service 24-hour rule, which
comes into effect on February 2. The council has noted that the
penalties for non-compliance could be heavy. The mandatory items
the US Customs will be looking for when shippers submit manifests
include proper cargo descriptions as opposed to previously acceptable
"said to contain" or "consolidated shipment". Most important,
the declarations must be filed 24 hours before a US-bound ship
is loaded prior to departing from a non-US port. The council has
reminded NVOCCs that they must file cargo manifests by becoming
Automated Manifest Members themselves or filing directly with
US Customs. While seeking greater clarity on certain aspects of
the 24-hour rule in the coming weeks, the council has urged the
US Customs not to penalise parties, who are seriously trying to
comply with the new rules but are unable to do so due to genuine
reasons.
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News on Ports
Vizag
port may review oil transshipment rates The Visakhapatnam
Port Trust (VPT) is considering a proposal for reviewing the wharfage
on transshipment of oil traffic. The review has become necessary
in view of the partial shifting of the traffic to the neighboring
Kakinada port as well as Kolkata port, which has started handling
huge crude carriers, including ultra large crude carriers (ULCCs),
at the Sandheads for transshipment to various ports. In 2001-02,
VPT handled 18 million tonnes of oil traffic, 50 per cent of which
was for transshipment, mainly for Haldia. If the present trend
is any indication, the port's total transshipment oil traffic
in 2002-03 might not exceed 7.5 million tonnes, or an estimated
shortfall of 1.5 mt compared to last year. Till now, the throughput
has been 6.5 mt. VPT has taken up the matter with the Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC), promising matching rates.
Paradip
seeks to handle coal for TNEB With
improved productivity in its mechanized coal handling facility,
the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) is considering reviving its demand
for diverting the entire thermal coal traffic to Paradip port,
currently being handled by the Visakhapatnam port for the Tamil
Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). Visakhapatnam port currently handles
an estimated two-lakh tonnes of thermal coal a month for TNEB.
PPT had earlier urged the Centre to initiate measures for such
diversion as a means to better capacity utilisation of the mechanized
coal facility built at a huge investment with part funding by
the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The coal handling at the port
has capacity for handling 20 million tonnes annually or roughly
1.7 million tonnes a month equivalent of 17 rakes a day on an
average. However, the average throughput of the plant till recently
was a meagre six rakes a day or roughly six lakh tonnes a month,
sometimes even less.
Mandatory
registration for agents recruiting Indian seamen The government
has made it mandatory for all agents involved in the recruitment
of Indian seamen to register with Director General of Shipping
in a bid to prevent exploitation of seamen by fly-by-night agents.
The agents will have to pay a registration fee and will have to
fulfill certain conditions. The new measure follows an amendment
to the Merchant Shipping Act. India is a major market for supply
of trained seamen and over 16,000 seamen (ratings) and 7,000 officers
from India are presently employed on foreign ships. The regulation
is mainly to curb illegal operators and which in turn will help
genuine operators do their business better. Recruitment agencies
are regulated in other countries such as the Philippines, which
is another major market for seafarers.
Kochi
3Q cargo handling up by 14 pc The Kochi
port's cargo handling in the third quarter of the fiscal has gone
up to 9.8 million tonnes from 8.6 million tonnes in the same period
last year up 13.93 per cent. Coal imports through the port had
more than doubled, notching up 1,48,796 tonnes (62,455 tonnes).
The port handled 5.9 million tonnes of crude during the period
under review, recording a growth of 0.9 million tonnes.
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JNP
awaiting environmental nod for dredging work The Jawaharlal
Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) is preparing to start work on the massive
dredging scheme involving removal of about 40 million cubic metres
of material at an estimated investment of more than Rs. 700 crore
in 2003-04. A spokesperson for the port is quoted as saying that
port was only waiting for the environmental clearance of the project
to start work. The dredging project is expected to increase the
draught in the dock basin to 13.5 metres from the present 12.5
metres, which will facilitate the movement of mainline container
vessels through the port.
Sea
King to bid for JNPT box terminal Sea King
Infrastructure Ltd, promoters of Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd (GPPL)
and a special economic zone (SEZ) in Maharashtra, will bid for
the new box terminal facility proposed to be developed by the
Union Government at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). The company
plans to bid for the JNPT project in partnership with the US-based
engineering major, Parsons Brinckerhoff. About eight bidders are
believed to have submitted their request for qualification (RFQ)
documents by the deadline set by the JNPT for January 15. These
include CSX Corporation, AP Moeller Group, PSA Corporation, Dubai
Ports Authority, Hutchison Port Holdings-West Port of Malaysia
and Evergreen-Marubeni-JM Baxi consortium. The SEZ, proposed by
Sea King was originally planned at Positra in Gujarat but has
been now shifted to a site close to Raigad district in Maharashtra,
for which the promoters have received requisite approvals from
the Union and the State Governments.
MMB
not to dredge in state minor ports The Maharashtra
Maritime Board (MMB) has decided not to take up any further investments
in dredging of minor ports in the State. The board has decided
that henceforth, the cost of dredging will have to be borne by
the promoters of the ports themselves under Build-Own-Operate-Share
and Transfer (BOOST) model of contracts. The MMB stance is likely
to impact two private promoters of two minor ports - Rewas-Aware
and Dighi port in the State, who will now be required to mobilize
the required funds themselves to undertake necessary dredging.
Earlier, MMB had spent nearly Rs 13 crore to dredge 18 lakh cum
at Dharamtar, a minor port used by several private firms.
P&O
Ports (Australia) petition for JNPT terminal dismissed Mumbai
High Court has dismissed the petition filed by P&O Ports (Australia)
challenging the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT)'s decision
not to allow it to bid for the second container terminal at the
port. The JN PT had debarred P&O from bidding for the new
terminal because it already operates a terminal at the port, and
handles over 40 per cent of the total container traffic. The decision
was based on the general policy that disinvestments or privatisation
should not result in creation of private monopoly in the port
services sector. The court is yet to give its written order. The
court has reportedly taken the view that it does not have jurisdiction
to adjudicate over the Central government's decision, as the Government
is entitled to frame its policy. P&O Ports is however, preparing
to file an appeal before the Supreme Court. P&O Ports in its
petition had alleged that discrimination under Article 14 of the
Constitution and the ban was an infringement of its right to carry
on business under Article 19 of the Constitution.
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MoD
clears objections to the Vallarpadam project The Ministry
of Defence (MoD) has reportedly cleared its objections to the
Vallarpadam Container Transshipment Terminal to be set up besides
the Cochin Port. In a statement, Dr. Jacob Thomas, chairman of
Cochin Port Trust (CPT) has said that MoD clearance will enable
the new terminal to erect the latest of the new generation super
post Panamax cranes at the site and enable quick and efficient
handling of bulk-sized cargo and equipment. To suit the changing
requirements of the world-class transshipment terminal, the clearance
will also enable it to erect cranes of 120-metre height as the
needs and requirements of the international bulk shipping community
change. The Indian Navy had raised concerns over the erection
of tall cranes in the vicinity of the Cochin Naval Base, pointing
out that it could prove a hindrance to the landing and take-off
of naval aircrafts. The issue had to be subsequently sorted out
between the Ministry of Defense and Surface Transport in New Delhi.
News on Shipyard
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