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Volume:I Issue:II September 2018
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Piloting India To Maritime Excellence MARINE LINES • 2018 SEPTEMBER
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From the Editor's Deck MARINELINES Editor-In-Chief Girish Joshi Managing Editor Jaimini Prabhune Associate Editor Naishidhi Anjariya National News Cordinator Abhijit Mukhopadhyay Design & Layout Varsha Pilvaiwala Manager (Marketing) Babu Patel Head Office Marine Lines 3. 2nd Floor, Plot No. 283 Madhuban Tower, 12/B Gandhidham, Kutch, 370201, Gujarat, India email: marinelines2018@gmail.com +91 99095 55416 Mumbai Office 14, Ground Floor, Himalaya House, 79 Palton Road Fort, Mumbai 400001 Contact : +91 98200 03562
Published by Girish Joshi and printed by Print Vision Pvt. Ltd. on behalf of Girish Joshi. Printed at Print Vision House, Lane Opp to Ashwamegh Elegance 2, Ambawadi Market, Ahmedabad 380 006, Gujarat. Published from # 3. 2nd Floor, Plot No. 283 Madhuban Tower, 12/B Gandhidham, Kutch - 370201, Gujarat, India. Editor: Girish Joshi.
Dear Readers,
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t the outset, let me say a big thank you to one and all, who have appreciated our humble effort of launching this monthly maritime sector magazine. Many of you have been extremely encouraging with views and suggestions right from the time we floated the idea to bring out a magazine. Some friends even warned us that venturing into print media could be a misadventure when tons and tons of information is available at the click of a mouse. Let me assure you that we will be on a digital platform soon. The interview of Indian Ports Association (IPA) chairman Mr Sanjay Bhatia’s in the maiden August issue lent us a lot of credibility. We are indeed thankful to you Sir. Now, I am extremely happy to share that honourable shipping minister Mr Nitin Gadkari was kind enough to spare time from his hectic Mumbai schedule and talk to us. This issue carries an exclusive interview with Mr Gadkari, who is a man on a maritime mission. Sir, we shall be ever grateful to you. A long voyage has just begun. Our endeavour is to constantly improve and engage the readers to serve them what they relish. So, keep writing to us with your suggestions.
Girish Joshi Editor-In-Chief
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Inside 06
Cover Story:
Exclusive interview with shipping minister Nitin Gadkari on how Sagarmala is set to propel India’s maritime sector development
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Success Story:
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Samir J Shah, promoter partner, JBS Group of Companies Easy Freight Forwarding: A Customary Tradition
By Invitation
Ship Recycling In Alang: The Changing Scenario
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Expert Speak: GST On Supply Of Service By Transportation Of Goods By Vessel
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Past is Perfect:
Wadias, The Shipwrights Of South Gujarat
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Cutting Logistic Cost:
Ship Design for NW-1 On River Ganga Finalized
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Health:
Natural Ways To Beat Stress On High Seas
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Cover Story
SAGARMALA TO PROPEL INDIA’S FUTURE Nitin Gadkari
is a man of furiously fast action and ensures his promises don’t ring hollow. Fearless and frank, the 59-year-old Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has charted a vision for developing India’s 6,000 km long coastline. Be it enhancing efficiency of ports or making India the next global cruise destination, Gadkari is personally overseeing all projects to see that they are completed in a timebound manner. Taking time out from his hectic schedule in Mumbai, Gadkari spoke to Marine Lines about his vision for development of port sector 6
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ML: After becoming the shipping and road transport Gadkari, you have taken a string of quick decisions to fasten the infrastructure development. How do you see India’s port sector developing over the next decade? Minister: Ports are the growth engine for the economy and strength of Indian economy depends on the growth of the ports. We have 12 major ports and 200 minor and private ports. All the 12 major ports are making good profit now. The profit of JNPT alone this year will be around Rs 1,600 crore. We are now thinking in the direction of increasing the capacity of the ports. For this, we have already executed projects under the Sagarmala programme. Of the Rs four lakh crore worth projects for modernization and mechanization
of ports, works have already started on projects worth Rs 2.80 lakh crore. We are emphasizing on port-led development with industrial clusters and coastal economic zones. In JNPT, we are setting up an SEZ where allotment of plots has already started. We are expecting an investment of Rs 16 lakh crore in various port-led development projects and moving fast in this direction. Rapid developments have started in Tuticorin and Paradip where contracts worth Rs two lakh crore have already been awarded. The other part of Sagarmala is boosting the ‘blue economy’ with coastal-area development. We have identified five locations including Kandla for development of smart industrial port cities. A big hybrid solar and wind project of
2,000 MW is being developed in Kandla, which will supply power to the port at Rs 3 per unit. Three desalination plants are also planned in Tuticorin, Paradip and Kandla. Sagarmala Programmewas launched on March 25, 2015 to promote port-led development by harnessing the 7,500 km long coastline and 111 waterways of 14,500 km. The aim is to reduce logistics cost by Rs 30,000–Rs 40,000 crore through implementation of various projects by 2025, boost domestic and exim trade, increase job opportunities. We also want to enhance productivity of ports and promote ease of doing business. ML: You have taken up development of inland waterways on a big scale.
What’s the progress? Minister: Developing inland waterways is the second and most important part of Sagarmala. We have already converted 110 rivers into waterways with a total range of 20,000 km, out of which works have already started on 10 waterways. The national waterway I in Ganga will be completed next year. Four multimodal transport hubs are being set up in Varanasi, Hadia, Sahibgunj and Gazipur of which Varanasi will be opened in October 2018. We are also making 16 small riverfronts and maintaining a draft of three meters. We will be spending Rs 1,700 crore over five years for this project. Just like air traffic control, river traffic system has been completed and inaugurated for the waterway from Haldia to
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Patna. In Maharashtra and Goa too, the work on identified waterways is being expedited. By developing 20,000 km of river length and 7,500 km of sea front with focus on water transport, passenger transport and cruise transport, we will bring down logistics cost in a big way. We have many ideas like operating sea plane, catamaran and hovercrafts and cleared all the rules for sea plane operations and signed an agreement with the Russian government for catamaran. ML: How are you moving ahead in that direction? Minister: We have taken some initiatives recently as part of the Sagarmala to promote public transport and cargo movement. These include Ro-Pax ferry service between Ghogha and Dahej whose first phase was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 22, 2017. Phase II to carry cargo is expected to start by September 15. This route has reduced the travel distance from Bhavnagar to south Gujarat to 31 Km from 268 km and travel time to 1.5 hours from eight hours. The congestion on roads will be reduced as also the accidents besides having environmental benefits Another RoRo-Pax service is envisaged at Mandwa. The construction of breakwater and jetty has completed in August 2018 and the ferry service is likely to start by December 2018. This will also cut down travel distance to 19 km from 109 km and travel time to 45 minutes from 3.5 hours. In all, 28 projects of Ro-Ro and tourism jetties are being undertaken under Sagarmala with a total cost of Rs 740 crore of which Rs 358 crore have been sanctioned. Coastal Berth Scheme is being promoted actively to provide assistance for coastal berth development, construction of jetties, breakwater, development of DPR etc. As many as 41 projects under coastal berths scheme have been sanctioned so far. To promote coastal shipping, licensing requirements have been relaxed for movement of fertilizer, agriculture produce and containers carrying exim cargo. Coastal shipping of 185 trucks to 8
Shift from railway to coastal shipping can save 380 million tonne-km of rail transportation capacity annually and bring down the logistics costs Bangladesh using Ro-Ro vessel from Chennai helped save 15-20 days of travel time over 1,500 km road distance. Consignment of 2.3 lakh tonnes started from Vizag port, destined for Kochi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad on November 1, 2017. This modal shift from railway to coastal shipping of these products can save 380 million tonne-km of rail transportation capacity annually and bring down the logistics cost as well. ML: IPA chairman told us about the immense potential of cruise tourism and the steps you have taken to expedite. How do you see India evolving as a cruise tourism destination and how soon? Minister: This is a very important part of the Sagarmala programme. We have completed development of cruise passenger facilitation centre at Chennai Port Trust (Rs 18 crore) in 2017, cruise berthing facilities cum cruise passenger facilitation centre near boat train pier jetty at Cochin Port Trust (Rs 28 crore) in 2016. The domestic cruise terminal at Mumbai has also been completed this year at the cost of Rs 15 crore. At present, redevelopment / facelift of Indira Dock at Mumbai is under implementation at the cost of Rs 55 crore. We are also spending Rs 196 crore for upgrading and modernizing international cruise ter-
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minal at BPX (Indira Dock) and a similar one at Ernakulam wharf at the cost Rs 26 crore. A detailed project report has been prepared for Rs 77 crore cruise-cumcoastal cargo terminal at Vizag. ML: Indian shipping companies are of the view that cabotage relaxation and scrapping right of first refusal (ROFR) will result in government losing revenue as foreign lines don’t have to pay any taxes. How do you plan to address their concern? Minister: The cabotage relaxation orders of May and June this year were undertaken to ensure lack of vessel availability for coastal movement of key goods is reduced. These goods included fertilizers, agriculture produce, horticulture produce, animal husbandry products and fisheries. For EXIM laden containers, in line with the Government of India’s policy to promote transshipment of containers, right of first refusal (ROFR) was relaxed to improve business conditions for shipping lines themselves. Unavailability of empty containers at the ports, earlier, meant that the same had to be transported at significant costs, often increasing the overall cost of
transportation. If ships can carry empty containers from one port to another at marginal costs, then it is beneficial to the entire economy. Relaxation of licensing will benefit Indian citizens, companies and societies to charter foreign vessels. By allowing new business models of chartering, there is an opportunity provided to entrepreneurs to participate in the shipping sector by chartering vessels without having to invest in fleet. All these policy changes were undertaken with a view to increase and not decrease revenue for the economy as a whole, since equivalent benefits would result in providing a boost to entrepreneurship, manufacturing and the ports and shipping sector as a whole. ML: What are the technological interventions that the government is considering to increase efficiency of ports Minister: We have set up the National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC) at IIT Madras in Chennai to provide innovative and research-based engineering solutions to various issues related to ports, waterways and coasts in the country. NTCPWC will act as a technology arm of the ministry for providing the needful technological support to Ports, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and all other related institutions. This is a major leap in indigenous innovation and cutting edge technological support to the port and maritime sector and outcome of close collaboration amongst government, academic institutions and industry to make applied research relevant in day-to-day ground work in the port and maritime sector. In an attempt to ensure skill development matched emerging technology needs of the sector, a world-class Center of Excellence in Maritiw me and Ship Building (CEMS) with campuses at Vishakhapatnam and Mumbai is being set up. CEMS will provide industry-relevant skills development, equip students with employable engineering and technical skills in the port and maritime sector. CEMS is being set up to meet the domestic skill
requirement in ship design, manufacturing, operating and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and aims to become an international nodal centre in South Asia, attracting students from neighboring countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia for skill development in the port and maritime sector. ML: Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal has been hanging fire for a long time. How do you see it moving forward and what are bigger plans to showcase maritime heritage? Minister: Government of Gujarat has already reserved 375 acres of land in village Saragvada and Bundi villages in Ahmedabad district for the proposed NHMC. Site identification and land demarcation is underway. A technical study with regards to hydrological condition of proposed site for NHMC has been completed.A special post of Director General, NMHC has been created and selection of DG, NHMC is underway. Ministry of Shipping appointed consultants for preparation of detailed design concept and DPR for NHMC at Lothal and consultants are expected to submit the report by December 2018. A content development committee has also been constituted by the ministry for preliminary concept note and storyline for National Maritime Museum. We have prepared design options for the project and are consulting experts, historians, academicians on the themes, design vision, best strategies for collec-
tion of artefacts and design approaches, etc. A consultation workshop was held on September 4, 2018 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya, Mumbai ML: Skill development in shipping and logistics sector is an important issue. Does the government plan to devise a certification system for small-skilled people which will make them more employable? Minister: The lack of adequate training infrastructure is a key challenge in port and maritime sector skill development. Hence, a model to utilize port infrastructure for skill development has been evolved and we are setting up Multi-Skill Development Centres (MSDC) with the help of major ports. Coastal Community Development under Sagarmala is focusing on in three areas. One, ensuring our coastal youth are skilled so that they can get benefits of jobs being created by Sagarmala projects, Two, improving fisheries and third, bringing in new technology and tools to ensure the overall development of the sector along with provisioning of 100% skilled manpower. For skill development for youth, a skill gap study for 21 coastal districts was conducted and is now under implementation with DeenDayal Upadhyay GrameenKaushalYojana (DDU GKY) of Ministry of Rural Development We are also setting new national standards for training. National standards have been developed for the port
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and maritime sector for training in ship breaking, ship building and repair, fishing - equipment & operations, fishing techniques and processing, port operations, maritime logistics, cruise tourism and port utilities. Additionally, 46 qualification packs (QPs) are under development by the Sector Skill Councils, which will be undertaken for training when ready. Regarding skill development for ship breaking in Alang, it is now mandatory for a worker to undergo a 12 day skills training program before he can begin work in any ship breaking yard. We have trained 6000+ workers to become more productive and safe ML: What are the bigger plans for development of fisheries industry? Minister: Around 26 fishing harbor projects have been taken up under Sagarmala programme. Some examples are harbours at Kulai, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka and at Vasco Bay, Goa. Modernization of Sasoon Dock vessels for deep-sea fishing is currently being built by the Cochin Shipyard. Ministry of Shipping is partly funding select fishing harbour projects in convergence with Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF). Also,Rs 56.52 crore were released during 2016-2017 across Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Maharashtra for implementation of eight projects(two projects in each state) with a 10
total project cost of Rs 466 crore Further, all fishing harbours under Sagarmala now are proposed to incoporate a Fishing Skill Development Centre to update fishermen about weather conditions, improved technology in fishing and increasing value-addition from fishing.
Sagarmala programme will enable creation of one crore new jobs, including 40 lakh direct jobs, over the next 10 years ML: What about sea farers? Minister: India has been contributing seafarers significantly to the global pool. A target was fixed to increase the total supply from 6% to 9% by 2020. DG Shipping has already achieved a level of 9.35%, almost three years in advance and introduced new elements to improve the quality of training of GP Ratings which will start bearing fruits in near future. However, a major constraint is lack of adequate number of berths for onboard ship training, which we have now addressed. DG Shipping and Sagarmala team has also developed National Skills Qualifi-
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cation Framework (NSQF) compliant maritime foundation course complying to IMO STCW mandatory conventions to be offered as a vocational subject in schools in the coastal districts and in skill development programmes of vocational training partners. This will ensure basic foundation level skills right there in the schools, reduce time taken for new seafarers and provide a younger work force for the maritime sector. ML: How do you see the jobs generation potential in the maritime sector? What are the bigger plans to help more youths get job in the sector which has multiple stakeholders who could be big job generators. Minister: Sagarmala is enabling creation of one crore new jobs, including 40 lakh direct jobs in the next 10 years. Not just direct and indirect jobs, temporary jobs and new specialized jobs are being created in sectors such as dredging, cruise tourism, ship building, ship repair, ship breaking, etc. As I stated earlier too, focused work on skill development activities in the port and maritime sector is taking shape and has started reaping rich dividends. All of our efforts center around the coastal community and the youth while bringing onboard local state governments, major ports, maritime boards, employers and training institutions to accelerate these projects.
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SUcCESS STORY | JBS GROUP OF COMPANIES
EASY FREIGHT FORWARDING: A CUSTOMARY TRADITION
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candid statement made by a Collector of Customs in the early 90’s to Samir J. Shah, partner of JBS Group of Companies, one of today’s most-respected names in once-considered ‘wretched’ customs clearance business, gives us an insight into the person we feature here. “We are offered innumerable material benefits including socially unaccepted gratification. What we don’t receive much is respect for our work; our ability; our domain expertise. You give us that – hold onto to this quality,” the officer told Samir in early 90s. More on this interesting encounter between Samir and the Collector and the ‘wretched’ customs clearance business as you read! A second-generation professional, Samir J. Shah, has earned immense national and global respect and recognition over the last three decades. The learnings were not easy. From a happy-go-lucky collegian, who partied all night and wowed even his college mate Madhuri Dixit with his dancing style, to a serious logistic industry player, Samir has gone through an intense grind. If you think he simply took over the group’s mantle from his father Jasvantbhai, a first-generation entrepreneur, you are mistaken big time. In fact, Jasvantbhai fondly called Jasubhai, saw to it that Samir did not get anything on the platter. Before we learn about Samir’s success story, it’s interesting to know how Jasubhai set up this business from scratch. He had no money and his only asset was education, knack of learning and hard work. Born in a still non-descript village Mulsan in Mehsana district of north Gujarat, Jasubhai shifted to Mumbai as a teenager. He completed his M.Com and even enrolled in a law college, but couldn’t give the LLB exams as he did not have money to pay the fees. He took up a job in Amar Dye Chem promoted by Mr. J H Doshi, a famous industrialist in Mumbai and worked as a senior clerk in-charge of Customs clearances. He supplemented his 12
One of the many awards that Samir J Shah, promoter partner, JBS Group Of Companies, has received
income through private tuitions and door to door selling on Sundays. “Looking at his efficiency, a customs collector one day asked him to apply for a license to work as a Customs Clearing Agent. By the time Jasubhai collected his papers and
From a happy-go-lucky collegian who wowed Madhuri Dixit with his dance moves, to a top logistics player, Samir Shah has gone through an intense grind applied the officer was transferred. The new Collector asked him why he was wanted to work in such a wretched industry (Customs Clearance,” was first emerging from the old Muccadum and Dalal days) - Samir told ML, narrating the humble beginnings of the company. Custom house agents (CHA) were essen-
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tially called ‘muqadams (labour contractors) and this was the reason why the collector felt it was a wretched industry for Jasubhai, a highly qualified individual. Jasubhai replied: “This industry is considered wretched because there are not enough educated people in it.” He always believed that domain knowledge alone can make a person a success in his field. Jasubhai went on to become national president of Custom House Agents Association - (FFFAI) and later also the national president of Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) – only two individuals in India have reached this level. Jasubhai had to borrow Rs 500 to pay for the license. Mr. Doshi loaned him the amount and he finally acquired the license in 1957. Soon, Jasubhai earned fame as ‘king of castor oil’ as he handled more than 90% of this commodity’s imports at Mumbai port. But just when the days of immense struggle seemed to getting over, Jasubhai was out business overnight after government banned import of castor oil. “He was forced to take up customs clearance of all commodities and diversified his portfolio of Customs Clearance. It took three years to get over the set back, In those days each specialized in a commodity and handling multiple commodities
had not started,” recalls Samir. Jasubhai actively contributed to the preparation of the Indian Customs Act 1962. He could quote from the Act without referring to the same. ELDER BROTHER JOINS FOUNDER AND FATHER. asubhai never handled exports. Samir’s elder brother Nimesh joined the business in 1971 aged just 18 and he developed export customs clearance. He took over the leadership role in the group in 1980. “He was the first person, who as a CHA, asked for freight brokerage from shipping companies for doing booking with them.” Fighting a bias, he got the same and started the trend of Customs House Agents adding freight brokerage as a vertical of their portfolio. Unfortunately Nimesh passed away on May 20 2017 at 64. Having made a mark in the business and earning industry respect, Nimesh worked on various committees of the govt. of India and chambers of commerce. He was president of the Bombay CHA Association and honourable secretary of Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India.
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HOW SAMIR Joined FAMILY BUSINESS t was natural for Samir to consider joining his father’s business. But as you read in the beginning, it wasn’t that easy. On a dining table one evening, Jasubhai asked Samir, who had finished his graduation, as to what he intended to do now. “Like an idiot, I said I would join your office. What else?. There was a stunning silence and everyone just finished their food,” Samir said, adding Jasubhai then asked him to meet him next morning. Nimesh cautioned by telling him that morning means 6am sharp; after bathing, proper shave and proper clothes. (From that day till date, Samir never leaves home without shaving and rises early!). When Samir met his father at 6am, Jasubhai gave him a note which had accounts, law and management written on it. “As I picked it up, he told me to learn these three things and only then come to “my” office. That was the first time he addressed it as ‘my office’.” Samir then studied for five years including overseas education. On the first day in JBS office, Jasubhai told his 26-year-old son: “You are my son outside the office. You have
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words of wisdom l I don’t mind failing too but it can’t be a failure without effort. l Success is an inspiration and failure is an experience. l We never ask customers what they want, but tell them what we will give you and try to do more than they ask for and that too to our satisfaction. l Work for satisfaction, money will come on its own. People who work for money need to compromise. to show me that you are capable of owning this office.” In lighter vein, Samir says: “I am one of the few Gujjus who joined family business so late.” After schooling in Mumbai’s prestigious Manekji Cooper School where the went on to become ‘head boy’ and B.Sc from Parle College, Samir studied law and management in Mumbai University. He then went for a logistic diploma in Austria and even worked at Hamburg Port and Vienna airport. AHMEDABAD Calling t a hearing in Mumbai’ customs house, a commissioner suggested to my father that I be sent away from the city as I would remain either Jasubhai’s son or Nimesh’s brother here. There was resistance in the family but Samir, then 29 and married with a one-year-old daughter, was more than willing. “At that time, cargo locations were only in Ahmedabad and Delhi. So I selected Ahmedabad,” says Samir, who shifted here in 1990. In fact, JBS’ office in Ahmedabad is still located
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in the same building where his father had first operated from in 1979. PUNCTUALITY LEARNT HARD nless he is travelling, Samir is always in the office at 9.30am sharp. This sense of punctuality is again Jasubhai’s teaching. Samir narrated an interesting incident of this learning. “I had partied all night and came home at 6am. I slept off and reached office at 11am. My father summoned me to his chamber and told me that the office starts at 9.30 am not 11am. It makes no difference to the office what you do all night. “Since that day, I have always reached office at 9.30am even after partying throughout the night or undertaking an international travel,” he quipped.
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LEARNING TO SAY ‘NO’ ife and management coaches give long lectures on the art of saying ‘no.’ But Samir learnt it from a real-life experience with coffee! On a Saturday morning, Samir was standing in line at the Mumbai Custom house. A deputy collector saw him and called the name of his firm. When Samir went to the officer’s table, the latter ordered him to get coffee for him. “I did not like it and kept standing there for some time. I then told him ‘Sir, I can’t get you coffee,” recalls Samir who was in his early twenties. The officer then shouted ‘coffee’ at the top of his voice and 2-3 cups immediately came to his table. He gestured Samir to sit and drink coffee. The deputy collector finished working on a file; ensured that Samir had his coffee and they said very politely and affectionately “I am so happy to meet you today. I liked that you refused to do something that is not your job. You did nothing to please a customs officer but did what you must. Promise me that you will say ‘no’ all your life, when asked to do something that does not agree with you. If you know your job, no one will misbehave
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with you. Learn your job well and do it with sincerity.” Asked what is lacking in the Indian freight forwarding, Samir says: We lack self-respect and self-esteem as a class. That’s because we have don’t develop our domain knowledge and accept everything hurled at us. COMPETITION, key to prosperity f there is one factor that has helped JBS Group prosper, it is competition. In a complete contrast to many corporates who are constantly plotting competitors’ downfall, Samir is a strong advocate of fostering competition. “When I started Ahmedabad operations in 1990, there were just four brokers. I was handling more than 50% of the market, doing around 20 consignments per month. Today, our share is 8% and we do over 1,300 consignments a month. Could I have ever reached 1,300 without competition?” Samir wondered. “Competition is good as it increases the market. If you are good enough, you will make your own way. We give honest advice to our competitors too,” he said.
gate of the building and chatted with him for a long time. Mr. Tiwari personally came down to see Jasubhai off too. While going out, Jasubhai heard two officers curious to know who he was. They were told. “He is Samir Shah’s father.” “My dad went home and told my mother that it was the happiest day in his life because he was described as Samirbhai’s father,” he said. He then recalled the eight-year-old superintendent episode and said: “Had you employed the officer, you would never have studied customs and I wouldn’t have relished this recognition as Samir’s Shah’s father.”
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IN ROME, DO AS THE ROMANS DO hemicals major Meghmani Group was one of Samir’s first clients. The promoter Jayantibhai Patel assured JBS that all their exports would be handled by JBS. Samir learnt that Meghmani had given the work to some other firm. When it happened for the second time and Samir again complained, Jayantibhai came to his office but burst out laughing. Jayantibhai’s export clerk had refused to work with Samir saying that how can an agent come in a chauffeur-driven car, speak fluent English and wear suspenders. “Jayantibhai then advised Samir to park his car a distance from his office, not wear suspenders, talk to his staff in Gujarati and have tea with his manager before meeting Senior Management.” When in Ahmedabad, behave like an Amdaavadi and only then you will get work. This is what Meghmani partner taught him. “I still tell my employees who go for meetings that they should remove their ties and talk only in Gujarati,” he remarked. Language is for communication and not being fluent in English does not make one inferior.
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LEARNING Through SELF HELP amir, who was setting up his office in Ahmedabad, was extremely relieved when a customs superintendent offered to
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EARNING RESPECT n the early 90s, Samir once invited a senior customs commissioner and his wife home for dinner. Earlier in the day, he wrote his residential address on a chit of paper and gave it to the officer, who irritably asked him to hand it to the PRO. Samir was a bit perplexed seeing the officer’s tone as well as PRO’s surprise. At 8.15pm, the officer and his wife reached Samir’s two-BHK apartment in a middle-class locality. After spending a few hours the couple left. Two-three days later, the officer saw him in the customs house and called him to his chamber. “Tu pagal hai? aisa hi hai ? (Are you crazy? or is this your inherent nature ?,” the officer shot at Samir, adding “You call the commissioner of customs for dinner at home. Then, instead of picking him up you give your address asking him to come by himself. Moreover, there is no liquor or non-veg food? You didn’t offer him or his wife a return gift? Samir had no answer. After a little silence, the officer stated that from bottom of my heart: “I must tell you that my wife and I enjoyed a wonderful evening after a long time. The casualness, the intimacy and respect was not we had bargained for. The commissioner told him: I noticed that your servant served food to my driver too. Secondly, you treated us like normal humans and not officers. We get money, liquor, women...but rarely do we get such respect intimacy and bonding. This is what you and your wife gave us. We really enjoyed and will cherish the memories. Continue respecting us for who we are; what we know and do. Don’t respect us because of the chair,” the commissioner said.
I JBS founder Jasvant Shah, his elder son Naimesh and Samir (standing)
join his company after retirement. He was happy that the customs handling part would be taken care of. But this joy was short-lived when Jasubhai flatly refused permission to hire him. Samir was livid and had to apologize to the officer. After many years when Samir (who by then was established as CHA in Ahmedabad) was told by Mr. KM Tiwari, IRS, a customs commissioner that he wanted to meet Jasubhai. When they went to his office, Mr. Tiwari welcomed Jasubhai at the CARGO MOVER AN ACE DANCER TOO amir not only moves the cargo but his hips and legs too with grace!. An ace dancer since his college days, Samir even ensured a gold medal for a folk dance at a competition in University of Mumbai. “In one of the dance performances, I was the lead dancer and Madhuri was in the row behind me. We were studying in the same college she was my junior. After many years, I saw her at the airport and walked up to her. To my utter joy, she recognized me and exclaimed ‘Sammiir’,” he laughed. What’s more, he was also a background dancer to Mithun Chakroborthy. Next time you attend his party, ensure you stay put till Samir grooves to music beats!
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SEPTEMBER 2018 • MARINE LINES
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Ship Recycling In Alang: The Changing Scenario
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By Rohith Aggarwal
lang - What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word Alang? I am sure it would be “The world’s biggest ship breaking yard”. In this write-up, I would like to share my personal views on the changing situation of the ship recycling industry at Alang. Things have to be looked upon through a telescope and not a microscope. Since 1990s Alang-Sosiya was established as the largest ship recycling yard in the world. At present Alang has 120 active ship recycling yards which extract equipment for recycling and reuse in various types of scraps. Ship recycling industry since long is famous for its unacceptable conditions for the workers and environment due to causing irreversible damage and pollution to the nearby local environment. l Workers working in most of ship recycling facilities are unaware of health 16
and safety aspects like use of proper PPE (personal protective equipment), they are exposed to manifold hazardous substances. l With no containment equipment, the facilities have nothing to identify or handle hazardous wastes or large spills which are a threat to marine ecology and environment where are ships are recycled. l Lastly, the hazardous substances which are discharged during ship recycling can lead to pollution and permanent damage to the surroundings. The above conditions have started changing recently. To overcome the negative effects of shipbreaking, green ship recycling has been introduced across the world. This method has helped to a great extent to reduce the negative inmpacts and risks associated with ship recycling. For instance impacts of waste materials being discharged during shipbreaking to the beaches can´t be found in “green ship recycling yards” anymore. Thus in-turn helped reducing the negative impact on the environment. Apart from this, the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships of IMO (International Maritime Organization), which has been adopted in May 2009 , and EU Ship Recycling Regulation
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No 1257/2013 aim both to ensure that the process of ship recycling doesn’t pose any risk to the human health and safety or to the environment. Hence, change is happening in many yards of this sector but it would require a positive response, demand and appreciation for moving further forward with all yards. Doubts may undermine further spreading. The Indian government is also looking into this sector very deeply, proactively and is taking numerous measures for the same. Legislation has been drafted by Indian Government to endorse the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention (HKC) on safe ship recycling. Also, off the 120 yards in Alang, about 55 till now have achieved HKC compliance certificates, while 15 more are undergoing audit for certification. Which means more than half of all facilities have significantly improved. In September 2017, India has signed a loan deal with JICA – Japan International Cooperation Agency worth $76 million to modernize environmental protection of ship recycling yards at Alang. These funds are aimed to help Alang match with international standards on ship recycling and would upgrade 70 yards over the next 5 years. Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) would be executing this project and it will
end in 2022 probably. “Alang and other places in South Asia have for years been criticized for poor standards – and rightly so, but, a positive development has begun and this should be supported not undermined”, said ECSA President Niels Smedegaard, “Whilst there are yards where improvements are clearly necessary, others have already taken the lead in changing their recycling practices to reflect advanced modern standards.” ECSA has fully supported the request of several large ship owners to audit and assess for themselves the ship recycling practices in Alang. In last few years there has been a tremendous improvement in the HSE standards at the ship recycling yards in Alang. This inturn has resulted in the implementation of SOP’s (standard operating procedures) at the ship recycling yards like safe-for-hot work, working-at-height, confined-entry, safe-for-entry to name a few and improved infrastructure like cranes to lift heavy weight items, impermeable flooring for secondary and tertiary cutting, storm water drainage and collection system, extensive training for the workforce, documentaion etc. These changes have given a robust platform to achieve safe and sound ship recycling practices. Since 2003, the Training and Welfare Complex operated by GMB - the Gujarat Maritime Board has been in operation in Alang. This complex is used to provide education and training to ship recycling yard workers based on environmentally sound operations and safety. A trained workforce is of prime importance to achieve accident and incident free ship recycling process. Under the flagship program Sagarmala, the Ministry has sanctioned 30 crore rupees in 2016-17, of which 10 crore rupees has been released for the skill development of the workers based on health training and occupational safety. The 12-day skills training program has been made mandatory for any worker before he can begin work in any shipyard. Basic safety training has become a must at Alang ship recycling yards. The government of India has strictly prohibited child labor and each and every worker has been insured under ESIC - Employees’ State Insurance Corporation. Some of the yard owners help with a housing facility designed as per ILO standards for workers. It becomes a dire need that the workers of
the yard should be provided quality training as it ensures how the ship recycling process goes. Training Program by GSR Sentinels (leading ship recycling consulting firm) has been of great help in improving safety standards of the workers. The ship recycling industry is advancing rapidly but we cannot expect any miracle overnight. Individual people have started moving towards more improvements, developing infrastructure, the way of operations, training of workers, improved facilities, more awareness of health & safety of workers and environmental concerns. Praising every small step would boost the change that has happened and push more to follow
There is a dire need that workers in Alang ship yard be provided quality training as it would help improve safety standards at world’s best facility the good examples. Continuous improvements and procedural upgradations on the recycling yards at Alang, Gujarat have changed the face of industry and owners of the ship have begun recognizing these positive changes. Use of technical documents like the Ship Recycling Plan (SRP), the Ship Recycling Facility Plan (SRFP) for every yard and the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) for each and every ship in the eye of HKC has to a great extent improved the overall recycling pro-
cess on yards working according to HKC. Presently all the recycling yards at Alang have sub-contractors approved by the government to manage its waste expelled during the recycling process. Also, disposal of special hazardous wastes including electronic waste, batteries, cables, bio-medical waste, bilge water, asbestos, ozone-depleting substances, etc. and removal of asbestos, oily waste such as sand, rags, sludge, etc. is most often taken care of by sub-contractors. After a thorough inspection by the officials, decontamination certificate is issued by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and cutting permission by the GMB - Gujarat Maritime Board is given for each recycling ship. This is mandatory before starting any cutting work. Specialized approved agencies are working to issue naked light certificates (like hot work permits) and permit for confined space entry. Although we cannot compare west to the east, you cannot expect things to work here in India as it worked in Europe, America. The pace of work and standards has an unmatched difference. India has shown more than “signs of improvement” in terms of ship recycling industry and what has been achieved provides one or the other best practice guidance for developed countries as well. There has always been tussle as some ship owners think first do the changes and come to the standards, show your USP and take a discount on the prices of the ship, and then get appreciated. But on the other hand, there have been few who have taken the efforts and did this which was not thought off. Rohith Aggarwal Independent Consultant Views expressed are personal rohit.aquarian86@gmail.com
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news in brief
Promoting Low-Cost Sea Transport
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he arrival of first vessel ‘PennaSuraksha’ carrying 25,000 tonnes of cement from Krishnapatnam marked the beginning of operations of the 4th cement terminal at Cochin Port. This modal shift in transport of cement from road/rail to sea is another step towards promoting coastal shipping as cost-effective and environment-friendly means of transportation as envisaged under the Sagarmala Programme of Ministry of Shipping. Cement being a high-volume, low-value product, lower-cost sea transport can be as a game changer in logistics sector. With huge destruction that has occurred during the recent floods in Kerala, the requirement of cement in re-building the state of Kerala is expected to increase. Coastal shipping of building material like cement is economic and will help rebuild Kerala in a cost effective manner with lower logistic costs. Presently, three Cement Terminals- Am-
buja, UltraTech and Zuari are in operation and handle 7,83,000 tonnes of cement annually. The Bagging Terminal of Penna Cement Ltd. is the fourth terminal to become operational at Cochin Port. The terminal has been set up in 1.14 ha of land leased by
Cochin Port Trust and is expected to handle 3 lakh tonnes of cement annually. The terminal has been designed to connect to Q6 berth at Ernakulam Wharf, where ships carrying cement from Krishnapatnam Plant will be berthed for transfer of the cargo to the silos through pneumatic suction. The Terminal has four silos of total capacity of 20,000 MT, and has the designed capacity of 0.50 MMTPA in cement bagging. The Cochin Packing Terminal has an annual throughput of 0.30 MMT, to begin with. Cochin Port has facilitated the installation of automated cement bagging units by allotting land adjacent to berths to cement companies. Cement is brought in bulk through ships, and is transferred to silos on the adjacent land through pipelines. The Port is expected to handle 1.5 million metric tonnes of cement by 2020. Malabar Cements, a government of Kerala company. has also been allotted land at Cochin Port for setting up a bagging terminal.
Preliminary Design of National Maritime Good News For Dock Workers Heritage Complex at Lothal Ready new wage settlement agreement
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he Ministry of Shipping, under its flagship programme Sagarmala, is closely working with government of Gujarat and other stakeholders to showcase India’s rich maritime heritage by setting up of a National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal near Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Preliminary work on design elements of the proposed heritage complex has been completed and consultations from experts is now under process. In order to further plan and take the project forward, a one day consultation workshop was held at Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya in Mumbai on September 4. The discussion was centred on the plan 18
options, themes, design vision, best strategies for collection of artefacts and design approaches, etc. The workshop was attended by officials from the Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism, Maritime Boards, Archaeological Survey of India, Museum Heads, Maritime History Researchers, Universities, Research Institutes, Maritime Societies, private collectors and others who hold artefacts, objects and documents related to the maritime past of India. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Director General, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya, said that the development of National Maritime Heritage Complex was key to preserve and showcase India’s rich maritime heritage. The Complex will help the younger generations to learn from our rich past. In his address, DK Rai, Director (Sagarmala) said that concrete efforts are being made to realize the vision of National Maritime Heritage Complex and emphasized that experience shared by maritime history experts will help in shaping the implementation plan.
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has been signed for Group C & D category of port and dock workers in Mumbai in the presence of Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari. The settlement provides for 10.6% fitment on basic pay plus DA. More than 32,000 port and dock workers and 1,05,000 group C&D pensioners across all major ports will be benefitted from of this settlement, the union government said. The settlement has been signed between six Port and Dock Workers’ Federations and the Port Management under Section 12(3) of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, before the Regional Labour Commissioner, representing Chief Labour Commissioner. The settlement would come into force from January 1, 2017 in retrospect. This is a five-year settlement arrived at in the port sector against the ten-year periodicity in many of the major public sector enterprises.
expert speak
GST on supply of service by transportation of goods by vessel
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he services by way of transportation of goods by a vessel from a place outside India up to the customs station of clearance in India in cases where both service provider and service receiver are in non-taxable territory were exempted from service tax up to January 21, 2017. This exemption was withdrawn w.e.f. January 22, 2017 and the person liable to pay service tax was specified to be the shipping agent. Later a new notification dated April 13, 2017 which stated that the importer of the goods, shall be the person liable to pay service tax w.e.f. from April 23, 2017. Thus, for the period January 22, 2017 to April 22, 2017, shipping agent of the shipping companies was liable to pay service tax and from April 23, 2017 onwards importer become liable to pay service tax under reverse charge mechanism. Many importers were unaware about this notification and are now facing service tax demands for the past period from April 23, 2017 to June 30, 2017. This was the situation in service tax regime. However
the position under GST regime needs to be analyzed. Thus GST is to be paid by the importer, who is the recipient of services. Where a consideration is payable for the supply of services, the person who is liable to pay consideration is recipient
Monish Bhalla Author and GST expert
of services. In case of transportation of goods by vessel where services are provided by a person located in non-taxable territory and liability for payment of freight for transportation of goods is of the person located in non-taxable territory i.e. exporter of goods, the recipient of service is the exporter who exports the goods. The time of supply in respect of transportation services provided by a person located in non-taxable territory to a person located in non-taxable territory will be date of bill of lading in the vessel at the port of export. Interestingly, in this case, there is a deeming fiction as the notification shifts the liability to pay GST on the importer under reverse charge even if importer is not the actual recipient of service as per above analysis . Now to calculate the tax liability the value has to be arrived. Monish Bhalla Author and GST expert Views expressed are personal
As per Notification No. 10/2017Integrated Tax (Rate), dated 28 June, 2017. Sr. No. Category of Supply of Services 10. Services supplied by a person located in non-taxable territory by way of transportation of goods by a vessel from a place outside India up to the customs station of clearance in India.
Supplier of Services A person located in non-taxable territory
Recipient of Service Importer, as defined in Clause (26) of Section 2 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), located in the taxable territory.
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19
jal Marg Vikas Project
Ship Design for NW-1 On River Ganga Finalised
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nland Waterways Authority of Vessel Type from the road or one full rail DWT of Vessel India (IWAI) has made public rake with the plying of just one i.1570 Tons 13 standardised state-of-the-art Dry Bulk Carrier such vessel. ship designs suitable for large The new designs for variii.2120 Tons barge haulage on river Ganga ous categories of dry and liquid iii. 2480 Tons (National Waterway-1). bulk carrier, Ro-Ro vessels, car i.1460 Tons This marks attaining of a criti- Liquid Bulk Carrier carrier, container carrier, LNG cal milestone in the growth of the carrier, Tug Barge flotilla (Table ii.2400 Tons country’s Inland Water Transport have been made by M/s Ro-Ro Vessel i.770 DWT; 18 Trucks below) (IWT) sector as it will help overDST, Germany which specialiscome the unique navigation chal- Container Carrier Vessel es in low draft and high carryi.1540 Tons; 96 TEU lenges river Ganga throws due ii.2480 Tons; 208 TEU ing capacity vessels. The modto its complex river morphology, el testings of the designs were i.630 Tons hydraulics, acute bends, shifting LNG Carrier Vessel done at Duisburg, Germany. channels, meanders and current. ii.1070 Tons IWAI had awardsed the conIt will serve as an enabler for tract to M/s DST in September, to push 4 dumb barges 2016 through global bidding afdomestic shipbuilding industry Tug Barge Flotilla working on inland vessels and LNG powered Dry Bulk Carrier 2420 Tons ter a rigorous screening. open huge possibilities for cargo When the Scoping Missions Car Carrier Vessel 350 Cars and passenger movement on Nafrom World Bank first travelled tional Waterway-1. on river Ganga, very typical and type of vessels that can sail on river GanThe Government is implechallenges were observed unmenting Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) ga with efficient manoeuvrability. like the trained rivers like Rhine, Danube, They will help shipyards build vessels of Mississippi and St. Lawrence Seaways for capacity augmentation of navigation on NW-1 (Varanasi-Haldia stretch) at a cost of standardised dimensions and capacity and which are flourishing waterways. The new Rs 5369.18 crore with the technical assis- make them available off the shelf besides designs are a result of rigorous river studies tance and investment support of the World developing the ‘sale and purchase’ market conducted by a high-level technical team Bank. Even as the work on JMVP is going on for inland vessels. The designs will lead to comprising of experts from IWAI, Indian Inin full steam, the specially designed vessels reduced fuel costs and in turn lesser logistics stitute of Technology, Kharagpur and Indian will navigate on low drafts with high carrying costs. Register of Shipping with periodical techniThese vessels will sail even in depths of cal consultations with domain experts of the capacity and at the same time, environment about two metres carrying about 350 cars on World Bank. friendly. For the shipbuilding industry, the new de- a five deck car carrier. The new designs will obviate the depenSome of the designs would enable move- dence of Indian Ship builders on foreign ship signs will translate into a savings of Rs 30-50 ment of bulk cargo carriers with capacity of designs for IWT and prove to be a boost to lakhs in the building of a vessel. Available free on the IWAI website, the 2500 tonnes at three metres depth, thereby, ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government. designs will remove ambiguity on the class removing almost 150 truckloads of pressure (Source: PIB) 20
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connecting the ports
‘Gujarat to have largest network of expressways’ G
ujarat will have the largest network of expressways in the country as the centre is building three new expressways. This was announced by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Chemical and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya last week while he was in Vadodara. After a review meeting with the officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Vadodara, the union minister said that the centre has decided to construct three new expressways in Gujarat. The three new expressways include the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, the Delhi-Vadodara Expressway and the Ahmed-
abad-Dholera Expressway. Apart from the new expressways, a 130 km long economic corridor between Sanchor in Rajasthan connecting to Radhanpur-Samkhiyali in Gujarat will also be constructed. For the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, tenders for the 125 km Vadodara-Kim expressway stretch that will be constructed at a cost of Rs 8,741 crore has been approved. “The work on construction of the Vadodara-Kim expressway stretch will commence from October-November and will be completed within two years by October-November 2020,” Mandaviya said. He added that the 845 km long Delhi-Vadodara Expressway will be constructed at a cost of Rs 21,125 crore. The work on this
expressway will begin in October-November this year and is expected to get over by October-November 2020 within a span of two years. “Once, Delhi will be connected with Mumbai with this two expressways, the distance between the national capital and the financial capital will be reduced by 150 km. At the same time, the distance between Ahmedabad and Delhi will also reduce by 80 km. Thereby, the travel time of commuters will also decrease significantly,” he said. Talking about the 110 km long Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway that will be constructed at the cost of Rs 7,700 crore, the union minister said that the construction work of this expressway is expected to get over by 2022-23. Construction of the economic corridor between Sanchor and Radhanpur-Samkhiyali at the cost of Rs 2,000 crore will begin from 2019 and is expected to get over by 2022-23.
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23
csr initiatives
Benefits to Students
Welspun to make one lakh students smarter
WFHK signing the MoU for Gyankunj CSR project with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani
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elspun Foundation for Health and Knowledge (WFHK), a CSR arm of Welspun Group has recently launched “Gyankunj” to facilitate digital learning in schools through an interactive two-way communication. The project initiated in collaboration with Government of Gujarat aims to digitize 1000 classrooms in government schools in the state. With implementation of Gyankunj, it is estimated over one lakh students in three districts of Gujarat – Kutch, Valsad and Bharuch would get benefited. According to WFHK officials, as many as 70 smart classrooms in 45 government schools have already taken shape while another 150 would be ready by end of September. Gyankunj is a school digitalization program to enhance classroom interactivity and teaching-learning process with the help of technology tools like projector, interactive board, CPU, speaker, Wi-Fi router etc. It aims to make ease of understanding for each unit of curriculum in classroom itself by using technology as a medium and helps schools, teachers and students to stand globally competent with the help of technology. Digital education is not just about syllabus and curriculum. The WFHK is encouraging school administrations to ensure benefits of digital classrooms to 24
create awareness and to increase co-curricular activities for students so that joyful learning can be ensured. Giving details on how the smart classroom helping school administration to create awareness, WFHK officials said that in one municipal school in Anjar, awareness session on importance on vaccination against Rubela and Measles virus has been conducted using digital classroom. Doctors and nurses from government hospital have conducted the session. Welspun as a group constantly strives for a growth which is committed to good governance, ethical conduct and social responsibility both inside and outside our business premises. WFHK initiatives are enshrined upon the 3 E’s- Education, Empowerment and Environment along with Health. According to officials of WFHK, education is the passport for a good promising future. It is one of the most important tools that can bring about remarkable difference in the society. Through various initiatives like providing digital smart classrooms and qualified trainers to troubleshoot and train teachers on new technologies, the organization is thriving to create bright future for the next generation. (US$ 3 billion diversified Welspun Group is one of the biggest investors in Gujarat, especially Kutch)
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l Brings abstract and difficult curriculum concepts to life with easy-to-grasp concepts l Makes learning enjoyable for students with interesting educational delivery through 2D & 3D imagery, videos etc. l Improves academic performance of students by enhancing their knowledge l Latest technology awareness and ability to handle computers comfortably. l Motivation for students to improve retention of difficult concepts Benefit to Teachers l Interactive smart class improves productivity in & makes teaching pleasurable l Gain ability to use technology for effective teaching l Teaching becomes more interactive, deviating from the chalk and talk approach Benefit to Govt l Reduction of dropout rate from the schools by making teaching and learning interesting both for the teacher and the students. l Addresses the issue of technology obsolescence & solves the issue of unsatisfactory teaching standard l An outcome-based solution & an effective yet interesting option to schools
past is perfEct HMS Trincomalee, the British Royal Navy’s oldest fighting ship
Ardeshar Kharshedji Wadai
WADIAS, THE SHIPWRIGHTS OF SOUTH GUJARAT
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urat, the city of diamonds and textiles, has a special place in the maritime history. Not just it being one of the most important trading ports but also for its expertise in making ships. Ship building in Surat was initiated way back in the ancient ages. Being an important port for sea trade, Surat and Suvali beach have found mention in several historical travel books by authors who sailed the seven seas. Marvellous ship building skills of Surtis have particularly found a special mention, making them an integral part of historic writings. The seaworthiness of the Surti ships was due to the technique and tools used to build them. The ships were made leak- proof by planking deodar teak and mahogany together with iron nails, bolts and screws and then caulking them. Not only this, the teak was treated and coated with ‘chunnam’-lime, 26
gum sundrac and gingelly oil to make it hard as stone and worm proof too. Several ships were often copper bottomed or filled with a vegetable based tar substitute ‘dammer’ (Indian tar). There were shell built sewn boats with wooden pin dowelling, watertight seams. Ships built with ‘vadhera’ system of joints, had internal frames of ribs and cross beams. The ‘rassis’ had a special variation of stitching the planks together. The Wadia (‘shipbuilder’) family had established itself in Surat for many centuries. Surat was a very important seaport on the west coast of India where British East India Company was first established. The Portuguese, Dutch, French and British maintained trading centers in the city from the 15th century onwards. Since all trade was done by sea, the shipping industry started to flourish. In 1635, East India Company set
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up a shipbuilding yard in Surat. In its first year itself, four pinnaces and other larger vessels were built. Ship building and dismantling in Surat was carried out at yards along the Tapi river belt, one such still exists - the ABG shipyard at Surat’s Magdalla port. The Wadia family of Bilimora has a large contribution in the shipbuilding history of Surat. Lovji Nusservanji Wadia was born in 1702 at Bilimora, to the Wadia family. He was educated to be a shipwright. Extremely talented and skill worthy, he secured many contracts to build ships for th ed base. The foreign traders knew Lovji for the high standards he maintained for shipbuilding workmanship. The British East India Company secured the services of Lovji for building docks and ships in Bombay in 1736. The Bombay dry-dock, the first dry-dock in Asia, was built by Lovji and his brother Sorabji in 1750. Bombay began to be consid-
ered a viable trading port for all ships from the West and East. Lovji who has rightly been called the founder of the shipping industry in Bombay, passed away in 1774. His sons Maneckji and Bomanji built on his reputation of integrity, industry and ability. The foreign traders knew Lovji for the high standards he maintained for shipbuilding workmanship. The British East India Company secured the services of Lovji for building docks and ships in Bombay in 1736. The Bombay dry-dock, the first dry-dock in Asia, was built by Lovji and his brother Sorabji in 1750. Bombay began to be considered a viable trading port for all ships from the West and East. Lovji has rightly been called the founder of the shipping industry in Bombay, passing away in 1774. His sons Maneckji and Bomanji built on his reputation of integrity, industry and ability. A branch of the Wadias stayed on in Surat and continued to develop the shipping industry and became leaders in the building and construction of bridges, dams and buildings. Between 1840s and 1940s the shipping and building industry in Surat was dominated by Cowasji, Burjorji, Behramji, Rustomji, Hormuzji, Nusserwanji and Pestonji Wadia. Jamshedji, Nowroji, and Dhanjibhai Wadia have been the outstanding shipbuilders of the 19th century British India, building 22 ships for the British Navy alone. According to a publication in 1955 of The Bombay Dockyard and the Wadia Master, the ship HMS Trincomalee was built by a nephew of Lovji, Jamshedji Bamanji Wadia and launched on October 12, 1817, for the British Navy. Later the ship was named Foudroyant (1897). It served the British well
during the Crimean War (1852-1857) and World War II (1939-1945) and now rests in Britain, soon to be converted into a museum. It is the oldest sail driven warship and is in such a splendid condition that its good enough to be afloat for 300 more years! The HMS Minden -1810 built by Jamshedji Bomanji Wadia even finds mention in America’s national anthem as a ‘star spangled banner’ written by Francis Scott Key,as a poem. Like the HMS Tricomalee, the HMS Cornwallis, launched on May 2, 1813, saw active battle in the British-American War of 1812 and twenty years later as Flagship of the British Fleet in the China Seas, she led an expeditionary force during the ‘Opium War’ of China. Shipwrights of Gujarat built frigates for the British that went on to fight in the battle of Trafalgar. So much so that American sea farers visited Surat and Bombay to watch the skillful Wadias at work. ‘Gujaratees were better seamen, had larger vessels and more men to navigate,’ wrote Tome Pires of Florence who traveled to India in 1511. J. Ovington, the 17th century En-
Shipwrights of Gujarat built frigates for the British that went on to fight in the battle of Trafalgar. So much so that American sea farers visited Surat and Bombay to watch the skillful Wadias at work
glish traveller who was Chaplain to the British King, wrote a book ‘A Voyage to Surat in the Year 1689’ on his visit to Surat. He was impressed by Indians’ skill of ship-building and found them to be better than Europeans. The timber used by the Indians was so strong thatit would not ‘crack’ even by the force of a bullet, so he urged the English to use that timber ‘to help them in war’. Late Khorshed Junglewala nee Wadia wrote, ‘At the height of the power under Achaemenian King Darius the Great, Zoroastrians mastered shipbuilding and learned much from the seafaring Phoenicians. The ability to build seafaring vessels eventually opened up the world of international trade. ‘ Praful Wadia whose ancestral trade is boat building, constructs and supplied boats to Surat Municipal Corporation states: ‘The rabetted joints of Gujarati ship builders makes boats thrice as capable to wade waters while remaining leak proof. Called ‘Wadhrai’ joints, the joint is in the shape of an ‘N’ like loop. Special marine wax like glue, made locally is used on the joints for caulking planks, covered with cotton and clamped tight, making it leak proof. Teak from the Dang forests used in ancient ships, had heavy content of oil which made it resistant to decay in water.’ A Wadia descendent, once proudly engraved in the central beam of a British warship. “This ship was built by a d-----d Black Fellow A.D.1800.” After all, you can always trust a Surti to tell it as it is.
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HEALTH
NATURAL WAYS TO BEAT STRESS ON HIGH SEAS
A
very common problem during sea or air journey is nausea and particularly vomiting. If you want to reduce or recover from nausea you should avoid sour or fermented food. Also, you should consume more fluids especially water apart from fresh fruit juices as much as possible. For nausea, I recommend a yogic posture of Apanvayu Mudra (as shown in the picture). First of all fold your first or pointer finger towards the root of the thumb. Then fold the ring and middle fingers to touch the tip of the thumb. Keep the little finger open. You should do this mudra with both the hands and maintain this position for at least 15 minutes at a stretch. This mudra is very helpful in reducing vomiting sensation as well as headache if performed twice a day. Apart from this, a slow 15-20 minutes walk after lunch or dinner, can control nausea to great extent. SKIN ALLERGIES ON SEA Skin problems like infection, itching and irritation on sea are also common. Avoid consuming sour foods, milk and milk products such as curd, buttermilk and pickles. Apply mustard oil on the affected part to reduce itching Take one or two teaspoon of turmeric powder and add a little sugar to it and consume twice a day, preferably in morning and evening. This will help eliminate the root cause of any skin problem. Perform Varun Mudra as shown in the picture. Fold the little finger to touch its tip to the tip of the thumb. Keep your fingers pressed together like this for at least 15 minutes at any time of the day. This mudra should be performed especially when you experience itching. There is also a simple kitchen remedy for diarrhoea and vomiting. Take equal proportions of powdered forms of 28
APAN VAYU MUDRA
turmeric, cinnamon, cumin and coriander seeds. Take one or one and half teaspoon of this mixture with water. This should be taken in morning immediately after brushing your teeth and in evening. Constant exposure to sun can cause sunburns on the ship. Applying aloevera cream, can be extremely soothing. This cream gives protection from direct sunlight. In case of sunburn too, one should avoid spicy and sour foods. TACKLING ANXIETY Long sea journeys be very stressing. Its often seen that people onboard ships experience boredom, anxiety and at times depression too as the journey can be monotonous. Chanting ‘Omkar’ and meditation is highly effective. It is recommended to meditate with chanting of ‘Omkar’ at least twice a day, once before going to bed and once during the morning hours. After just a few days you will feel rejuve-
nated and will get rid of depression apart from other negative symptoms such as diarrhoea and depression too.
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VARUN MUDRA
Dr Mukesh Patel is an Ayur Guru based in Ahmedabad. He is a naturopath and an ayurveda expert who strongly advocates yoga to solve major and minor illnesses. He established Nihar Arogya Mandir in 1994 that has treated lakhs of patients till date. Ayur Guru believes in remaining healthy by focusing on habit, diet and yoga with help from traditional herbs. Here he spares some time from his busy schedule to give tips for travellers undetaking sea journey to sickness while at sea during long journey through naturopathy. He can be reached on: email: nihar.anupan@gmail.com Whatsapp: +91 7874744676 (no calls only messages)
tickling taste BUDS
Fasting can be foodies’ delight too
M
era Bharat Mahaan’. We are so lucky to be born in India. We have 29 states, so many languages, festivals, cuisines and cultures. However, you will find it interesting that there are multiple ways and reasons for fasting too in our Indian culture. I have many Muslim friends who observe Ramadan by fasting from sunrise to moon-rise. They do not abstain completely from food but do not eat anything or even drink water but after the moon-rise ie through the night and till sunrise they can feast on anything they want. On the other hand there are Jains who observe strict fast during their Paryushan, where they do not eat anything after sunset. Some don’t even drink water. According to Jainism, fasting also means renouncing pleasures and comforts of life which harm other living beings such as TV, radio, wearing footwear and even talking. Some even fast for eight days which is called ‘Atthai’ where they do not eat anything and just stay on water, that too boiled water for eight full days. However, for most Hindus, during fast we have a parallel food options which is called ‘farali’ in Gujarati or ‘vrat ka khana’ in Hindi. This food includes delicacies made from produce which does not include cereals or pulses. Farali food comprises moraiya, sabudana, rajgira flour, singhada (waterchest nut) flour, all root vegetables, milk, butter, ghee, and of course mava. Some people refrain from intake of these farali food too at times and only consume fruits and milk during certain religious occasions while there are others who consume a variety of ‘farali’ foods. These include potato/
banana chips, pedas, rajgira puri, rajgira kadhi, sabudana(sago) khichdi, moraiya khichdi, buff wada/farali patty and singhadapuri apart from many others. People are not also getting innovative when it comes to farali items to include farali recipes like farali pizza, farali sandwich etc. According to my knowledge, our forefathers came up with the idea of fasting during the holy month of Shravan as it primarily falls in the monsoon season when vegetables were feared to be infected and digestion process is also slow. They wanted us to refrain from eating heavy food to aid digestion process but we have added groundnuts, spices etc and made it fancy. This makes the food more heavier and we tend to loose the whole purpose of fasting during Shravan. I feel that on the contrary, people fasting in Shravan tend to put on more weight when they eat such farali foods than by eating normal food. Apart from Shravan, Hindus tend to fast during Navratri, on Ekadashi (11th day after new moon), Purnima (full moon day) etc. Some also observe fasts on certain days of the week after recommendations from astrologers. Sabudana and moraiya are high in carbohydrates, while ragjira is high in calcium content. SECRET LIES IN SOAKING THE SAGO Wash the sabudana till water clears, remove excess water and soak overnight Ensure that water level in your colander is just a little above the sabudana Let it soak for 15 to 20 minutes Remove all excess water and let it rest again for 15 minutes
Dilip Thakkar
Check the sabudana for softness after 15 minutes If required, you can wait for another 5 minutes When the sabudana is soft, ensure all excess water is removed and sabudana is completely dry, and you can start cooking
Ingredients Sabudana (sago) 1 to 11/2 cup Peanuts (roasted and coarsely crushed) 1 cup Potato: 1 large or 2 medium Green chillies 2 to 4 Oil 1 tbspn Salt as per taste Cumin (jeera) 1 tspn Juice of half a lemon Finely chopped coriander SABUDANA KHICHDI RECIEPE First wash and chop the potatoes Add the roasted and coarsely ground peanuts, salt and sugar to the raw and soaked sabudana Heat oil in a deep pan and add jeera When jeera turns brown, add the chopped green chillies/red chilly powder and potatoes Add a pinch of salt to help potato cook When potatoes cooked, add the sabudana mixture Mix everything well and add juice of lemon Season the hot khichdi with freshly chopped coriander leaves (SERVES TWO) Dilip Thakkar is a hospitality professional and can be reached at dilipthakkar16@gmail.com, 9879536877 (Views expressed are personal)
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