दीनदयाल पत्तन प्राधिकरण
DEENDAYAL PORT AUTHORITY
MARINELINES Editor-In-Chief Girish Joshi
From the Editor's Desk
Consulting Editor Dhimant Bhatt Contact : 9930375212 Senior Assistant Editor Neel Shah Design & Layout Pravin Kacha Contact : 81606 33932
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 Branch Head Chakradhar Gundetty 16,Asmita Garden II Poonam Sagar Complex, Mira Road(East) Thane: 401107 Contact : +91 9967978022 email: chakradhargpr@gmail.com
Dear Reader’s,
O
ne man’s food is other man’s poison.” This somehow is becoming more relevant in today’s world order. The wars always have devastating consequences, everybody talks the same way but there are some sectors for whom the act of war is blessing in disguise and for some post war scenario brings fortune. Those who suffered were the locals, families of the soldiers, destitute children and many unsung volunteers but for those on the other side who were not directly affected and sitting on the fence, increased crude, logistic, communication, raw materials and essential commodity prices as an opportunity cost. The speculations and assumptions of the outcome this conflict added fuel to the fire. Big boys suddenly got active to capture each other’s business. The best time to jump the rule books and book profits is the chaotic situation. The chain reaction of higher crude prise is evident and unavoidable. Up goes the logistics cost which ultimately has made the whole world suffer. Let’s hope the sense of good will prevails upon the self-centred big boys and things return to normal before the damage is done beyond repairs.
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Girish Joshi Editor-In-Chief
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COVER STORY
RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT & INDIAN TRADE
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Vishwas Mehresh
ussia-Ukraine War has already entered in 3rd week and there is no indication that it is going to end soon. Even after the war is over, there will be long term effects in international logistics industry. Logistics industry has suffered a lot due to Corona and the recovery will be delayed because of this conflict. Since 6
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of ships have been diverted away from the Black Sea, while many more have been stranded at different places to unload their valuable cargoes. The impacts to Indian business environment can seen in two ways 1) Direct Impact 2) Indirect Impact DIRECT IMPACT - The share of Russia in India’s total trade is just about 1%, hence as per experts there may not be much direct
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impact. A large part of the trade is defence related for which the Indian government will find out the ways to continue the deals. However this war could delay delivery of air defence system S-400 Triumuf and nuclear submarine Chakra 3 to India. India’s import from Russia is mainly Petroleum, Coal, Semi Precious Stones, Fertilizers, Vegetable Oils, Plastic and Plywood. The biggest effect for India will
be on petroleum, Indian PSUs buy petroleum on FOB basis, now due to war they may demand terms as CFR to avoid war risk. Russian coal is used by India Steel industries, disruption in supply of Russian coal can force Indian steel producers to look for other producers like Indonesia and Australia. International cargo movement from and into India through sea route
will not be affected. Major shipping companies have stopped accepting cargo for Russia and Ukraine. Many exporters are yet to receive the payments for which the goods were already shipped and there is no expectation in near future. Due to short supply of Russian wheat, demand for Indian wheat, which is currently to the neighbouring countries with Bangladesh having the
largest share, may go up, especially to Egypt and Lebanon. INDIRECT IMPACT - The indirect impact—through the international markets will be a major concern for India. The effect on inflation – Inflation is expected to be on higher side, commodity prices already started rising since the war started. Another point of concern will be
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volatility of rupee. Due to the conflict, currencies across the world will be under pressure. With oil prices going up, a higher Current Account Deficit will be on the cards. With Russian Rubal out of SWIFT, Indian and Russian governments can sign a deal for Rupee-Rubal transitions, but this may not be an attractive proposition for private exporters. India has taken a neutral stance, yet it will not be shielded from the effects of the war. The combination of
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sanctions and supply chain disruptions will affect Indian growth story. The auto industry has already started facing the problems. Passenger vehicle makers are unable to maintain production schedules, this is mainly due to uncertain supply chain issues. Most of the automobile producers follow Just-In-Time (JIT) model of production. This needs consistent supply of raw materials, but now they are planning to keep stocks due to frequent price fluctuations and uncertain supplies.
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Indian exporters are finding alternative routes to Russia and CIS countries. These routes could be via Chinese Ports, via German ports, via Georgian ports. Besides this the International North-South Transport Corridor ( INSTC ), which is a is a 7,200-km-long[1] multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe could also be a viable option.
DPA
DPA GATISHAKTI
Deendayal Port Authority conducted a Media Briefing on PM Gati Shakti, National Master Plan for MultiModal Connectivity, on 2nd March, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Board Room, Administrative Office Building-DPA, Gandhidham. The event was chaired by Shri S.K. Mehta, IFS, Chairman-DPA, in the presence of Shri Nandeesh Shukla, IRTS, Dy. Chairman, Shri Adish Pathania, IRTS, Area Railway ManagerGandhidham, Shri Rajendra Kumar, IPRCL, Shri Mahesh Tirthani, Secretary, Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Shri Mahesh Gupta, President, Kandla Liquid Tank Terminal, Shri Vinay Thakur, BISAG (N) & other Senior Officials of DPA.Participants from various Central & State Ministries joined the Meeting virtuallyThe Gati Shakti plan envisages a centralized portal comprising all existing and planned infrastructure initiatives of as many as 16 Central Ministries and Departments. As a result, every department will now have visibility of each other’s activities,
providing critical data while planning and executing projects in a comprehensive manner. As a result of better planning, the entire process of infrastructure creation is expected to be streamlined beginning from land acquisition to implementation, connections between local, state and national level government bodies and corporates.Under the ambitious Gati Shakti - National Master Plan, the Port has 10 Projects worth Rs. 3159 Crores which are under various stages of implementation. Another 7 projects worth Rs. 6685 Crores are also envisaged as additional projects which are to be implemented. These 17 projects are worth around Rs. 10,000 Crores would add a capacity of close to 100 MMTPA. The major initiatives under Gati Shakti are Augmentation of Pipeline Network at Oil Jetty area in Kandla, SBM expansion at Vadinar, Oil Jetty Cum Bunkering Terminal at Kandla, Construction of 5 Oil Jetties: 7,8,9,10 and 11, Smart Industrial Port City (SIPC) Project and Mechanization of Cargo berth no 14. The Port expects huge investment in
many of these projects from the private sector as they are to be implemented in the Public Private Partnership(PPP) model. This will help in boosting EXIM trade thus help in increasing the GDP of the economy. The port is also implementing connectivity projects belonging to rail, road and Ro- Ro/Ro Pax. The Ro-Ro, Ro-Pax Service from Hazira to Ghogha was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, and helped in implementation of the project under the guidance of MoPS&W. Carrying it forward the Port is developing Ro-Ro, Ro-Pax facilities worth Rs. 383 Crores at Hazira, Pipavav and Muldwarka. Apart from this, more than 10 other road and rail connectivity projects are also in pipeline which will be included in the Gati Shakti initiatives.At the end of the briefing, Press media was addressed by Chairperson & Dy. Chairman about the projects of PM Gati Shakti, - National Master Plan and interacted with them to give a clear vision about the PM GATI SHAKTI.
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FISHERIES
UNION MINISTER FOR FISHERIES
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nion Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala will inaugurate the ‘Sagar Parikrama’, organised by The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India and National Fisheries Development Board along with Department of Fisheries, Government of Gujarat, Indian Coast Guard, Fishery Survey of India, Gujarat Maritime Board and fishermen representatives on 5th March 2022. The Parikrama, starting from Mandvi at Shyamiji Krishna Varma Memorial, Gujarat, as a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsava’, is an endeavour to know the problems of Coastal Fisher folk. It will be organised in other districts of Gujarat and other State/ UTs in subsequent phases.Shri Raghavjibhai Patel, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cow-breeding, Government of Gujarat; Shri Jitubhai Chaudhari, State Minister of Kalpsar and Fisheries; Shri Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary (Fisheries), Government of India; Shri Nalin Upadhyay, Secretary (Fisheries), Govt of Gujarat and senior officials of Department of Fisheries, Govt of India, National Fisheries Development Board, Govt of Gujarat, Fishery Survey of India, Gujarat Maritime Board, and Indian Coast Guard shall grace the occasion. The Parikrama shall be accompanied by the State Fisheries officials, Fishermen representatives, Fish-Farmers entrepreneurs, stakeholders, professionals, officials and Scientists from across the nation.During the event, certificates /sanctions related to Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampadha scheme (PMMSY), KCC & State Scheme shall be awarded to the progressive fishermen, especially costal fishermen, fishers and fish farmers, young fishery entrepreneurs etc. Literature on PMMSY scheme, State schemes, FIDF, KCC etc. shall be popularised among fishers through print media, electronic media, videos & digital campaign with jingles. A song on Sagar Parikrama shall also be launched in the contest of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit
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Mahotsava’.Government of India is in the forefront in transforming the fisheries sector and to formulate fisheries management plans along with regulatory framework towards effective fisheries governance to ensure sustainable and responsible development through an ecosystem approach. The journey of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ shall focus on sustainable balance between the utilization of marine fisheries resources for food security of nation and livelihoods of coastal fisher communities and protection of marine ecosystems.An evolutionary journey of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ is envisaged in the sea across the coastal belt demonstrating solidarity with all fisher folk, fish farmers and concerned stakeholders as a spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.Oceans are vital to the economies, security and livelihoods of Indian coastal states. The Country has a coastline of 8118km, covering 9 maritime States/4UTs and providing livelihood support to millions of coastal fisher folk. As
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a mark of gratitude to our seas, the program of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ is envisioned as a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsava’ saluting our great freedom fighters, sailors and fishers. It is proposed to be conducted in all coastal states/UTs through a pre-decided sea route down right from Gujarat, Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands to have interaction programme with fishermen, fisher communities and stakeholders in these locations and districts in order to know the problems of Coastal Fisher folk.‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsava’ is one of the significant initiatives of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements. The Bardoli Satyagraha, in the state of Gujarat, India during the British Raj, was a major episode of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian Independence Movement on 12 June 1928. The Satyagraha was eventually led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and its success gave rise to Patel becoming one of the main leaders of the independence movement, especially resolving farmers issues.Gujarat has a coastal length of 1214 km, covering 16 coastal districts having huge diversity of marine based ecosystems and development opportunities. Fisher folk, vendors and industries have a direct stake in the development of fisheries sector in economic value, especially exports. The first leg of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ shall start on 5th March 2022 from Mandvi and end at Porbandar on 6th March 2022. The entire distance will be covered from the coastline of Mandvi on the coast of the Arabian Sea in the Kutch district of Gujarat, situated at the estuary where the river Rukmavati meets the Gulf of Kutch.It’s pertinent to note that oceans are the world’s single largest ecosystem, covering nearly threefourths of the earth’s surface, thereby providing a massive arena for emerging complex and interconnected development issues such livelihoods, as climate change, commerce, and security.
DPA
AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV
In view of AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV, Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla organised a Sand Art on theme of Nation’s Freedom Fighters, today at Mandvi Beach-Kutch. Chief Guest of the ceremony Shri S.K. Mehta, IFS, Chairperson DPA inaugurated the event by cutting the ribbon of the gigantic Sand Art made by Kutchi-Artist Shri Anil Joshi. The event was made successful in presence of Shri Nandeesh Shukla, IRTS, Dy. Chairman; Shri C. Harichandran, Secretary; Shri B. Bhagyanath, FA & CAO; Capt. Pradeep Mohanty, Dy. Conservator; Shri Sushil Chandra Nahak, CME; Shri Y.K. Singh, Sr. Dy. Secretary; Shri Ravi Maheshwari, Personnel Officer; Shri Arvind Pradhan, Labour Officer; Shri Shailendra Pandey, Sr. Asst. Secretary, Shri Mahendra Parmar, Asst. Traffic Manager; Shri Omprakash Dadlani, TP & PRO & DPA workers and local villagers along with visitors at Beach
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PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT OF INDIA PRESENTS PRESIDENT’S COLOUR TO INS VALSURA
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hri Ram Nath Kovind, the Hon’ble President of India presented the prestigious President’s Colour to Indian Naval Ship (INS) Valsura on 25 March 2022. The ‘Nishan Adhikari’ Lieutenant Arun Singh Sambyal received the President’s Colour on behalf of the unit, in an impressive parade. The unit paraded a 150-men Guard of Honour for Hon’ble President. Over 800 officers and men of INS Valsura, looking spectacular in their ceremonial dresses, marched proudly to the tunes of the Naval Band. Shri Acharya Devvrat, the Hon’ble Governor of Gujarat, Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice
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Admiral MA Hampiholi, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command along with other senior civil and military dignitaries graced the occasion. The President’s Colour is bestowed upon a military unit in recognition of exceptional service rendered to the nation, both in peace and in war. The Indian Navy was the first Indian Armed Force, to be awarded the President’s Colour by Dr Rajendra Prasad on 27 May 1951. The legacy of INS Valsura dates back to 1942, when the operational necessity mandated creation of an advanced Torpedo Training Facility to enhance the firepower of the Royal Indian Navy during World War-II.
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Post India becoming a Republic, the unit was renamed as INS Valsura on 01 July 1950. Thereon, INS Valsura has transformed itself into an epitome of professional technical training and has exponentially grown to keep pace with the Indian Navy’s modernisation plans. The unit has always stayed ahead of the curve to equip the officers and sailors of the Indian Navy with requisite skill-sets to maintain and ensure combat worthiness of the increasingly complex weaponry and electronic systems besides keeping pace with the advancements in Information Technology. The unit imparts quality training on contemporary and niche technologies through progressive augmentation
of training infrastructure. Setting up of Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Medium Voltage labs in the recent years exemplify its quest for technological excellence in contemporary technology also in training officers and sailors. Overall, the establishment conducts more than 262 courses an year and has an annual training throughput of more than 750 officers and 4200 sailors. INS Valsura has also emerged as the preferred training destination for our Friendly Foreign Navies. 1800 trainees from 15 Friendly Foreign Navies have been trained till date from this premier institution. As part of social outreach programmes in the Saurashtra region, INS Valsura has initiated a number of welfare measures. The re-building of Navy Moda village post devastating earthquake of 2001, was a commendable effort towards community service. In September 2021, during the floods in Jamnagar, over 400 citizens, including the elderly, ladies and children, were rescued by the teams of INS Valsura. On this landmark event, the Hon’ble President of India congratulated the officers and sailors of INS Valsura and commended them for their professionalism and dedication to safeguard our maritime borders. He also congratulated the personnel of INS Valsura, both past and present for the meritorious
service rendered to the nation for the past 79 years. Speaking on this occasion, he lauded the sustained efforts by the unit, towards meeting the national objectives and producing competent sea warriors. He further highlighted the vital role of the Indian Navy as the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ in the Indian Ocean Region and urged the men in whites to continue their selfless and dedicated service to the nation. The Hon’ble President wished all personnel of INS Valsura, encouraging them to reach even greater heights in the era of rapidly changing technology.
A special postal cover was also released by the Hon’ble President to commemorate the occasion. The award of President’s Colour marks a very important milestone in the history of INS Valsura. The President’s Colour shall be proudly displayed and carried at all Ceremonial Parades at INS Valsura, in accordance with Naval traditions. It’s a symbol of yeoman service rendered and would motivate the officers and men of the Indian Navy.
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NIB Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Hon’ble Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Tourism, Shri Shripad Naik and Hon’ble Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shri Shantanu Thakur graced the event for commemorating completion of 7 years of SAGARMALA Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla participated enthusiastically by showcase its achievements under SAGARMALA at a stall set-up at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi on 25-03-2022.
Sanrakshika (CISF Wives Welfare Association) Unit DPA-Kandla celebrated AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV by organizing high level Badakhana & Cultural program. Shri S.K. Mehta, IFS, Chaiman-DPA, Commissioner CGST-Kachchh, Commissioner-Customs, Kandla & Mundra, Brigadier. ED IFFCO-Kandla, DIG BSF SHQrs Bhuj & Shri Nandeesh Shukla, IRTS, Dy. Chairman, SP East-Kachchh graced the occasion along with Senior Officials of DPA, CISF, ICG, BSF, Intelligence Agencies, District Administration and Sister Organization
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BRAHMOS
WEBS AROUND THE BRAHMOS FIRING INCIDENT AND THE FICKLENESS OF PAKISTAN’S AIR DEFENCES
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Manan Bhatt
Pakistan Newspaper announced about a private jet likely to be used for training crashed on a cold storage in Mian Channu village, Khanewal District, on the evening of March 09. The pilot had ejected and was safe. PAK media reported no loss of life or injury as the location of crash
had no human presence. Soon after, the army authorities cordoned off the area and cleared the civilians away from the crash site. Suspicions arose about the incident as private single seater aircraft rarely have ejection seats or jet engines. Two days after the incident, on March 11, Pakistan’s DGISPR, Major General Babar Iftikhar announced: “On March 9 at 6:43 pm, a supersonic
flying object, most probably a missile from India travelling at 40,000 feet covered over 250 kilometers and landed inside Pakistan territory. Speaking about the missile’s warhead, he said, “It was an “unarmed projectile that damaged civilian properties.” Pakistan claimed, the incident caused no loss or injury to human life. Pakistan Air Force claimed about
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continuously tracking the projectile coming from India at the speed of 2.8 Mach and monitored the flight path from point of origin near Sirsa in India till the impact point near Mian Channu. There were also conflicting claims that Pakistan’s air defence system brought down the Indian missile while Gen Babar said that the projectile fell on its own and was not shot down. India and Pakistan have repeatedly tested each other’s air defence system’s reaction times. Preceding the Balakot Air-Strike, Indian Air Force had flown a lot of Combat Air Patrols along Line of Control to spook off Pakistan’s air defences. The touch and go CAP missions were aimed at gauging the PAF air-defence response time. The interesting part is, when Pakistan tried to test the IAF interceptor’s response during the Kargil War. IAF responded by shooting down a PN Atlantique off Kutch. Speculations were rife with social media. “Was the BrahMos incident one such attempt?” India did take some time to regret the accidental launch of the missile into Pakistan because of a technical fault. The ‘incident’ was viewed seriously by the Indian Establishment as a court of inquiry was ordered. Indian establishment didn’t name the misfired missile or mentioned about warhead of the missile. Several media reports claimed the missile being a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. Pakistan’s security establishment criticized India for taking two days to accept the fact about the missile mishap. Pakistan’s Air Vice-Marshall Tariq Zia claimed the supersonic speed and the height of 40,000 feet of the Indian projectile could have endangered lives of passengers travelling in commercial flights, which fly between 35,000 to 42,000 feet. The BrahMos missile is an Indo-Russia joint venture. The missile’s landbased version has a range of 290 km, having ability to launch from air-land and sea. The BrahMos is the fastest cruise missile in the world that can fly at three times the speed of sound. The cruise missile can change direction during flight at ninety degrees. The BrahMos can hide from radar by flying 16
at very low altitudes. Conditional to timing, height, array and atmosphere, Barak-8 is the only missile defence which can intercept BrahMos, albeit with 60 percent probability. The Pakistan Army is in charge of country’s integrated air defence, having motto of ‘defence by denial’. It comprises AEW&C, ground-based radars, HQ-7 command-line-of-sight short range ground-to-air defence, anti-aircraft artillery, shoulder fired Surface to Air Missiles and the F-16 and Mirage 3E interceptor jets drew first line of defence. China made LY-80 or HQ-16Low to Medium Altitude Air Defense (LOMADS) is the mainstay of Pakistan’s air defence from incoming enemy aircraft and missiles. China and Pakistan both claim the LY-80 as the best deterrent against India’s BrahMos. The DGISPR made claims to track the missile from launching onwards. But, the actual flight path of the missile and the one claimed by the Pakistanis are different. The missile could travel for four minutes traversing 124 km inside Pakistan before crash goes to show, it was neither tracked nor intercepted. Pakistan’s defence establishment is averse to use missile defences, unless the target is GHQ. Can a cash-strapped Pakistan, even afford to even test fire the LY-80 air defence missiles costing a whopping 6.27 million apiece? Pakistan’s Chinese made LY-80/HQ16 air defense - Surface to Air Missiles batteries and IBIS-150 air defence Radars didn’t track or intercept India’s Balakot Air Strike on February 26, 2019 and the incoming BrahMos on March 09, 2022. If the ‘misfired’ BrahMos had travelled for another three minutes toward west, it could have reached Bahawalpur, residence of India’s most wanted terrorist and LeT chief Hafeez Saeed, responsible for 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai. Pakistan’s air defence capabilities are now being questioned by Pakistani defence establishment and civilians alike. There are multiple states equating Chinese-made LY-80 surface-to-air missile systems with “Chinese goods because of malfunctioning of systems.” Reports claim, most of the LY-8- LOMADS air defence systems are out of operations even after onsite repairing
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by the Chinese OEM. Pakistan Army is wasting the taxpayers’ money to buy junk military hardware from china. In the backdrop of Chinese aggression on Taiwan, this incident might prove to be an eye-opener about effectiveness of the BrahMos and fragility of the LY-80. Taiwan defence forces’ purchase order for BrahMos missiles will give them an immense advantage against Chinese air defences. The DGISPR’s press conference on 10th was without the normal hue and cry. No US or the UN intervention in the matter was sought. Does the uneasy calm after the not so accidental BrahMos missile launch invariably hint towards a huge cover-up by both the sides? The incident might have been laid to rest with Pakistan’s press conference and India’s clarification on the matter. The accidental incident might be a convenient truth for both the sides to accept. Pakistan army claimed, the site of missile crash was a cold storage. But, a close analysis of the debris shows the building to be a workshop or a warehouse having motors and lathe machines. Pakistan army cordoned off the area for two days and cleared something to be hidden from general public and the world. Pakistan claimed, there was no warhead in the missile. But, visuals shared by ISPR and open source videos of the crash site reveal, the extant of the damage, shattered the entire structure, collapsing the walls. A warhead burst’s overpressure can only cause such widespread damage. The missile’s crater doesn’t look much deep. Did the warhead burst in air? India’s BrahMos supersonic missile could have burst and passed through the walls, if the warehouse at Mian Channu was not the target, the missile would have left an entry and an exit hole while not leaving such huge devastation. Doesn’t the damage show clearly, the missile has hit the pre-designated target? The Surgical and Air-Strikes have shown, India’s present military posture is of offensive defence. The missile missed the civilian targets nearby to target the only ‘un-inhibited’ building was razed to ground. Is Pakistan covering up something to hide behind the ‘accidental fire claim’ to avoid revealing a high value target? Writer is a Veteran of Indian Navy.
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