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Wednesday, March 31, 2021

8 Pages

India Nears Completion of Chabahar Port in Iran Chennai

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Port Wings News Network he second batch of equipment supplied by India has reached Chabahar, Iranian and Indian officials say, bringing New Delhi closer to full operation of the two terminals which it is developing in the port, according to a detailed report in Iran’s prominent news website PressTV.com.

India has been developing a part of Chabahar on Iran’s southeastern coast along the Gulf of Oman in order to expand trade with Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asian nations.

Two Mobile Harbor Cranes (MHC), each weighing 100 tonnes, arrived in the port on 21 March, more than a month after the first consignment of two 140-tonne MHCs was supplied.

“Continuing with our commitment to develop Chabahar Port, second shipment of equipment reaches Shahid Behesti Terminal,” India’s Ports Shipping and Waterways Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted on 22 March.

Two more rail-mounted cranes will be delivered in the next few weeks. The six cranes have been built by Italian firm Italgru under a $25 million contract signed last year.

India had initially awarded the contract to Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, but the country cancelled it last year because of delays by the Chinese company in supplying the equipment ordered in 2017.

TRILATERAL CONTRACT Under a trilateral contract signed with Iran and Afghanistan in May

2016, India is developing two berths at the Shahid Beheshti port of Chabahar with a total capital investment of $85 million and will operate them on a 10-year lease.

Indian officials expect to start full-scale operations at the terminals by the end of May. Earlier this month, Mandaviya said he expected to visit Iran in April or May for the inauguration of full operations.

The port commenced operations

on a limited scale in December 2017. Last year, India used Chabahar to send 75,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan and 25 tonnes of malathion pesticide to Iran to deal with a locust invasion.

According to the Indian minister, the port had handled 123 vessels and 1.8 million tonnes of bulk and general cargoes since February 2019.

“This is much higher than our expectations. Imagine the scale of operations and freight saving once it is fully operational,” he was quoted as saying this month.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO INDIA? India sees Chabahar as a stepping stone in its bid to become a regional infrastructure developer and expand

trade with Afghanistan and other Central Asian states as well as the region beyond.

It has pledged to invest another $500 million in developing a free trade zone (FTZ) around Chabahar and build a $1.6 billion railway line some 600 km away to Zahedan, an Iranian city near the border of southwest Afghanistan.

Recently, New Delhi has proposed that Chabahar be included in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), connecting Mumbai to M o s c o w through Iran.

The 7,200km multimode route was proposed by Russia, Iran and India in 2000, before being joined by 10 Central Asian countries.

It envisages a network of ship, rail and road for freight transport that will cut carriage costs by about 3060% and transit time from 40 days to about 20 days.

Hence, Chabahar is thought to play a crucial role in reducing dependency on the Suez Canal for transporting cargo to Europe.

Under the 2017 tripartite agreement, India has committed at least $21 billion to the corridor linking Chabahar to Hajigak in central Afghanistan where the rising economic power plans to plough $11 billion into an iron and steel mining project.

DEVELOPMENT PLANS Contd. on page -2

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Wing 7 Feather 33

Chennai

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Port Wings News Network he 25-member crew, all of whom are Indian, of the giant cargo ship that has wedged in Egypt’s Suez Canal was safe and accounted for. The ship had two pilots from Egypt’s canal authority aboard the vessel to guide it when the grounding happened around 7:45am on 23 March, said Bernhard Schulte Ship management, the company that manages the Ever Given.

Dredgers, tugboats and even a backhoe failed to free the skyscraper-sized ship on Thursday as the number of stacked-up vessels unable to pass through the vital waterway climbed to 150 and losses to global shipping mounted.

The ship carrying cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, manmade canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula.

Even with the aid of high tides, authorities have been unable to push the Panama-flagged container vessel aside, and they are looking for new ideas to free it.

In a sign of the turmoil the blockage has caused, the ship’s Japanese owner even offered a written apology.

“We are determined to keep on working hard to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said. “We would like to apologise to all parties affected by this incident, including the ships travelling and planning to travel through Suez Canal.”

As efforts to free it resumed at daylight Thursday, an Egyptian

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canal authority official said workers hoped to avoid offloading containers from the vessel as it would take days to do so and extend the closure.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to talk to journalists.

So far, dredgers have tried to clear silt around the massive ship. Tug boats nudged the vessel alongside it, trying to gain momentum. From the shore, at least one backhoe dug into the canal’s sandy banks, suggesting File Photo

the bow of the ship had plowed into it. However, satellite photos taken Thursday by Planet Labs Inc. and analyzed by The Associated Press showed the vessel still stuck in the same location.

Lt Gen Osama Rabei, the head of the canal authority, said navigation through the waterway would remain halted until the Ever Given is refloated. A team from Boskalis, a Dutch firm specialized in salvaging, arrived at the canal Thursday, although one of its top officials warned removing the vessel could take “days to weeks.”

It is, in a manner of speaking, a very heavy whale on the beach, Boskalis chairman Peter Berdowski told the Dutch current affairs program Nieuwuur on Wednesday.

The ship, with the weight it now has, cant really be pulled free. You can forget it.

Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those Contd. on page -2

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Inside Suez Canal Grounding Gives...

Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal...

Last Ditch Effort Underway To...

Scores of Container Ships...

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Mar. 31st - Apr. 6th, 2021 Issue

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India Nears Completion of Chabahar...

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

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Wing 7 Feather 33

The Ripple Effect

ver Given made headlines following its grounding in one of the key bloodlines of the global trade, namely the Suez Canal. Specifically, 12% of world trade takes place through the Suez Canal, and estimates from Bloomberg indicate that the blockage has halted $9.6 billion worth of traffic a day.

The colossal ship, spanning 400 meters in length and 59 meters in width, ran aground on March 23, at 6 nautical miles from the southern entrance of the canal. At 20,000 TEU capacity, the ship falls into the category of the world’s largest containerships.

Gusting winds of 30 knots and poor visibility are believed to be the likely cause of the grounding, which left the boxship stuck sideways in a narrow point of the waterway.

The position of the ship has blocked the passage of convoys on both sides of the waterway resulting in the build-up of vessels.

It is believed that it would take at least two days to remove the ship and resume shipping in the canal. An external salvage team is also due to be appointed, with reports emerging that Smit salvage experts would be hired for the job. As the Suez Canal tugs resume efforts to free the ship, which has been partially refloated since Tuesday, the global trade is already feeling the impact. The Suez Canal Authority said in its latest update that the traffic through the canal would be temporarily suspended as well, as activities on refloating the ship are resumed.

As informed, it was possible to allow passage to 13 ships from Port Said within the northern convoy.

Initial estimates show that long tailbacks have been created on the waterway, stopping vessels from passing and causing delays.

Data from Vessels Value indicates that there are 157 ships waiting in and around the waterway for the convoys to resume.

According to Wood Mackenzie VesselTracker, the largest impact is on container shipping, with the likely outcome being a spike of cargo into the main ports in Europe.

However, Wood Mackenzie estimates that there are a total of 16 laden crude and product oil tankers that are expected to transit the canal delayed by the incident, amounting to 870Kt of crude and 670kt of clean products.

“These ships are currently in the canal itself or waiting at either the North entrance to the Suez Canal (Port Said Anchorage and Great Bitter Lake Anchorage) or at the Southern Suez Anchorage. There are several vessels which are located to the south of the canal entrance which we believe are scheduled to discharge at various southern Suez ports. Our data suggests that there have been no cargoes diverted to alternative routes such as around the Cape of Good Hope,” Wood Mackenzie principal analyst Mark Williams said.

As a result, oil prices already rose $2 per barrel on the news of the blockage, but stocks of both crude and products are high in the Atlantic basin, Wood Mackenzie vice president Ann-Louise Hittle explained.

She believes a few days of delays in crude or product travelling through the Suez Canal to the west (Europe/Americas) should not have a prolonged impact on the Atlantic basin market. “After the canal reopens, the crude market will shift focus towards the April 1 OPEC+ meeting to determine production levels for May,” Hittle added.

“If the blockage is prolonged, given the weakness in European demand for middle distillates and low refinery utilisation rates, oil product trade flows from Europe/Mediterranean to East of Suez will suffer a greater impact, reducing availability of naphtha, petrochemical feedstocks and fuel oil to Asia. This would be supportive for Asia product prices and widen the West-East arb in the near term,” Williams continued.

When it Sample comes to LNG, at least 15 ships initially due to transit the canal TEXT on the same day were forced to wait at anchorages. More have arrived since, creating a build-up of vessels close to the Northern and Southern entrances and within the canal itself.

Though the blocking of the Suez Canal hasn’t been much of a worry for Indian shipping companies such as Great Eastern Shipping and Essar Shipping, it is likely to impact Indian trade if the blockage continues beyond the weekend, say experts. We are not impacted directly as all our vessels are around India and in the South East Asia region.

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SUBSCRIPTION

Continued from page -1 Dating back to 2500 BC and first mentioned as the port of Tis during the invasion of Persia by Alexander of Macedon, Chabahar currently consists of two ports of Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each having five berths.

With the former being a traffic port, the Shahid Beheshti is being developed as a regional hub port. Since 2017, its capacity has expanded from 2 million tonnes per year to 8 million tonnes and is expected to hit 20 million tonnes once all development work is complete.

Under the May 2016 deal, India is refurbishing one of the berths at the Shahid Beheshti, and building a container handling facility at the port.

Iran currently relies on its port of Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf for 85% of its seaborne trade. Bandar Abbas is not a deep water port and cannot handle 250,000-tonne oceangoing cargo ships, making Iran dependent on UAE ports where such vessels dock for transfer of cargoes to smaller ships for onward shipment to Iran. This means a loss

of revenue and provides a chokehold during the times of sanctions and political standoffs.

Chabahar will serve as Iran’s first oceanic port, providing the gateway to Central Asia.

CHALLENGES AND IRAN’S TRUMP CARD The desire to develop Chabahar in spite of enormous challenges indicates the recognition in both Iran and India of the crucial role which the project plays in their strategic priorities.

India views China’s attempt to redraw regional boundaries through its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative with suspicion and tries to enhance its own regional connectivity profiles.

Iran, in contrast, has signaled its full dedication to the initiative which it sees as central to its bid to become a transport hub in the heart of Eurasia.

China is the largest foreign investor in Iran, having successfully completed a number of infrastructure projects in Iran including the Tehran metro. It is further providing $1.5 billion for the electrification of the

Tehran-Mashhad railway line.

In 2016, the two countries announced their willingness to expand bilateral trade to $600 billion. Such an evolving closeness does not sit well with India which sees China as a rival.

Iran’s openness to Pakistani and Chinese participation in the development of Chabahar has also vexed India.

Moreover, India’s efforts to get a special concession for development of Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf have hit a brick wall, which has bedeviled investment plans.

Another detractor is the challenge which India has been facing in acquiring heavy equipment from foreign countries, mainly because of the reluctance of foreign banks to open letters of credit for a project in Iran, despite Chabahar port being granted a waiver from US sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Against so many odds, India’s completion of the project represents a key geoeconomic victory for Iran, which is likely to encourage other investors to abandon their qualms and engage the Islamic Republic in trade.

Entire Crew of Cargo Ship Stuck In Suez Canal...

Continued from page -1 already stuck in the canal system on Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake.

Cargo ships already behind the Ever Given in the canal will be reversed south back to Port Suez to free the channel, Leth Agencies said. Authorities hope to do the same to the Ever Given when they can free it.

Evergreen Marine Corp., a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, said the Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal, something Egyptian officials earlier said as well. High winds and a sandstorm plagued the area Tuesday, with winds gusting to 50 kph (30 mph).

An initial report suggested the ship suffered a power blackout before the incident, something Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denied. Initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding, the company said.

In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters

the Suez Canal is part of a crucial international sea lane, and that the Japanese government was gathering information and working with local authorities.

The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Mideast, which rely on the canal to avoid sailing around Africa. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at over $63 a barrel Thursday.

Overall, famed shipping journal Lloyd’s List estimates each day the Suez Canal is closed disrupts over $9 billion worth of goods that should be passing through the waterway. A quarter of all Suez Canal traffic a day comes from container ships like the Ever Given, the journal said.

Blocking something like the Suez Canal really sets in motion a number of dominos toppling each other over, said Lars Jensen, chief executive of Denmark-based SeaIntelligence Consulting. The effect is not only going to be the simple, immediate one with cargo being delayed over the next few weeks, but will actually

have repercussions several months down the line for the supply chain.

The Ever Given, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 meters (a quarter mile) and a width of 59 meters (193 feet), is among the largest cargo ships in the world. It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time. It previously had been at ports in China before heading toward Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypts top foreign currency earners. In 2015, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the worlds largest vessels. However, the Ever Given ran aground south of that new portion of the canal.

The stranding Tuesday marks just the latest to affect mariners amid the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands have been stuck aboard vessels due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, demands on shipping have increased, adding to the pressure on tired sailors.

Suez Canal Grounding Gives Rise To Fraudulent Claims Online Chennai

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Port Wings News Network global crisis hits the shipping industry, and guess what’s the first thing to spread faster than COVID? Misinformation. Here are just a few of the fraudulent social media posts that have spread like wildfire after the Suez shutdown.

Fake posts blame Egypt’s first female captain for blocking Suez Canal A smear campaign has been started in Egypt against Capt. Marwa Elselehdar, Egypt’s first female captain, with posts blaming her for the Suez Canal blockage filling the country’s social media pages.

Recently, a news report was published by Arab Times on Capt.

Elselehdar and how she’s riding a wave of success. The smear campaign started barely three days after the news was published.

The fake posts depicted Elselehdar commanding the cargo

ship Ever Given, causing it to lodge sideways while crossing the Suez Canal. Marwa said that she commands the lighthouse tender Aida 4, owned by the Egyptian Authority of Marine Safety – not the stranded boxship owned by Evergreen.

Egypt Today tweeted, “A fake post is circulating on social media alleging an Egyptian female sea captain of causing the cargo ship Ever Given to get stuck in the Suez Canal while sailing through the international waterway . . .

The caption [denigrates] Arab women’s ability to work as sea captains.”

According to Marwa, the fabricated photos and false information are part of an organized smear campaign against Arab women.

As evidence, she said that three accounts bearing her name had garnered over 20,000 followers within a few hours of being

launched. Fake news of MSC canceling bookings Even the world’s second-largest shipping line hasn’t been spared from fake news. Fake posts have been circulating in the market alleging - falsely - that MSC had stopped bookings worldwide due to the Suez closure.

It took a reassuring post from MSC to calm things down. MSC posted: “MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is aware of a fake notice circulating in the market which erroneously states that we are not taking any bookings for cargo transportation. MSC wishes to reassure customers that we are open for business and that there is no worldwide stoppage of bookings.”

MSC said that due to the Suez Canal blockage, the company might be facing “some missed sailings” in the future. MSC would “adapt the volume of bookings” they can accept “according to the reduced capacity available.”

Mar. 31st - Apr. 6th, 2021 Issue

JNPT Inaugurates Inter Terminal Route Mumbai

Port Wings News Network n a major push and with a vision to achieve seamless trade, new Inter Terminal Route connecting BMCT Terminal with all the other four Container Terminals of JNPT was inaugurated at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s premier container port on 27 March.

The Inter Terminal Route was inaugurated by Shri Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT in the

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presence of Shri. Unmesh Sharad Wagh, IRS, Deputy Chairman, JNPT and HODs, JNPT Terminal Operators and other stakeholders.

The newly inaugurated route will reduce the container movement distance between BMCT and the other JN Port Terminals from the existing 5 kms to 2.5 kms in one direction. This route will be used exclusively for the movement of TP (Transhipment) & ITRHO (Inter Terminal Rail Handling Operation) containers between BMCT and other terminals of JN Port offering a smooth and continuous flow of ITRHO and TP containers.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Shri Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT said, “The inauguration of Internal Terminal Route will help in smoothening

the overall trade cycle and further enhance our efficiency. It will further streamline the movement of rail containers between BMCT with all the other four Container Terminals at the port. JNPT has also taken various other initiatives under ‘Ease of Doing Business’ that has helped save significant amount of time and cost for the EXIM community.”

ITRHO aims to maximize train placement, track productivity, e f f i c i e n c y, cost effective handling, reduce dwell time of import ICD boxes, connecting export ICD boxes to respective terminals in time and also increase rail quotient at JNPT. Trade will be benefitted, as the new route would ensure timely

connection of export containers arriving by trains in mixed condition to the particular vessel in any of the terminals and also enhance the train handling time at JN Port.

Overall the new route is expected

to increase the rail share and volume of Transhipment containers in JN Port. This is a yet another significant move by JNPT to provide ease of doing business to the EXIM community, in its endeavour to be among the best container port globally.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Navi Mumbai is the biggest container handling Port in India accounting for around 52% of the total containerised cargo volume, across the major ports of India. Commissioned on 26th May 1989, in less than three decades of its operations, JNPT has transformed from a bulk-cargo terminal to become the premier container port in the country.

Currently JNPT operates five container terminals: The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT), the Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT), the Gateway Terminals India Pvt. Ltd. (GTIPL), Nhava Sheva International Gateway Terminal(NSIGT) and the newly commissioned Bharat Mumbai

Container Terminals Private Limited (BMCTPL). The Port also has a Shallow Water Berth for general cargo and another Liquid Cargo Terminal which is managed

by BPCL-IOCL consortium.

Exporters Appeal For Instalment In Repayment Of Funded Interest Term Loan as Deadline Approaches Chennai

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Port Wings News Network irupur Exporters Association (TEA) has appealed to the Government for instalment in repayment of Funded Interest Term Loan (FITL) and extension of interest equalisation scheme.

Shri. Raja M Shanmugham, President, TEA, said RBI had decided to permit lending institutions to convert the accumulated interest on working capital facilities over the total deferment period of 6 months (i.e. March 1, 2020 up to August 31, 2020) into a Funded Interest Term Loan (FITL) which shall be fully repaid during the course of the current financial year, ending March 31, 2021.

“KNITWEAR BUSINESS IN TIRUPUR HAS NOT FULLY RECOVERED” Shri. Raja M Shanmugham said: “As the knitwear business in Tirupur has not fully recovered due to less offtake of the exports and emergence of second wave of COVID-19 in the major markets like Germany, France and UK and coupled with the increasing of Cotton Yarn prices

and irregular supply of yarn for the past four months has affected the knitwear sector largely, particularly MSMEs, is struggling to sustain in the business.”

“In this scenario, the knitwear exporting units are finding it difficult to repay the Funded Interest Term Loan (FITL) and in view of the gravity of the situation, he has appealed to the Hon’ble Finance Minister to permit for repayment of FITL in Six equal monthly instalments which will help the MSMEs in knitwear sector to get revived back, sustain and strive for the growth of the units,” he added.

Shri. Raja M Shanmugham said after approval of Government of India, RBI had permitted for extension of Interest Equalisation Scheme on Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit with same scope and coverage up to March 31, 2021 and the extension was from April 01, 2020 and end on March 31, 2021, covering a period of one year. He informed that 5% interest subsidy is given on Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit for MSMEs and 3% interest subsidy for

Non-MSMEs. He further pointed out that as the competitiveness has to be maintained by the MSMEs, 95% of readymade garment exporting units are in MSME, another requisition was also made to Hon’ble Finance Minister to advice RBI to permit for extension of Interest Equalisation Scheme for another 3 years, which will help the MSME exporting units to work out their costing accordingly and strive to take more export orders and sustain in the business.

Shri. Raja M Shanmugham said as the deadline 31st March 2021 is nearing, he appealed to address the both issues expediently.

The representation has also been sent to Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Shri. Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri. Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Union Minister of Road Transport and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Shri. U. P. Singh IAS., Textiles Secretary, Shri.

Anup Wadhawan IAS, Commerce Secretary and Shri. B. B. Swain IAS., MSME Secretary.

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Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal Crosses Key Milestone in Handling TEUs Tuticorin Port Wings News Network akshin Bharat Gateway Terminal Pvt. Ltd., a container terminal at Berth No. 8 of V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust – Tuticorin, has announced the achievement of key milestone – 2 Million TEUs in March 2021, through its enduring, enhanced customer service and productivity levels amidst the challenges faced by global pandemic COVID-19.

According to a media statement, DBGT achieved the earlier feat of handling 1 Million TEUs in June 2019 since their startup of commercial operations from the Y2014. Remarkably, it took just 21 months for DBGT to reach the milestone accomplishment of 2 million TEUs as contributed by handling of 633 vessels.

DBGT stands at the forefront of technological advancements with the prevalence of higher productivity levels.

DBGT expressed sincere appreciation to the trade fraternity, customers, and employees, who have been a part of this achievement. “Our achievement is gratifying and reflects the results of our relentless commitment towards accommodating growing

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requirements from our customers,” a media statement from the terminal

said.

To celebrate the achievement,

a small function was organized on 17 March 2021 inside the terminal premises with the key members from Tuticorin trade fraternity and DBGT employees who are the pillars of this achievement.

“The management takes pride in this achievement which stand as a testimony for the combined efforts of all its employees during these difficult times. DBGT is continuously striving to achieve improvement on overall terminal performance to serve the trade with more values surpassing the previously set performance benchmarks and marching towards the next milestone of hitting 3 Million TEUs optimistically in a much shorter period when compared to the volume achieved at present,” the statement further added.

FFFAI Urges for Smooth Connectivity and Logistics Infrastructure to Strengthen Trade Among BBIN Mumbai

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Port Wings News Network n view of tremendous potential of cross border trade between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Mr Shankar Shinde, Chairman Elect, the Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) has recommended for seamless multimodal connectivity and strong logistics infrastructure in each of the above countries.

Speaking at a webinar on ‘UN TIR System and its benefits of expansion to Bangladesh and other BBIN countries’, which was organised by FICCI in association with IRU Geneva, ICC Bangladesh and FFFAI on 25 March, Mr Shinde observed that accession to TIR Carnet would be immensely beneficial for the hassle-free cross border trade in this region. It would be pertinent to mention that FFFAI is one of the associates of TIR Carnet and have been working with the Government of India for International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, under TIR Carnet.

Mr Shinde also emphasised on well-defined policies to be framed up by the respective governments and well-trained officers including Customs and allied agencies engaged at the border check posts. Based on the INSTC route experience, where FFFAI had launched a trial run of containers, Mr Shinde stated that point to point vehicle movement would be the pragmatic solution instead of reworking of unloading and reloading transshipment, to save cost and reduce dwell time. Accordingly, accession to TIR would expedite the process in this regard. He, however, highlighted various other challenges as regard to cross border cargo transportation, as

witnessed in INSTC route. Mr Shinde further suggested that the governments will have to provide more impetus on private logistics companies, NVOCC or multimodal logistics operators’ participation in the BBIN project and also important would be to create a BBIN website portal with complete information for trade participation and addressing issues.

The webinar was also addressed

by Mr Satyajit Mohanty, Joint Secretary & Commissioner of Customs, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC); Mr Khairul Kabir Mia, First Secretary, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh; Mr Satish Kumar Reddy, Consultant, ADB; Mr Kazem Asayesh, IRU, Geneva; Mr AK Azad, Vice President of ICC Bangladesh and Mr Kabir Ahmed, President, Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA).

According to Mr Mohanty, TIR is one of the oldest established and functioning conventions and India being a party to it has a lot of potential to push trade and connectivity to a very different level. Mr Mohanty added that accession and adoption to a global convention like TIR can promote seamless cross-border movement of cargo vehicles in much lesser timeframe. It also gets rid of a lot of procedural formalities and inspection of goods at the cross borders.

The United Nations TIR Convention, overseen by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), is managed

by IRU, Geneva. TIR stands for ‘Transports Internationaux Routiers’ (International Road Transport). One of the most successful international transport conventions, TIR makes border crossings faster, more secure and more efficient, reducing transport costs, and boosting trade and development.

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Mar. 31st - Apr. 6th, 2021 Issue

Last Ditch Effort Underway To Salvage DP World-Run Box Transshipment Terminal In Cochin Port

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Chennai

Port Wings News Network he Centre-owned Cochin Port Trust and DP World Ltd are exploring ways to fund a Rs 400-crore plan to deepen the channel of India’s only international container transshipment terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam run by the Dubai-based operator to 16 metres from 14.5 metres and help dock bigger ships, reports BusinessLine.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has turned down a request from Cochin Port Trust to fund the dredging cost through a grant from the government, officials said. The Ministry has instead suggested that the port trust can work out a funding arrangement either with the Sagarmala Development Company Ltd, an entity controlled by the government or with DP World to carry out the work.

The Ministry’s suggestions were discussed by the port trust and DP World but couldn’t reach a consensus.

DP World did not agree to a condition put forward by the port trust on handling a minimum guaranteed throughput (MGT) if the dredging work is to be funded by the port authority through Sagarmala Development Company or other means.

File photo

Unlike other port contracts at Central government-owned ports, the ICTT deal does not have a MGT clause written into the concession agreement and this has drawn flak from critics.

On the option of DP World funding the dredging work and adjusting the cost against the revenue share it is contractually mandated to pay the port trust annually, the Dubai operator said that it was willing to make such adjustment, but it should cover only the existing revenue share pay outs to the port trust.

The port authority, though, rejected this proposal from D P World arguing that such adjustment of costs should also protect “incremental revenue share” from handling more containers in future and not just the “existing revenue share” at the current level of traffic.

DP World also suggested imposing a transshipment surcharge on Indian cargo containers transshipped via Colombo port to promote transshipment through Vallarpadam in return for funding the dredging work. “The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways vetoed this proposal saying that no such restrictions can be imposed,” a government source said.

As a result, DP World backed out of funding the dredging work. A three-member panel has been set up with representatives from Cochin Port Trust, Kolkata Port Trust and Dredging Corporation of India to work out proper estimate of the dredging cost and suggest funding models.

“Funding the dredging cost through a grant from the government is the best option as this would ensure that the already high vessel related charges (VRC) at Cochin port does not go up any further and hurt Vallarpadam ICTT’s

ability to compete with Colombo port,” said an industry source.

Globally, the port dredging costs are funded by government grants to keep the vessel related charges at competitive levels.

Otherwise, the dredging costs will have to be recovered by pricing it into the vessel related charges collected from ships calling at the port, making the marine charges more expensive.

Cochin Port Trust itself spends about ₹90 crore every year from internal resources just to maintain the current depth of the channel. This is one of the main reasons why the port trust has not been able to build up cash reserves for expansion.

The channel deepening plan is a last-ditch effort by the port authority and the ICTT operator to facilitate deep draft and also to reduce vessel related charges, two key hurdles that have crimped Vallarpadam’s ability to compete with Colombo port since starting operations in February 2011.

Colombo port is a key regional transshipment hub through which a large portion of India’s export-import cargo containers are transshipped every year.

The channel deepening work at ICTT has also gained urgency in view of a new container transshipment port being built by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) at Vizhinjam also in Kerala and a few nautical miles away from Vallarpadam.

The Vizhinjam project, incidentally, is entitled to receive a viability grant funding or VGF of ₹1,635 crore to be shared equally by the Central and the Kerala governments to boost its viability, making it the first port project to be offered such a grant.

Of this, ₹1,227 crore will be given during the construction phase and the balance during the operation period spanning 40 years extendable by another 20 years.

“The Centre has agreed to give a VGF of about ₹817 crore to Vizhinjam which is a nonmajor port but doesn’t want to give a grant of ₹400 crore to its own Cochin Port Trust to deepen the channel to accommodate bigger ships and make ICTT a success,” the industry source said.

APSEZ’s announcement that it will develop the West Container Terminal (WCT) at Colombo port on a government-to-government deal has further accelerated moves to turn around the fortunes of Vallarpadam terminal to compete and help cut India’s dependence on Colombo to send and receive container cargo.

Lack of deep draft and high vessel related charges have been cited for ICTT’s failure to achieve the objective for which it was designed.

The ICTT deal, according to the port unions, has literally broken the back of the state-run port which spent ₹938.72 crore (excluding service tax/GST) since FY2011 for maintaining the navigability of the channel.

The other “sacrifices” made by the Port Trust to make the project a success include granting concession in VRC of as much as 86 per cent to help ICTT compete with Colombo port, translating into a revenue loss of ₹461.97 crore over a ten-year period.

However, these facilitating measures did not yield any commensurate benefit to the Port Trust and the nation.

In FY20, the 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) capacity ICTT handled 6,20,061 TEUs of which a meagre 6 per cent or 36,183 TEUs were transshipment containers.

Suez Canal Blockage Stretches Global Supply Chain

A

Chennai

Port Wings News Network ccording to the planned schedules, in the seven days from Tuesday when the Ever Given ran aground, 49 container ships carrying an estimated 400,000 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) were set to pass through the Suez Canal in both directions.

The average value of the products in an ocean container is thought to be around $40,000, which would make the total value of cargo on a container ship of the Ever Given’s size close to $1 billion, says IHS Markit.

Refloating the Ever Given will result in a wave of container ships hits Europe’s hub ports in quick succession, stressing port facilities and inland infrastructure. The ultra large container ships calling at Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Hamburg can have a container exchange (the total number of boxes unloaded and loaded) of up to 10,000 TEU, which stretches terminal productivity to the limit.

“On the Asia-Europe trade, every ship that is available to shipping lines has been deployed, with vessel utilization effectively 100 percent following sustained heavy demand from European and UK importers. At the same time, terminals in Europe are experiencing labor shortages because of COVID-19 social distancing measures, new lockdowns, and rising infections.

European terminals will be hit by a surge of container volume that will temporarily overwhelm their handling capacity. Rotterdam and Antwerp expect ship wait times to lengthen, and expect it will take longer to handle ships and clear containers from the yards, and businesses will have to wait longer for their imports. This will likely lead to further deterioration in carrier on-time performance, and the capacity available to European importers will be reduced until shipping lines are able to restore their weekly schedules.

Cargo owners can expect canceled sailings, ports being skipped, and an increase in the amount of cargo rolled over to later sailings at transshipment ports in Asia. Congestion across Europe from next week is inevitable, it is just the extent of the delays that remains to be seen.” Greg Knowler, senior European editor at JOC by IHS Markit SUEZ CANAL BLOCKAGE ALSO IMPACTING US The long-term trends in sourcing has resulted in a steady shift in manufacturing from China toward South East and Indiaparticularly in footwear and apparel. For US sourcing from those regions, the Suez Canal is generally the preferred route.

“As a growing gateway for containers from Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, the blockage at the Suez Canal will further delay cargoes needed to meet elevated North American demand for consumer goods. The decade-long shift of lower-value production from China to the likes of Vietnam and India has made Suez the preferred route, rather than the Panama Canal, for shipments heading to US East and Gulf coast ports like, Savannah, NY-NJ, Charleston, Virginia Houston or Halifax (Canada).

While container lines are unlikely to permanently reroute shipments away from the Suez Canal, the current situations is one more stress point for the global container system that’s sagging on unprecedented Asia import demand from Europe and North American consumers.” Mark Szakonyi, executive editor of The Journal of Commerce by IHS Markit.

A further consequence of any delays is that containers cannot be quickly returned to Asia which will further exacerbate the current shortage of empty containers urgently needed for Chinese and other Asian exports. This has been a significant problem since the postpandemic rebound started in August 2020.

Stranded Suez Ship’s Owner, Insurers Face Millions In Claims

T

Chennai

Port Wings News Network he owner and insurers of one of the world’s largest container ships stuck in the Suez Canal face claims totalling millions of dollars even if the ship is refloated quickly, Reuters quoting industry sources said.

The 400-metre, 224,000-tonne Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement, threatening to disrupt global shipments for days.

GAC, a Dubai-based marine services company, said authorities were still working to free the ship, and that information it had received earlier claiming the vessel was partially refloated was inaccurate.

The ship’s owner, Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, and its insurers could face claims from the SCA for loss of revenue and from other ships whose passage has been disrupted, insurers and brokers said.

“All roads lead back to the vessel,” said David Smith, head of marine at insurance broker McGill and Partners. Shoei Kisen could not be reached for comment.

Container ships of this size are likely insured for hull and machinery damage of $100-140 million, insurance sources say. The ship was insured in the Japanese market, two of the sources said.

The cost of the salvage operation is also borne by the hull and machinery insurer.

“It is potentially the world’s biggest ever container ship disaster without a ship going bang,” one shipping lawyer, who declined to be named, said.

Martijn Schuttevaer, spokesman for Dutch marine services company Boskalis, told Reuters its subsidiary Smit Salvage had been hired to help with the operation. A team of around 10 people is heading to Egypt.

SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES In addition, owners of the cargo on board the ship and on other ships stuck in the Canal will likely claim from the ship’s liability insurer for losses to perishable goods or missed delivery deadlines, the sources said.

“If you have a constant build-up of ships, there are massive supply chain issues,” said Marcus Baker, global head, marine and cargo at insurance broker Marsh.

UK P&I Club said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it was the protection and indemnity insurer for the Ever Given, but declined to comment further. This segment of insurance covers ships against pollution and injury claims.

The bulk of those insurance claims will then likely be reinsured through a programme run by the wider International Group of P&I Clubs, Smith at McGill said.

At least 30 ships were blocked to the north of the Ever Given, and three to the south, local sources said. Several dozen ships could also be seen grouped around the northern and southern entrances to the canal.

Analytics firm Kpler said more than 20 oil tankers carrying crude and refined products were affected by the disruptions.

Rahul Khanna, global head of marine risk consulting at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), said there could also be claims for damage to the canal. Photos shared by the SCA showed a digger removing earth and rock from the bank of the canal around the ship’s bow.

Groundings are the most common cause of shipping incidents in the canal, with 25 in the past 10 years, according to AGCS. However, insurers look unlikely to face claims for spillage into the canal. Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the vessel’s technical management company, said there were no reports of pollution.

Mar. 31st - Apr. 6th, 2021 Issue

Wage Trends In The Global Economy Have Worsened

Scores of Container Ships Waiting To Transit Suez Canal

S

Chennai

Port Wings News Network peculation is swirling that wind blew one of the world’s largest container ships off course and caused it to be lodged between the banks of the Suez Canal, reports FreightWaves.

Social media also was flooded Wednesday with varying reports on the status of the Ever Given, which ran aground Tuesday morning.

What is certain is that dozens of ships are waiting to transit the roughly 119-mile-long canal. Fifty ships on average use the canal between the Red and File photo Mediterranean seas each day. Traffic in both directions has been at a standstill since about 6 a.m. in Egypt on Tuesday.

Leth Agencies, a ship and offshore agency in Egypt, said in an update on its website Wednesday that 30 vessels were at anchor in Great Bitter Lake, about midway in the canal; 42 at Port Said on the north end; and 30 at the south end.

“The current expectation is that it will take some two days to clear the canal, which will cause the delay of 110,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of cargo,” Sea Intelligence Consulting CEO Lars Jensen said in a LinkedIn post Wednesday. That in turn will “cause a spike of cargo into the main ports in Europe as this will now arrive at the same time as cargo arriving normally a few days later. In other words, this increases the risk we will see port congestion in European ports one week from now.

“On top of that, it simultaneously delays the movement of 55,000 TEUs of containers back to Asia per day — further adding delays to getting empty containers available in Asia,” Jensen said.

Data provided to American Shipper on Wednesday by project44 listed 36 vessels affected by the canal blockage. The major shipping lines — CMA CGM, COSCO,

operation,” it said. “Once refloated, the vessel will undergo a full inspection and BSM will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities on reports of the incident.”

Leth Agencies also reported that eight tugs continued to work on refloating the Ever Given and that two dredgers were underway to the site, about the 93-mile mark in the canal. It said the dredgers were “expected to commence their efforts” — i.e., dig out the container ship — Wednesday night. As of publication time, one of those dredgers had arrived on the scene.

BSM, which manages the ship for Evergreen Marine, did say an initial investigation had ruled out “any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding” and instead blamed “strong winds.”

Nick Austin, FreightWaves’ senior meteorologist, said Cairo International Airport, about 87 miles from where the Ever Given ran aground, reported blowing sand and sustained winds as strong as 30 miles an hour Tuesday.

The ultra large Ever Given has the capacity to carry 20,000 TEUs, making it one of the world’s biggest container ships. Built in 2018, the Ever Given is more than 1,310 feet long and over 193 feet wide. Stood on its stern, the Ever Given would stand taller than the Empire State Building.

The Ever Given sails on Evergreen’s China-Europe-Mediterranean service. Its last port of call was Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia before transiting the Suez Canal en route to the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, where it was scheduled to berth April 1.

The Ever Given also calls Kaohsiung and Taipei, Taiwan; Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo and Yantian, China; Felixtowe, England; and Hamburg, Germany.

According to FreightWaves maritime market expert Henry Byers, the Ever Given typically carries such goods as apparel,

File photo Maersk, MSC, NYK, ONE and Yang Ming — all were on the list. Rough math shows if all fully laden, those 36 ships, from the 900-TEU BF Esperanza to the 20,200-TEU Ever Globe, would be carrying 127,500 TEUs — not far off Jensen’s estimate.

Various social media posts claimed the Ever Given had been partially refloated, but the ship’s manager, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), as of 9 p.m.

Wednesday in Egypt had not reported the container vessel had been moved — or was able to sail.

“BSM’s immediate priorities are to safely refloat the vessel and for marine traffic in the Suez Canal to safely resume. The continued efforts of the Suez Canal Authority and those involved in ongoing refloating operations are greatly appreciated and BSM will continue to work closely with all parties involved in this

electrical equipment, tools and bicycles.

Byers said the Ever Given was operating on behalf of the Ocean Alliance, the spacesharing cooperative among Evergreen, CMA CGM, OOCL and COSCO. About 19,000 ships reportedly transited the canal last year. American Shipper reported that 983.4 million tons of cargo were transported on the Suez Canal in 2018.

Incidents of traffic backups on the Suez Canal are not common. In October 2017, the 21,000-TEU container ship OOCL Japan experienced mechanical problems and ran aground while transiting the canal. Tug boats were able to free the ship within hours, and the OOCL Japan was able to continue its transit.

In April 2016, the 12,500-TEU MSC Fabiola ran aground and blocked canal traffic for about nine hours before it was refloated.

5

L

Chennai

Port Wings News Network est we forget, the global economy was already sluggish and fragile before the Covid-19 pandemic struck; and within that, real wages were particularly slowmoving, reports BusinessLine.

Wages did not keep pace with productivity growth anywhere, so wage shares of income were declining pretty much across the board.

The only significant example of real

losses in the first quarter is a little surprising.

Even so, South Asia was clearly among the worst affected regions in terms of absolute job losses, as estimated by the ILO. While South Asia accounts for around a quarter of the world’s population, around one-third of total employment losses were in this region, as shown in Chart 4. It is likely that this estimate of 38 million decline in employment in the region over the course of 2020 is an underestimate, since the absence of more recent labour force data from India in particular does not allow for more exact projections.

In many developing countries — and particularly in developing Asia (other than China) with a preponderance of informal employment — the impact on wage incomes would have come not only through absolute declines in employment but falls in wages and income from self-employment.

wage dynamism was that of China. As Chart 1 indicates, real wage growth in the world as a whole between 2006 and 2019 was substantially lower when China is taken out of the reckoning.

It is often believed that the Asian region as

The ILO Monitor (January 2021) notes that preliminary data from two-thirds of countries for which very recent statistics are available showed decreasing wages or slower average wage growth.

a whole was more dynamic, including in terms of wage increases, than the rest of the world.

But Chart 2 belies this perception. Even within the Asian region, real wage growth was relatively slow (other than the apparent outlier year of 2016) and well below the rate of increase of real GDP, suggesting falls in wage shares of national income in the rest of Asia as well.

(Of course, despite higher real wage increases, wage share of national income also continued to fall in China as well, because of even faster labour productivity increases.)

FIRST HALF BADLY HIT This was the situation before the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world, wreaking havoc on health conditions and economies.

The first half of 2020 was the worst affected, as the combination of spread of disease and aggressive control measures like lockdowns meant that employment faced major declines.

Chart 3 indicates how this played out over the four quarters of 2020, by describing the extent of losses in working hours compared to the previous year for the world as a whole and for the sub-regions within Asia. It is evident that, across Asia, the first quarter of 2020 was the worst for job losses.

Even so, East Asia (including China) stands out for relatively minor declines in employment and very rapid recovery — also because the pandemic was largely brought under control in this region most effectively, notwithstanding sporadic outbreaks.

Among the regions of Asia, South Asia was clearly the worst affected. This was driven mostly by India, where there were very large declines in employment especially following the lockdown.

However, since the national lockdown in India started in late March, the biggest job losses were actually in the second quarter April-June 2020, so this estimate of more job

There were some countries in which average wages surprisingly increased; however, this was likely due to the “composition effect” because more jobs were lost in the lower-wage end of the spectrum.

In general, the ILO suggests that case studies generally show that workers across many countries have had to accept wage cuts and/or shorter working hours with associated lower total pay. In India, for example, one ILO study found that formal workers’ wages were cut by 3.6 per cent on average, while informal workers experienced a much sharper fall in wages of 22.6 per cent. (Xavier Estupiñan, Xavier, Anoop Satpathy, and Bikash K. Malick, “Wage Code and Rules – Will They Improve the Welfare of Low-Paid Workers in India?”, ILO Discussion Paper, New Delhi, 18 August 2020.)

MACROECONOMIC IMPACT This decline in wage incomes is bad not just from the point of view of worker welfare, but because of the adverse macroeconomic implications.

Such declines obviously mean that consumption increases will be suppressed, thereby affecting domestic demand and the incentive to invest, and setting the possibility of continued economic decline extending beyond the pandemic itself.

Unless governments — especially in South Asia — counterbalance this with increased spending, especially directed towards the poor and to buttress workers’ incomes, economic prospects for the region appear to be grim.

6

Vessel Position at Terminals - (31.03.2021 To 07.04.2021)

Mar. 31st - Apr. 6th, 2021 Issue

7

CCTL - Chennai ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

30/03

31/03

ECH

01/04

02/04

ADHOC

Voy

Agent/Line

Kattupalli

Calling Ports

ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

SSL KUTCH

KAT/HAL/CGP/PRT/KAT/KRI

31/03

1-4

C15

INTERASIA HORIZON

002W

WAN

TRITO NAVIGATOR

Nhava Shiva,Mundra, Khor Al Fakkan, Port Klang,Singapore, Shanghai,

31/03

1-4

ACS

HYUNDAI FORWARD

114W

HMM

31/03

1-4

IVK

ASIATIC MOON

41E

GOL

2-4

3-4

ACS

HYUNDAI ANTWERP

005W

HMM

Nhava Shiva,Mundra, Khor Al Fakkan, Port Klang,Singapore, Shanghai,

2-4

3-4

BULK

GENIUS STAR IX

1

PMI

Nhava Shiva,Mundra, Khor Al Fakkan, Port Klang,Singapore, Shanghai,

4-4

5-4

C13

OOCL ZHOUSHAN

229W

OEL

Tuticorin,cochin,Pipava, Kandla,Jebel ali

5-4

6-4

C13

INTERASIA HERITAGE

027W

IAS

Tuticorin,cochin,Pipava, Kandla,Jebel ali

7-4

8-4

ACS

HYUNDAI MASAN

005W

HMM

Nhava Shiva,Mundra, Khor Al Fakkan, Port Klang,Singapore, Shanghai,

04/04

05/04

ADHOC

AMP PRINCESS

Nhava Shiva,Mundra, Khor Al Fakkan, Port Klang,Singapore, Shanghai,

31/03

01/04

CCS

CONTSHIP LEX

Colombo

CITPL - Chennai ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

Calling Ports

30/03

31/03

TCISX

TCI ARJUN..

10043

TCI

Port Klang-Singapore-Laem Chabang

02/04

03/04

CI3

OOCL ZHOUSHAN

229W

OIL

Port Kelang(North port) – Singapore,Shangha Krishnapatnam, West Port Klang , Singapore, Cailan- Busan, Ulsan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian

02/04

05/04

MD1

TRF KAYA

1713W

BTL

03/04

04/05

MARCON

ZEA SERVANT

1296011

MSP

Calling Ports

Nhava Shiva,Mundra, Khor Al Fakkan, Port Klang,Singapore, Shanghai,

Kakinada Container Terminal ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

07/04

8-4

KAK>CMB

OEL INDIA

Voy

Agent/Line

Calling Ports

SAMSARA

Halida,Colombo

VCTPL, Vizag

DAKSHINBHARATH GATEWAY TERMINAL / Tuticorin

ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

Calling Ports

31/04

1-4

ADHOC

SSL KUTCH

210

SSL

Nhava Shiva, Mundra, Khor Al Fakkan, Port Klang, Singapore, Shanghai

31/03

1-4

CTS

MV.KAPTIAN MASLOV

116S

FAR SHIPPING

COLOMBO, TUTICORIN, COLOMBO

1-4

2-4

TUX

MV.OEL SHRAVAN

21119

TWF

COLOMBO, TUTICORIN, COLOMBO

2-4

3-4

FME

ZANTE

085E

RCL

2-4

3-4

BOX

MV.XPRESS COTOPAXI 21024S

BTL

COLOMBO, TUTICORIN, COLOMBO

Port Kelang(North port) – Singapore, Shanghai

3-4

4-4

ADHOC

MSC HINA

SH113R

MSC

3-4

4-4

CTS

MV.KAPTIAN MASLOV

FAR SHIPPING

COLOMBO, TUTICORIN, COLOMBO

Nhava Shiva, Mundra, Khor Al Fakkan, Port Klang, Singapore, Shanghai

4-4

4-4

MDM

TRF KAYA

1713E

BTL

Colombo

TWF

COLOMBO, TUTICORIN, COLOMBO

7-4

8-4

CHX

MEXICO

112W

MSK

Ennore, Krishnapatnam, Visakhapatnam ,Tanjung Pelepas, Xingang, Qingdao

7-4

8-4

FME

CMA CGM BERLOZ

0FD2ME1MA

CMA

Port Kelang(North port) – Singapore, Shanghai

04/04

05/04

TUX

MV.OEL SHRAVAN

1175 21120

NSICT - Mumbai ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

31/03

1-4

BMM

INTER SYDNEY

EMS

31/03

1-4

BLUENILE

UNI FORTUNA

MSK

31/03

1-4

CSC

GUENTHER SCHULTE

SMM

Calling Ports

Port of Gothenburg Market Share Increases Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Port Qasim, Singapore

1-4

2-4

MIDAS

EM ASTORIA

CCA

2-4

3-4

AIM

CHESAPEAKE BAY

HLI

02/04

03/04

IPAK

MSC ROMA

MSC

03/04

04/04

MWE

SEAGO BREMERHAVEN

MSK

3-4

4-4

IIX

KASHAN

RIS

Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Port Qasim, Singapore

04/04

05/04

MECL

MAERSK SELETAR

MSK

Colombo,Damietta Piraes Rotterdam, London

05/04

06/05

AS1

CMA CGM MEDEA

CCA

06/04

07/04

ME2

ORCA I

MSK

Pipavav,Hazira,JNPT,Jebel Ali,Salalah,Port Said,Mersin,Ambarli..

06/04

07/04

IEX

XIAMEN

CCA

Colombo,Damietta Piraes Rotterdam, London

7-4

8-4

BLUENILE

RIO CENTAURUS

MSK

7-4

8-4

MESAWA

RHONE MAERSK

SBA

Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Valencia, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, Freeport

APM Terminal - Mumbai ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

Calling Ports

31/03

1-4

CWX

BARBARA

SEC

31/03

1-4

CWI

AEGIALI

KMD

Pipavav,Port Klang,Singapore, Shangai, Ningbo, Xiamen

5-4

6-4

CIX3

OOCL BELGIUM

OCL

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva

3-4

4-4

ME3

MAERSK KITHIRA

MAE

Pipavav,Hazira,JNPT,Jebel Ali,Salalah,Port Said,Mersin,Ambarli Port,Izmlt Korfezi,Novorosslysk

2-4

3-4

ASX

NAGOYA TOWER

TWF

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva

6-4

7-4

CIX

ITAL LUNARE

EGI

Colombo,Nhava Sheva,Port Klang, Singapore,Kaohsiung,Hong Kong, Shekou

4-4

5-4

CWX

XPRESS KILIMANJARO

SEC

2-4

3-4

FM3

LISA

MSK

Pipavav,Hazira,JNPT,Jebel Ali,Salalah,Port Said,Mersin,Ambarli Port,Izmlt Korfezi,Novorosslysk

5-4

6-4

CIX3

OOCL SAN FRANCISCO

OCL

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva

31/03

1-4

PS3

HYUNDAI BUSAN

HMM

Port Qasim, Nhava Sheva, Pipavav, Colombo, T.Pelepas,Tanjung...

As the data is received by us, sometimes even at the eleventh hour by telephonic messages from the concerned Steamer Agents, there is every likelihood of last minute changes in the data published for which and also for the printing errors occuring the Management of Port Wings is not responsible or liable.

T

Chennai

Port Wings News Network he Port of Gothenburg is by far the largest container port in Sweden.

Official figures recently published show that the port has grown even more in relation to other ports in Sweden and Europe.

Container volumes at the Port of Gothenburg rose by 0.5 per cent in 2020. This can be compared with recent figures published by the employer organisation “Ports of Sweden” and the government agency “Transport Analysis”, which show that volumes passing through Swedish ports as a whole fell by more than one per cent.

The Port of Gothenburg has continued to take a larger share of the Swedish market. Some 1.6 million TEUs were handled in Sweden last year, of which more than 770,000, or 48 per cent, passed through the Port of Gothenburg.

The Port of Gothenburg market share is up by one percentage point compared with 2019.

“Whilst Covid-19 has resulted in an uncertain year for many industries, the Port of Gothenburg has succeeded in offering security and continuity for its customers. We have managed to remain open throughout the pandemic, call numbers have been stable, and the shipping companies have prioritised the Port of Gothenburg. Rail operators have also done an amazing job, and we have managed to increase the proportion of rail-borne containerised goods even further. The port as a whole has become a byword for reliability, and that makes me incredibly proud,” said Elvir Dzanic, Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive.

The Port of Gothenburg has also managed to strike a balance between imports and exports. Imported containers can be quickly emptied and used for exports, and as a result the shortage of containers worldwide has not been felt to the same extent. Greater collaboration and more joint campaigns with the port’s inland terminals have also mitigated the potential impact of the container shortage on the Swedish market.

STABLE ECONOMY AS A BASIS FOR CONTINUED INVESTMENT It has alsobeen a stable year for the portin economic terms, with the continuation of investments that were already under way. The Svea transshipment terminal has now been completed, and momentum in the Skandia Gateway fairway project and construction of the new Arendal 2 terminal has been maintained. Both projects are proceeding according to plan.

“We have strengthened our balance sheet during the year by reducing future loan requirements. This has allowed us to continue investing in the environment, digitalisation, and other initiatives to increase customer value, and making freight transport in the future even more efficient and environmentally sound,” said Elvir Dzanic.

From an international perspective, the Port of Gothenburg also fared well during the year with many of the major ports around the world reporting a significant fall in volumes.

Container movements at the 15 largest ports in Europe were down by an average of 2.8 per cent last year.

“We are extremely pleased that we are able to offer Swedish industry stability. It is demoralising when so many companies are having a hard time, but the figures show that here in Gothenburg we are getting something – maybe most things – right,” said Elvir Dzanic.

The Port of Gothenburg is the largest port in the Nordic region. 30 per cent of Swedish foreign trade passes through the Port of Gothenburg as well as half of all container traffic.

The Port of Gothenburg is the only port in Sweden with the capacity to receive the world’s largest container vessels and has the broadest range of shipping routes within and outside Europe. The 25 rail shuttles that depart each day mean that companies throughout Sweden and Norway have a direct, environmentally smart link to the largest port in the Nordic region. The Port of Gothenburg has terminals for oil, cars, ro-ro, containers and passengers.

Mar. 31st - Apr. 6th, 2021 Issue

Department Of Commerce Chalks Out Effective Strategy To Deal With Blockage of Suez Canal New Delhi Port Wings News Network Four-point plan has been chalked out to deal with the situation arising from the blockage of Suez Canal. This plan was chalked out in a meeting convened by the Logistics Division, Department of Commerce, Government of India on 26 March.

The meeting was chaired by Shri Pawan Agarwal, Special Secretary (Logistics) and attended by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, ADG Shipping, Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA) and Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

This plan includes – Prioritisation of cargo: FIEO, MPEDA and APEDA will jointly identify cargo particularly perishable cargo for priority movement and work with the shipping lines for the same.

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Freight Rates: CSLA assured that the freight rates as per existing contracts will be honoured. A request has been made to the shipping lines to maintain stability in freight rates during the period of this crisis.

It was noted that the situation is temporary and is unlikely to have a long-lasting impact.

Advisory to Ports: Once the blockage is over, it is expected that some bunching may take place, especially at the ports of JNPT, Mundra and Hazira. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and waterway assured to issue an advisory to these ports so as to gear up arrangements and ensure efficient handling during the forthcoming busy period.

Re-routing decisions: Shipping lines were advised through CSLA to explore the option of re-routing of ships via the Cape of Good Hope.

It was pointed that such re-routing usually takes 15 additional days’ time.

Blockage of Suez Canal since

23rdMarch 2021 is seriously hitting the global trade. This route is used for Indian exports/imports worth US$ 200 Bn to/from North America, South America and Europe. It includes petroleum goods, organic chemicals, iron & steel, automobile, machinery, textiles & carpets, handicrafts including furniture, leather goods, etc.

It was noted in the meeting that over 200 vessels are waiting on the North and South sides of the Suez Canal and about 60 vessels are getting added to the queue on a daily basis. If two more days are taken before the efforts result in clearance of the canal (digging on both sides, extra barges being added on every high tide, tugboats, etc. to straighten the stuck vessel), the total backlog created would be about 350 vessels. It is estimated that this backlog should take about a week’s time to clear out. It was decided in the meeting to closely monitor the situation.

Finance Hub Singapore Outlines Tips For Safer Post-Pandemic Workplaces Chennai

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Port Wings News Network ingapore has started to plan for how offices will look and operate in the post COVID-19 era, signaling its intent to get one of the world’s key financial hubs fully back to business with new technology and safer workplaces, says a Reuters report.

Adopting more touch-free technology, motion sensors, facial recognition systems and spilt-team work operations were just some of the recommendations in a study commissioned by the city-state’s banking association and its central bank, which was published on Tuesday.

Financial institutions were encouraged to use air-conditioners

with special filters to limit the transmission of aerosols and droplets, as well as installing automated thermal screening and face mask detection systems to provide a “first line of defence” against viruses.

It also recommends the stockpiling of certain medical supplies, greater spaces between workstations, flexible work arrangements, more voice-activated controls, and for reviews of office cleaning protocols.

“MAS encourages our financial institutions to consider the recommended strategies in the playbook to enhance safety and resiliency in the workplace,” Ong Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director of the Monetary Authority

of Singapore, said in a statement.

The report was carried out by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield with input from some of Singapore’s biggest banks and other international lenders in the citystate.

Singapore is an Asian finance hub home to the regional headquarters of many banks and international businesses.

Though it has not been hard hit by the coronavirus, everyday operations were disrupted and many employees have been working from home during the pandemic.

The report was carried out by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield with input from some of Singapore’s biggest banks and other international lenders in the city-state.

Most Challenging Year for Railways: Piyush Goyal New Delhi Port Wings News Network n future, success of Indian Railways would define the success of the Nation.” This was stated by Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal while having a review meeting today with the Board Members

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most challenging year for Railways.

One year of lock down. Covid 19 has demonstrated the resolve of Railways to fight back and emerge stronger. Mindset of Railways has transformed. It’s no longer business as usual for Railways. Use of new technologies File photo

and General Managers of Zonal Railways and Divisional Railway Managers of Divisions.

Shri Goyal said “The year was the

and innovation has created new standards and benchmarks.”

Shri Goyal said that It was time

to rewrite the destiny and future of Railways which is Self sustaining, punctual, passenger friendly safe , green and first choice of businesses .

He said 1223 MT Highest Freight Loading is a message of positivity to the Nation. 5900 Kms Electrification was done this year.

It is the Highest ever electrification achieved by Indian Railways.

Shri Piyush Goyal complimented the Railway officers & staff for making extra Ordinary efforts during the pandemic to increase loading. He also stressed on safety measures to be adopted and directed Railway officials to take pro active steps towards the same.

It is to be noted that Indian Railways has continued to maintain the high momentum in Freight figures in terms of loading, earning and speed in the month of March 2021. It is expected to surpass the total cumulative freight figures of last year. Freight Revenue for the Year 2020-21 is Rs. 114652.47 (in Cr) as compared to Rs. 112358.83 (last year). It is a growth of +2%.

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NEWS - BITS Shell Completes Its First LNG Bunkering Operation at Port Of Gibraltar

The first LNG bunkering operation to be carried out in Gibraltar recently took place when the Shell chartered LNG bunker vessel Coral Methane supplied LNG to LOMONOSOV PROSPECT, an Aframax tanker operated by Sovcomflot, according to Port of Gibraltar’s release.

This welcome development is an important milestone for the Port of Gibraltar which has been made possible by the dedication, hard work and effort put into developing LNG bunkering as a new activity for Gibraltar by HMGoG, Gibraltar Port Authority and Shell.

The Minister for the Port, Hon Vijay Daryanani MP said, “This further sets down a marker that the Port of Gibraltar is at the forefront of the drive for greater sustainability and improved environmental performance of the maritime industry internationally, and highlights the key strengths of the port, namely our adaptability and responsiveness to the wider trends developing within the industry. This is the first of many supplies we expect of this cleaner fuel, and by establishing a presence in this market we are clearly laying out that Gibraltar is set to continue serving the needs of the maritime industry in a sustainable manner well into the future. This is a further step towards a greener Gibraltar” Tahir Faruqui, General Manager, Shell Global Downstream LNG, said, “This is another great milestone for the expansion of LNG as a maritime fuel globally. The start-up of this location means the fuelling requirements of tankers which operate on less predictable routes are increasingly being met. I would like to congratulate the Gibraltar Government and Port Authority for their vision to enable LNG bunkering and look forward to many more operations as we continue to demonstrate our ability and commitment to providing safe operations and reliable supplies to meet the growing need of the shipping industry for cleaner-burning fuels.”

Methanol Institute Welcomes Maersk As Association’s Newest Member

The Methanol Institute (MI) welcomes A.P. Moller - Maersk as the association’s newest member company. Maersk – a global leader in container logistics and operating the world’s largest container vessel fleet – recently announced that its first carbon-neutral vessel, being launched in 2023 will be a methanol dual fuel ship, according to the company’s release.

In December 2018, Maersk announced its ambition of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and has since identified its primary fuel candidates to be carbon-neutral methanol (bio-methanol and e-methanol), alcohol-lignin blends and carbonneutral ammonia along with the use of biofuels.

In February 2021, Maersk announced the launch of the world’s first liner vessel to operate on carbon-neutral methanol in 2023 – seven years ahead of the initial 2030 ambition. All future Maersk-owned newbuildings will have dual fuel technology installed, enabling both carbon neutral operations and operation on standard very low Sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO).

Maersk’s first methanol feeder vessel will have a capacity of around 2000 TEU and be deployed in one of its intra-regional networks. While the vessel will be able to operate on standard VLSFO, the plan is to operate the vessel on carbon neutral e-methanol or sustainable bio-methanol from day one.

Annual Capacity Of Russian Ports To Be Increased By 44 Million Tonnes This Year

The ports’ capacity is to be increased through implementation of investment projects in Vysotsk, Ust-Luga, Taman, Novorossiysk and Vanino ports Annual capacity of Russian ports to be increased by 44 million tonnes this year, Andrey Lavrishchev, head of the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot), said at the extended meeting of Rosmorrechflot’s Board and Public Council. According to him, the ports’ capacity is to be increased through implementation of investment projects in Vysotsk, Ust-Luga, Taman, Novorossiysk and Vanino ports.

In 2022-2023, implementation of investment projects in Russian port will let increase their annual throughput capacity by 108 million tonnes.

Construction of federally owned facilities under the investment project “Construction of LNG transshipment complex in the Kamchatka Territory” will also begin in 2021, said Andrey Lavrishchev.

CUSTOMS EXCHANGE RATES Notification No.32/2021 (N.T.) ALL RATES PER UNIT

FOREIGN CURRENCY Australian Dollar Bahraini Dinar Canadian Dollar Chinese Yuan Danish Kroner EURO Hong Kong Dollar Kuwaiti Dinar New Zealand Dollar Norwegian Kroner Pound Sterling Qatari Riyal Saudi Arabian Riyal Singapore Dollar South African Rand Swedish Kroner Swiss Franc Turkish Lira UAE Dirham US Dollar Japanese Yen (100) Korean Won (100)

with effect from 25th Mar. 2021

RATE (INR) Import Export 57.95 198.70 59.50 11.35 11.90 88.25 9.50 248.35 53.85 8.75 102.80 20.55 19.95 54.95 5.10 8.70 80.05 9.45 20.35 73.35 67.80 6.65

55.60 186.00 57.35 11.00 11.45 85.10 9.15 232.45 51.50 8.45 99.35 19.30 18.70 53.10 4.80 8.40 76.95 8.85 19.10 71.60 65.30 6.25

We are not responsible for any mistake. ALL RATES ARE PROVISIONAL. The rates in these column are only meant for guidance.

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RNI No. TNENG/2014/59741 Postal Registration No. TN/CNIGPO/067/2021-2023 Posted at Pathrika Channel, Egmore, RMS, Chennai-8.

Date of Publication - Wednesday, Posted on Tuesday / Wednesday

Port Of Los Angeles Records Strongest February In Its 114-Year History

China: Opening-Up To Benefit Global Investors In Next 5 Years Chennai

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Port Wings News Network hina’s continued openingup measures will accelerate high-quality development during the next five years and create several development opportunities for global investors, officials and experts said, reports China.Org. He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said China will continue to pursue high-standard opening-up at various levels during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), with a key focus on opening up more sectors in a more thorough fashion and boosting international economic cooperation.

“China will not shut its door to opening-up. Instead, it will embrace the world with more open arms,” He said on Sunday at the China Development Forum 2021 in Beijing. “We have to facilitate trade and investment, further promote steady development of imports and exports, shorten the negative list for foreign investment access, improve post-establishment national treatment …”

More efforts will also be made to pursue high-quality development via the Belt and Road Initiative, improve infrastructure connectivity and e-commerce along the Belt and Road, deepen international industrial capacity cooperation, maintain multilateral economic governance framework, work toward signing more high-quality free trade deals and build a community of shared future for humanity, said He. Speaking about the new dual-

circulation development pattern in the 14th Five-Year Plan, Qian Keming, vice-minister of commerce, said: “What we envision is not a development loop behind closed doors, but a more open domestic and international circulation.

“With domestic residents’ improved standard of living and the acceleration of industrial upgrading, China has witnessed a growing demand for high-end consumer goods, intermediate goods, capital goods and services. However, due to the insufficient high-quality domestic supply, we need to expand opening-up and increase imports to balance the gap between demand and supply. To foster smooth domestic circulation, we may need to import more than $2 trillion worth of goods and nearly $500 billion worth of services each year.”

As a next step, Qian said, the Ministry of Commerce will ramp up efforts to advance opening-up on a larger scale and at a deeper level, including lowering the market access threshold for foreign investment, expanding institutional opening-up, improving the business environment and deepening international cooperation. Under the new development pattern, high-level opening-up measures will promote better connections between China and the rest of the world and enable China to share more opportunities for common development with other countries, Qian said.

Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the China Association of Policy Science’s economic policy committee, said China had ramped

up efforts to advance opening-up last year, despite COVID-19, and has already made a good start this year.

“To deepen reforms and expand opening-up at higher levels, China needs to pursue institutional opening-up measures instead of simply boosting liberalization and facilitation of trade investment, including improving its system for foreign investment management based on pre-establishment national treatment and negative list and encouraging fair market competition,” Xu said.

Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said the country’s new development paradigm emphasizes building an open economy and bolstering ties with other nations, demonstrating the firm determination to deeply integrate itself into the wider global economy.

William Zhao, country chair of Total China, the local unit of the French oil and gas giant, said he remains optimistic on the huge growth potential of the Chinese market.

“China was the first country to come out of the pandemic. Its economy bounced back last year and will grow very strongly this year,” Zhao said.

“China has been reducing the negative list and opening up the economy to foreign investors for years. That’s a great step forward.

I think the next step is about really attracting FDI as well as technology investment to develop the next stage in the energy sector … For Total, I think it’s very important to be here and invest in this environment.”

Mar. 31st - Apr. 6th, 2021 Issue

Chennai

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Port Wings News Network he Port of Los Angeles handled a record 799,315 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in February, marking a 47% leap when compared to February 2020. It was the seventh consecutive month of yearover-year increases and the strongest February in the Port’s 114-year history.

Mostly promoted as “America’s Port”, the Port of Los Angeles is managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department.

“One year ago, global trade slowed to a crawl as the COVID-19 pandemic first hit China and then spread worldwide,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

He added, “ Today, we are in the seventh month of an unparalleled import surge, driven by unprecedented demands by American consumers.”

Stressing on the vaccination drive that frontline maritime workers, especially those working in and out of the port complex desperately need, he said, “Our challenges now are focused on getting port

workers vaccinated and assisting stakeholders in managing this heavy flow of cargo.”

He also added that the port authorities would do everything in their power for helping shipping lines back on schedule.

“We must clear the backlog of cargo and return more certainty to the Pacific trade,” he said.

February 2021 loaded imports entered 412,884 TEUs when compared to the previous year. On the other hand, loaded exports decreased 24.7% to 101,208 TEUs. Empty containers, heavily in demand in Asia, surged 104% compared to February 2020 reaching 285,223 TEUs. A total of 78 cargo vessels arrived in January, including four extra loaders. The Port of Los Angeles remains open with all terminals operational during the COVID-19 pandemic. North America’s leading seaport by container volume and cargo value, the Port of Los Angeles facilitated $276 billion in trade during 2019. San Pedro Bay port complex operations and commerce facilitate one in nine jobs across the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura.

China’s Container Availability And Prices Are Improving For Exporters

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Chennai

Port Wings News Network fter months of crippling shortages, container availability and pricing is finally improving in China, according to Container xChange’s Container Availability Index (CAx). The index draws from data on the container leasing and trading platform Container xChange to track the availability of containers in major seaports.

The CAx reading of incoming containers across China’s main ports is currently up 56 percent according to Container xChange when compared to before the Chinese New Year holidays that started on February 11. While the slowdown in factory production normally associated with the holiday period was reduced this versus normal levels, they believe that it was still enough to allow the container supply/ demand imbalance to be reduced. At the same time, the major carriers have been working to aggressively return containers to reduce the shortages experienced in late 2020 and earlier in 2021.

At Shanghai, the biggest Chinese box port, the CAx increased 64 percent for 20-foot dry containers when comparing the pre- and postholiday container availability. For 40-foot dry containers, the increase is even greater, with box availability improving 112 percent over the same period.

“One week of index values greater than 0.5 does not mean so much but exceeding the 0.5 marks for several weeks in a row like Shanghai and other main ports in China have done means that finally more containers are entering ports regularly, giving them the chance to reduce the container supply/demand imbalance,” said Dr. Johannes Schlingmeier,

CEO & Founder of Container xChange.

The Container xChange Container Availability Index is also highlighting that other Chinese ports such as Qingdao, Dalian, and Ningbo are strong alternatives to Shanghai for exporters who have been struggling with finding the right equipment.

Dalian has the highest equipment availability of the three ports with further improvements after the holiday period.

Container availability also improved in the same period at Qingdao. These improvements in availability also contributed to declines in

the cost for used containers from the record highs reported in January 2021. According to Container xChange prices for cargo-worthy containers declined by a third between January and February falling to $3,750 in February.

“These prices are still far higher than buyers usually pay for newly built containers, but this is still good news for companies who export from China,” said Schlingmeier.

While Container xChange believes these developments are a positive sign highlighting the improvements at key export hubs in China, they are forecasting continued volatility for container availability both in China and elsewhere in 2021.

Port Wings - Maritime Exim Weekly Newspaper : Published by K.Sivakumar on behalf of Universal Media Associates, Old No.72, New No.149, 1st Floor, Srinivasa Complex, Linghi Street, Mannady, Chennai - 600 001. And Printed by V.Meganathan at Web Kingdom, No.115, Jani John Khan Road, Royapettah, Chennai – 600014. Editor: K.Sivakumar.