Port Wings Maritime Exim Weekly Newspaper 7 July 2021

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July 7th - 13th, 2021 Issue

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Published from Chennai and Circulated among the trade across the country RNI TNENG/2014/59741

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

8 Pages

GST Will Help Achieve Vision Of $5 Trillion Indian Economy By 2025, Says Gadkari Chennai

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Port Wings News Network he Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSME Nitin Gadkari has said that GST will help achieve the vision of five trillion-dollar Indian economy by 2025.

Addressing a webinar on the “GST Day” on the theme “THE JOURNEY OF GST AND WAY FORWARD - AATMANIRBHAR BHARAT” organised by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India, he said GST is founded on the notion of “One Nation, One Market, One Tax” which has helped and will be helping the trade and industry a lot despite the prevailing pandemic situation.

Gadkari said Goods and Services Tax was implemented from July 1,

2017 and now it has completed four years of its implementation, during these four years a remarkable change

is seen in the way the business is being carried out.

The minister said digitalisation and information technology have an important role to play. He said for

transparent and time bound decision making process Performance Audit along with Financial Audit is very important. Talking about the problems faced by MSMEs he said delayed payments are the main cause of concern which has to be resolved.

The minister said though GST has completed four years there is still room for improvement and added cooperation, coordination, communication and rectification is needed from all stakeholders.

Gadkari complimented The Institute of Cost Accountants of India for conducting regular webinars, seminars, various courses for different stake-holders throughout the Country to unlearn and relearn new subjects which are need of the hour to survive in the New Normal.

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Wing 7 Feather 47

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Extreme Freight Rates Begin To Change Shippers’ Calculations Chennai

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Port Wings News Network he containerized shipping industry has been essential to global commerce for its low shipping costs. However, high freight rates are starting to have an impact on consumer goods. Already, consumers have started to feel the pinch of the surge on items such as furniture and coffee. Along the transpacific route, Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence recently estimated that freight rates for assembled furniture now account for a whopping 62 percent of the total retail value. It’s the same case for large appliances, for which up to

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41 percent of the retail price is the shipping. As container rates continue to rise unabated, these commodities might be priced out: their thinner margins make it impossible to absorb rising costs.

In an interview with BBC, Scott Humphreys, the manager of a furniture supply enterprise based in the UK lamented the serious global supply chain bottlenecks, which are making it virtually impossible for his Contd. on page -2

Inside Maersk Signs Shipbuilding... Pg-2 Celebration of Azadi ka Amrut... Pg-3 Highest-ever Quarterly Growth... Pg-4 Shipping MRO Services GST Change Pg-5

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Vessel Position at Terminals and Ports... Pg-6 Latest Customs Exchange Rates... Pg-7 DP World Acquires Leading... Pg-7

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Maersk Signs Shipbuilding... Pg-8

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(A Company of Chennai Port Trust) Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways - Government of India

Performance & Highlights of KPL in 2020-21  An Ideal destination for the EXIM trade with fully mechanized operations, connectivity to hinterland and deep draft facilities.  Present handling capacity: 54.44 MMTPA; Targeted handling capacity in next five years : 105.02 MMTPA  Energy Port of South India with advanced facilities to handle fuels like Coal, POL, LNG and LPG.  Biggest Port on east coast for handling Automobile exports for Major OEMs.  Pioneer Port in digitization and Ease of Doing Business through implementation of ERP, PCS 1x, RFID, VTMS, etc.,  Socially responsible Port with a CSR programme geared towards addressing needs of local community.

 Operating income of KPL registered Rs. 581.09 crores (audited)  KPL has a track record of maintaining operating ratio around 20% to 25% since inception, lowest among major ports.  Cargo handled during the financial year 2020-21 is 25.89 MTPA. Automobiles handled 18.20 lakh units in 1176 RORO vessels since inception.  Largest Container vessel handled having 14,336 TEUs capacity in November 2020 with LOA of 366m.  Achieved faster turnaround time of vessels of 42.97 hours as against the Ministry target of 43 hours.

Registered Office: 17, Rajaji Salai, Chennai - 600001, Phone : 044-25251666 - 70, Fax : 044-25251665 Port Address: Vallur Post, Chennai - 600 120.

Phone : 044-27950030-40, Fax : 044- 27950002

E-mail: info@kplmail.in

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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 Wednesday (07.07.2021)

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July 7th - 13th, 2021 Issue Continued from page -1 Extreme Freight Rates Begin To Change...

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

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Wing 7 Feather 47

A Surge in Freight Rates

t the start of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, expectations were that seaborne trade, including containerized trade, would experience a strong downturn. However, changes in consumption and shopping patterns triggered by the pandemic, including a surge in electronic commerce, as well as lockdown measures, have in fact led to increased import demand for manufactured consumer goods, a large part of which is moved in shipping containers.

As at the third quarter of 2020, lessening of lockdown measures and varying speeds of recovery worldwide, as well as stimulus packages supporting consumer demand, inventory-building and frontloading in anticipation of new waves of the pandemic, contributed to leading to a further increase in containerized trade flows.

The increase in demand was stronger than expected and not met with a sufficient supply of shipping capacity. Empty containers to move exports from China to destinations abroad became unavailable. The reasons for this shortage were manifold.

At the outset, the disruptions resulting from the pandemic, trade imbalances and changing trade patterns led to shifts in the geography of container trade.

Empty boxes were left in places where they were not needed, and repositioning had not been planned for.

Moreover, as carriers introduced blank sailings, that is, skipped port calls, a mismatch between supply and demand for empty containers was exacerbated, as empty containers were left behind and failed to be repositioned.

The container crisis is also a reflection of a slowdown in and delays across the maritime supply chain due to strains caused by the pandemic, such as port labour shortages, port congestions (also due to blank sailings) and capacity constraints in truck and other inland transport systems due, for example, to delays in undergoing necessary testing or delays by factories in returning containers.

These factors meant that container dwell times increased and empty containers could not return to the system in which they were most needed (UNCTAD, 2020a).

Finally, the situation was further exacerbated by the obstruction of the Suez Canal by a grounded container ship. As ships, and the containers on them, took longer to reach their destinations, the shortage of available empty boxes increased, including in Shanghai, China.

As a result, freight rates increased not only on the routes passing through the Suez Canal but also on nearly all other routes. The trends noted above culminated in freight rates reaching historical highs by end-2020 and early in 2021.

What can explain these differences? Longer routes, including China–South America and China–West Africa, require more ships for a weekly service, which implies that a large number of containers are also stuck on these ships.

Therefore, when empty containers are scarce, an importer in Brazil or Nigeria must pay not only for the transport of the full import container but also for the inventory holding cost of the empty container.

Then there is the lack of return cargo (South America and West Africa are both net importers), which makes it costly for carriers to return empty boxes to China on long routes.

Finally, freight rates on thinner routes, that is, with only two or three weekly services, tend to be more volatile, since taking out or adding one vessel call, or one service, makes a significant impact on the overall limited number of prevailing services, compared with on routes with a higher density and more frequent services.

Carriers, ports and shippers were all taken by surprise by the pandemic, and the subsequent shortage of empty containers observed since late-2020 is unprecedented. No contingency plans were in place to pre-empt the lack of availability or to mitigate its negative impacts.

Given current trends, several months will likely pass before this disruption Sampleacross the maritime supply chain and before the system can be absorbed TEXT resumes smoother operations.

In the meantime, there are three key considerations for policymakers, to help reduce the likelihood that similar situations will occur in the future.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of resilient supply chains.

Customs officials, port workers and transport operators have recognized the need to reduce physical contact, at the same time keeping ships moving, ports open and cross-border trade flowing.

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Continued from page -1 business to operate.

Although Peppermill Interiors supplies furniture in UK, almost half of its stock is imported from East Asia, primarily China. “A single armchair used to us cost £12 ($16) to bring in from China. It now costs us £100 (139). So the price we sell the chair has gone up by 25 percent - but that isn’t extra profit for us,” said Mr. Humphreys. “Some of the cheaper items, they’ve doubled in price. There’s no point bringing them in anymore.”

Are these setbacks likely to revolutionize the ocean freight industry’s business model?

Roar Adland, a Professor of Shipping at the Norwegian School of Economics, posed a similar question in view of the current disruptions in the industry. “Is the container shipping business model as insulated from disruptions as the carriers would like to believe - surrounded by a deep moat of dedicated infrastructure and

complex logistics systems?” asked Adland.

In response, Prof. Adland sees these periods of ‘excess economics rents’ to be tempting for new players to skim the cream, by offering direct point-to-point services on the EastWest trade lanes - using smaller vessels and secondary ports where congestion may be minimal.

“Think of the low-cost revolution in the airline business vs. the legacy hub-spoke system over the past 20 years.

Both systems can coexist and complement each other in terms of price sensitivity and infrastructure utilization,” Adland wrote.

Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, drove this point home in a recent commentary on the rise of regional shipping services on Pacific and Asia-Europe trade routes.

“As freight rates continue to reach ever new historical highs this has also opened the market for services on Pacific and Asia-Europe using

smaller vessels which under normal circumstances would not be used to a large degree in the deep-sea trades,” wrote Jensen.

“A good example is the sudden new influx of new Pacific services from China United Lines (CULines), BAL, Wan Hai and Matson using quite small vessels mainly of 1,7002,500 TEU range. Another example is CULines’ new Asia-Europe service with 4,300 TEU vessels,” Jensen added.

Meanwhile, the rigidity of the shipping industry will persist until port’s business model is revamped.

Most ports fail to apply profitmaximizing pricing or - better still - a pricing model that exploits available capacity more efficiently. “Public ports have to ask themselves whether it is right that they continue to support an oligopolistic liner shipping model rather than taking a bigger share of the cake when there [are] super profits to go around,” wrote Prof.

Adland.

First Commercial Shipment Of Mishri Variety Of Cherries From Kashmir Exported To Dubai New Delhi Port Wings News Network n a step towards boosting horticultural crops exports, a first commercial shipment of Mishri variety of luscious cherries from Kashmir valley has been exported to Dubai from Srinagar. APEDA assisted the shipment of cherries to Dubai by MS Desai Agri-Food Private Limited, a venture company of MS Innoterra, Dubai.

Prior to this shipment, a sample consignment was sent in the middle of June 2021 from Srinagar to Dubai through air which were transhiped from Mumbai. Following an encouraging response from the consumers in Dubai, the first commercial shipment of Mishri variety of cherries were exported to Dubai.

Mishri variety of Cherries are not only taste delicious but also contain vitamins, minerals and plant compound with health benefits.

The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir produces more than 95% of the total country’s production of commercial varieties of cherries in the country. It produces four varieties of cherry — Double, Makhmali, Mishri and Italy.

Prior to the shipment, the cherries

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were harvested, cleaned and packed

by APEDA registered exporter while the technical inputs were provided by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology of Kashmir.

APEDA-National Referral Laboratory at National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune provided support for ensuring food safety and quality in the shipment, which would help create brand for cherries especially in the middle east countries.

The commencement of commercial shipment of cherries would provide huge opportunities for exports of several temperate fruits like plums, pears, apricot and apples from Kashmir to especiallyto middle east countries in the forthcoming seasons.

APEDA has been conducting interactions with farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), government officials and other stakeholders for boosting exports potential of agricultural produce from Kashmir such as apples, almonds, walnuts, saffron, rice, fresh fruits and vegetables and certified organic products.

Several rounds of virtual awareness creation programme involving the local producers, suppliers, FPOs and exporters from Kashmir are being conducted for ensuring export of temperate fruits from the region.

For ensuring exports of quality agricultural produce which adhere to global standards, APEDA has also initiated awareness programme on National Programme on Organic Production and ISO-17065 requirements for the officials of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The purpose of such programme was to acquaint officials of the UTs with the third-party certification system for organic products as well as international trade of organic products.

FIEO Partners With Aramex India To Support MSME Exporters in India New Delhi Port Wings News Network ederation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aramex India to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) exporters in India.

As part of the MoU, Aramex will provide preferential pricing to FIEO members, as well as access to online services for cross-border express shipments. Members can access these services including creating pickup requests, preparing shipments, and making online payments through a dedicated Aramex banner on the FIEO website. In addition, Aramex will provide helpdesk support to first-time exporters and MSMEs on customs regulations in the Middle

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East, Africa and Asia, as well as the required paperwork for shipping.

“As the Indian e-commerce

market is expected to grow to US $200 billion by 2026 and has transformed the way business is done in India”, said Director General & CEO, FIEO, Dr Ajay Sahai. “The MoU will further help FIEO to reach the cottage industries, artisans, house-wives, youths, MSMEs and clusters, even in far-flung areas to develop their orientation towards

exports”. He also added that FIEO members will get a flat 30% discount on routing service tariffs for express cross-border shipments which will encourage them to start e-commerce exports in a cost-competitive way.

On the other hand, Aramex recognizes the critical role of small businesses in driving socio-economic growth. “The partnership with FIEO is part of our commitment to help Indian MSMEs capture global market opportunities by providing access to cost-efficient, seamless and reliable logistics solutions”, said Percy Avari, General Manager of Aramex India.

FIEO members can visit www. fieo.org and click on Aramex banner to avail preferential tariffs or visit https://sendwitharamex.com/fieo/

July 7th - 13th, 2021 Issue

The Crew Change Crisis Is Getting Worse

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Chennai

Port Wings News Network he crew change crisis that has been plaguing the maritime industry for more than a year and a half is raging on and only getting worse, data from top 10 of the world’s top ship managers suggests.

The number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has continued rising from 7.2% to 8.8% in the last month, and the number of seafarers onboard vessels for over 11 months has risen from 0.4% to 1%, according to the latest monthly Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator.

The Maritime Labor Convention states that the maximum continuous period a seafarer should serve on board a vessel without leave is 11 months. Since the launch of the Indicator in May, the number of seafarers onboard vessels for over 11 months has increased from 0.4% to 1%, corresponding to a 150% relative increase, and the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has risen from 5.8% to 8.8%, which corresponds to a 51.7% relative increase.

Kasper Søgaard, Head of Research, Global Maritime Forum, said, “The latest data shows that the crew change crisis is far from over.

It is important that all stakeholders work together to deliver on our shared responsibility of protecting seafarers and making sure that they can return home safely.”

“The crew change crisis has been ongoing for more than a year and a half, with the highest cost falling on seafarers and their families’ wellbeing. The situation is going from bad to worse,” said Stephen Cotton, General Secretary, International Transport Workers’ Federation. “We need more than lip service from governments, we need concrete action that allows crew changes to be carried out in a safe manner.”

The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator builds on aggregated data from 10 leading ship managers: Anglo-Eastern, Bernhard Schulte, Columbia Shipmanagement,

Fleet Management (FLEET), OSM, Synergy Marine, Thome, V.Group, Wallem, and Wilhelmsen Ship Management, which collectively have about 90,000 seafarers currently onboard.

In addition to the provided data, the contributing ship managers also highlighted several key developments that have impacted crew changes in the past month. They said continual high infection rates and subsequent domestic lockdowns are still challenging crew changes and causing disruption to crew movements.

Travel restrictions continue to prevent seafarers from going back home and many flights have been canceled. In particular, a decrease of daily inbound flights to the Philippines as well as the travel ban announced by Philippine Government for seafarers traveling from UAE, Oman, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan are causing a general disruption to the crew movements.

In addition, leading maritime crew nations continue to have low vaccination rates and seafarers continue to have limited vaccine access.

Guy Platten, Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping, said, “Resolving the crew change crisis will require all seafarers to have priority access to vaccines.

There has been some progress, for instance in the United States and in parts of Europe, which we welcome, but the vast majority of seafarers are still unable to be vaccinated. It is urgent that countries prioritize the vaccination of international seafarers.”

Jeremy Nixon, CEO, ONE, said, “Seafarers play a crucial role in keeping global supply chains running, delivering essential healthcare, foodstuff, consumer products and just in time manufacturing components. Without them 80% of our shopping baskets would be empty. We are all indebted to resolve the crew change crisis now. The difficulties in carrying out crew changes can easily be overcome by Governments if they really put their minds to it. Where there is a will, there is a way.”

Domestic Cargo Agents Association of India Meets Minister of Civil Aviation Virtually, Discusses Challenges New Delhi Port Wings News Network omestic Cargo Agents Association of India (DACAAI) had its first Virtual meeting with Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Hardeep S Puri. DACAAI brought out certain challenges that were hampering the growth of domestic air cargo in India. The suggestions from DACAAI related to improvement and augmentation of domestic cargo infrastructure in the country.

Amit Bajaj, President, DACAAI suggested to remove anomalies in rates of GST on domestic air cargo vis a vis GST rates applicable to Road transportation. GST rate @ 18% levied on domestic air cargo acts as an added cost of operation that makes domestic air carriage unviable and move to road and other modes of transport.

Speaking on this occasion, Minister, Shri Hardeep S Puri informed that during covid pandemic lockdowns his Ministry worked relentlessly and undertook swift actions to keep supply chain moving. His Ministry operated historical ‘lifeline flights’ on war footing, evacuating some 65 lakh Indians stranded in different countries when the entire aviation was grounded all over the world. His Ministry under Secretary Civil Aviation, Shri P S Kharola, swung into action for moving medical supplies, ventilators and essential supplies by air across the country.

His Ministry also gave a number of concessions to the air cargo industry like 50% waiver of demurrage charges, approvals for conversion of passenger aircraft as preighters & instant approvals for operating domestic air cargo freighters, he said. The number of freighters increased from 7 to 26 as well as the air cargo increased substantially month over month during the lock downs. He stated

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that Domestic air cargo is vital for growth of aviation industry and his ministry would concentrate on this sector.

Further, to increase movement of fruit & vegetables and perishables his Ministry brought in the Krishi Udan giving 50% freight subsidy and terminal charges waiver to mitigate the problems of air cargo operators.

Shri P S Kharola, Secretary Civil Aviation stated that Ministry of Civil Aviation is committed to go for policy initiatives to help domestic airlines and air cargo industry operators to expand aviation foot print. He called the industry to work together and assured that all required actions will be taken to resolve domestic air cargo issues.

Shri Ajay Singh, CMD, Spicejet informed the Minister that they would like to have selfhandling of domestic air cargo with a view to improve transit times and efficiency and bring down costs of logistics. A new freighter policy with concessional landing, parking, cheaper aircraft fuel would help the domestic sector exploit its huge potential. Chief Commercial Officer, Indigo airlines Mr William Boulter, supported the views of CMD Spicejet and stated that direct handling by airlines would bring in plenty of advantages and benefits to expand the domestic cargo industry.

With regard to suggestion of DACAAI for improving infrastructure and other issues concerning domestic air cargo, he instantly constituted a Sub-Group consisting of DACAAI, AAICLAS, airline & JV-airport representatives to go into matters that were hindering growth of domestic cargo by air.

Minister emphasized that the sub-group will study all issues and challenges facing domestic air cargo operations and come up with recommendations say within 15 days. with a view to facilitate and increase volumes of domestic cargo by air.

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Celebration of Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav at Mumbai Port Trust

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Mumbai

Port Wings News Network n the occasion of “Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav”, the 75th year of Independence, Mumbai Port Trust has launched a slew of programmes to commemorate the occasion both online and off-line, such as Essay, singing, Drawing

competition, General Knowledge Questions on Indian Independence etc. The programme commenced with lighting of the traditional lamp at the Conference Hall in the presence of senior officers of Mumbai Port Trust.

Maersk Targets Transpacific Premium Market With Extra Standalone Services

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Chennai

Port Wings News Network aersk will launch two new weekly services on the transpacific in August to operate “exclusively” outside its 2M alliance with MSC and Zim slot charter partnership.

It said the services were timed to coincide with “the incoming peak surge” and it seems likely they will be targeted at the highly lucrative premium market.

The two new standalone loops – one from Asia to the US west coast and the other Asiaeast coast – would “help normalise the network for our contracted customers”.

The TPX service will call at Yantian and Ningbo in China, turning at APMT Pier 400, Los Angeles, and “primarily” deploy ships of 3,500 teu.

Berthing delays at Los Angeles and Long Beach have eased from the highs of more than 30 ships idling, according to a report last week, to 10 vessels at anchor in the San Pedro Bay awaiting a slot.

The TP20 loop will call at Vung Tao, Vietnam, Ningbo and Shanghai in China and Norfolk and Baltimore on the US east coast, via the Panama Canal, deploying panamax vessels of 4,500 teu.

Maersk said the addition of the TPX and TP20 loops, which are subject to regulatory compliance requirements, would not result in changes to its existing network and that exact start dates “will be shared in due course”.

Wan Hai, HMM and Zim are among other carriers that have added extra services on the transpacific as consumer demand remains strong and with the prospects of a “bumper” peak season on the route.

Anecdotal reports of premium rates of $20,000 or more for a 40ft on the transpacific have encouraged the container lines to throw every available ship into the mix. And with these highly elevated rates carriers are guaranteed extremely profitable voyage results, even for smaller-sized vessels, despite the steep rise in charter hire and fuel cost increases.

Given the economics, the additional services will only cater for premium-rated cargo, so they won’t help contract customers that are seeing their containers rolled week after week.

Maersk, with its stated commitment to longterm contract business, may not have benefited as much as some of its rivals from the shortterm market and this could be the reasoning behind the introduction of the two niche loops.

But where the carrier will get the ships for the two extra strings in a charter market that is effectively “sold out” is a question The Loadstar

put to Maersk – but at the time of going to press, a response had not been forthcoming.

An alternative to securing additional tonnage would be for Maersk to redeploy some of its 700-vessel fleet from less lucrative trades to the transpacific. According to eeSea data, the average capacity of the vessels deployed by the 2M on the transpacific is 10,029 teu.

All Indian Container Terminal tentative volume of the April 2021 In TEUs TERMINAL

April 2021

SOUTH ZONE: CCTPL-DPW

69688

CICTPL-PSA

60066

AKPPL

36135

AECTPL

32966

TCT

16825

DBGT

55652

NCT

29711

Kakinada

161

Cochin

55717

WEST ZONE: Adani Mundra AMCT

72665

AICTPL

245123

ACMTPL

90733

T2

24856

MICT

104220

PIPAVAV

60338

AHCT

57463

JNPT

43704

NSICT

78508

NSIGT

90047

GTI

162136

BMCTPL

93206

Kandla

47316

EAST ZONE: Haldia

14685

PSA Kolkata

48061

VCTPL

34400

Paradeep

1229

* Source: Collected from Trade. ** This figure includes Import, Export and Empty Containers handled at terminals ***Disclaimer: The information contained on this table is for general information purposes only. Portwings will not be liable for any false, inaccurate, inappropriate or incomplete information presented on the table.

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July 7th - 13th, 2021 Issue

CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal and Khalifa Port Implement Region’s First Autonomous Port Truck System Chennai Port Wings News Network SP Abu Dhabi container terminal, the first greenfield project of COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited (CSP) operating within Abu Dhabi Ports’ flagship deep-water port Khalifa Port, has announced its terminal will be the first in the Middle East to implement an autonomous port truck system.

Following a two-month trial period, a total of six electric Q-Trucks will be commissioned by CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal and tasked with supporting mother vessel loading and unloading activities within the facility’s container yard.

Produced by Qomolo, a subbrand of ShangHai WestwellLab Technology Company, the L5 Autonomous Freight Trucks are equipped with an advanced 360-degree sensory system with traffic monitoring and driving guidance system which enables operators to direct vehicles’ navigation and transportation of general and reefer containers with ease. The use of smart automation is another key step forward for one of the world’s most technologically advanced ports.

Moving forward, CSP Abu Dhabi and Khalifa Port will continue to explore other potential applications for AI-powered solutions within terminal and port operations, Naser Al Busaeedi, Deputy CEO, CSP Abu Dhabi, said: “We are proud to be the first terminal in the Middle East to implement an autonomous

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port truck system following the addition of six of Qomolo Q-trucks to our container handling fleet.

“As well as being extremely efficient and cost-effective, the new vehicles enable us to sustain our container handling operations for longer periods and enable us to continue operating in cases where business continuity becomes an

operational challenge. We look forward to experiencing the full potential of these autonomous vehicles over the coming months.”

Featuring a highly stable, efficient, and environmentally friendly platform, the electric Q-Trucks are powered by a 281 kWh battery, carry a maximum load of 80 tonnes, and have an operating range of 200km. Capable of operating for up to 44 hours continuously, the vehicle’s electrical systems are further enhanced by a temperature control system that aids in extending battery life in extreme weather.

Solidifying CSP Abu Dhabi and Khalifa Port’s standing as one of the most advanced maritime facilities in the region employing several ultra-modern innovations,

the new Q-Trucks are expected to deliver reduced transformation and operating costs, a significant reduction in Co2 emissions as compared to traditional trucks and serve as a viable business continuity solution in the event of any manpower crisis.

Saif Al Mazrouei, Head of Ports Cluster, Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “The addition of CSP Abu Dhabi’s Q-Trucks has not only accelerated Khalifa Port’s position as the Middle East’s leading maritime facility but also serves as a prime example of how innovative technologies can transform the maritime and logistics industries.

“Employing solutions powered by ultra-modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence, Internet-of-Things, and electrification can enable businesses to achieve a higher level of efficiency, while simultaneously transforming their respective operations to be more sustainable and cost-efficient.”

In addition to the adoption of the autonomous port truck system, the project saw the adoption of a Fleet Management System (FMS) for overseeing daily activities utilising Q-Trucks. Integrated as part of the operational control tower, the platform provides realtime monitoring and workflow management processes, while simultaneously connecting to multiple systems within the terminal enabling whole terminal running.

Highest-ever Quarterly Growth in Exports Shows Resilience of Exports Sector: FIEO New Delhi Port Wings News Network eacting to the trade data for the first quarter of the FY’ 2021-22, Dr A Sakthivel, President, FIEO, said that the highest-ever quarterly growth in exports of 85 percent with USD 95 billion over FY’ 2020-21 and by 18 percent over FY’ 2019-20 not only shows the resilience of the exports sector but also the strength of the Indian economy. Dr Sakthivel also reposed faith in the overall exporting community, who in these difficult and challenging times have continuously been able to perform with vigour and dynamism. Exports for June, 2021, which for the fourth time in a row, have shown a very impressive growth of 47 percent with USD 32 billion during the month, also augurs well for the overall foreign trade sector of the country, added FIEO Chief.

Dr Sakthivel reiterated that the top sectors, which performed impressively during the first quarter of the FY’ 2021-22 starting with 3-digit growth were Iron-ore, Rice, Cotton Yarn/Fabs/Madeups, Handloom Products etc., Engineering Goods, Plastics & Linoleum, Organic & Inorganic Chemicals, Electronic Goods, Petroleum Products, Marine Products and Drugs & Pharmaceuticals.

FIEO President emphasised that as the labour-intensive sectors were main contributors to these ten impressively growing sectors during the quarter, this will further help in creating jobs in the country, being

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the most relevant in the current context.

FIEO Chief complimented the government specially the Union Finance Minister, Commerce Minister and Textile Minister under the able and dynamic leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the continuous support to the sector during such challenging times. Increase in both quarterly and monthly imports by about 108 percent and 96.33 percent compared to the same period during the previous fiscal, should be looked into.

FIEO President reiterated that though the government has announced a slew of measures during recent times to support exports with the extension of Interest Equalisation Scheme by 3 months to September 30, 2021 and the today’s announcement of the Union MSME Minister on revised guidelines for MSMEs with the inclusion of retail and wholesale traders as MSMEs, which will help 2.5 Crore traders to get benefit of priority sector lending under RBI guidelines. Further the need of the hour is to soon notify the RoDTEP rates to remove uncertainty from the minds of the trade and industry, besides addressing some of the key issues including priority status to exports sector, release of the necessary funds for MEIS and clarity on SEIS benefits, resolving risky exporters’ issues and continuance of seamless refund of IGST and more importantly continuing with IGST option for exports.

FIEO Welcomes Government’s Decision of Granting Extension to Interest Equalization Scheme by 3 Months Welcoming the move of the government granting extension to the Interest Equalization Scheme, FIEO President, Dr A Sakthivel on 1 July 2021 said that the scheme will help the identified export sectors to be internationally competitive and to achieve a higher level of export performance. Dr Sakthivel specially thanked the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Hon’ble Commerce Minister and RBI Governor for accepting our request to further extend the interest subvention scheme as the MSME sector is still struggling from lack of affordable working capital.

The Government of India has approved the extension of Interest Equalization Scheme for Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit, with the same scope and coverage, for a further period of three months, i.e., up to September 30, 2021. The extension takes effect from July 01, 2021 and ends on September 30, 2021 covering a period of three months. President FIEO also thanked the Government for timely extension as it will not only provide competitive rates for exports and but will also bring it to the near international benchmarks particularly for MSMEs. FIEO Chief further requested the Government that in order to provide stability to the scheme, it may be extended by 3 years.

SEZ Policy Revamp Need Bold Measures: TPCI New Delhi Port Wings News Network rade Promotion Council of India organised a webinar on SEZs – the key to boost India’s exports, which featured a SWOT analysis of India’s SEZ policy, the relevance of SEZs in the current context and also the role SEZs could play in making India the epicentre of manufacturing in Asia post-COVID. Speaking on the strategy, Mohit SIngla, Founder Chairman TPCI said, “We need bold measures to revive investment, promote manufacturing and exports from India, and boost job creation, for that TPCI is proposing announcing a simple policy reform which is also WTO compliant.”

Further Singla stated, “There is one area within the SEZ policy that needs to be addressed. At present, an exporter in an SEZ and a foreign exporter are at par when it comes to selling goods to a domestic tariff area (DTA). Therefore, an exporter within the SEZ should be incentivized on the degree of value addition he brings to a product.

He should be allowed to import raw material at zero duty and avail duty rebate proportionate to value addition. This will keep him at an advantageous position as opposed to importing finished products from another country. Also it will lead to automatic cauterization as the incentive will act as a pull factor.”

Another panelist, ARM Reddy, Zonal Development Commissioner, Vishakhapatnam said, “SEZs are definitely doing well in India. In 2005-06, exports were Rs 0.23 lakh crores exports, and now it’s Rs 5.53 lakh crores exports in 202021 despite pandemic. Otherwise, last year it was Rs 7.22 lakh crores you can see. Exports have grown 24 times in just 15 years in the country and contributed to nearly 1/3rd of exports from the country.”

Further Reddy said, “There is a phenomenal growth of 220 times exports in just 16 years in Vishakhapatnam SEZ from 2003 to 2019. Cumulative growth rate of exports from India is only 1.49% from 2014 to 2018. And the growth rate of exports from SEZs in the country from 201415 to 2018-19 is 51.2%. I would like to say that you have to give an exception for this pandemic period of two years.”

Sunil Rallan, Chairman and Managing Director, Chennai Free Trade Zone said, “India too has now been able to attract a few manufacturing units with our recent PLI scheme. These factories are primarily seeking to cater to the Indian domestic market. Manufacturing units find themselves in India setting up discrete factories for DTA and exports in order to comply with the duty exemptions claims and the tax refund mechanisms. SEZs has the potential of becoming very attractive for these relocating units, if only we could enable them to seamlessly supply both to the DTA and the global markets.”

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Rallan proposed, “The Manufacture and Other Operations Regulations, 2019 (MOOWR scheme), provides upfront remissions of duties and taxes and is de-linked from an export obligation.

Products you know, which we have seen which are manufactured in the SEZ unit and supplied to DTA are subject to tariffs on the entire value of the finished product, including the local value addition.

There have been several instances, where products were imported from ASEAN region countries with whom we have a FTA at much lower tariffs than what is supplied from the SEZ units.” Therefore, SEZ units must be charged with tariff only on the duty for one principle as is the practice in the MOOWR scheme, he added.

Suvankar Sen, Executive Director, Senco Gold Ltd. Opined, “The various improvements, policy improvements that can happen, one is that from the various free trade warehouses zones that we have, when we import the raw materials, we have to pay the duty.

If the government makes a policy that is against some bonds, the raw materials can be imported and then worked upon and then further exported without paying of duty that will enable the liquidity.

Prof. Parthapratim Pal, IIM Calcutta said, “India has a window of opportunity due to the planned relocations of manufacturing happening, and Special Economic Zones can definitely play a very important role. Should India be indiscriminating getting these companies or should India try to focus on getting companies where India has certain kind of comparative advantage or competitive advantage? If you just accept any company coming out of China then, is it sustainable, especially if you are getting companies at the lower end of the value chain, which basically operate on cheap labor costs? “ Another big problem is the sale to the domestic tariff area. We were thinking about it, why doesn’t the government make the SEZs pay the minimum possible tariff that is applicable across all FTAs. Just make the FTAs pay a duty to make them at par, at a same platform with the other domestic manufacturers but pick out the least possible FTA duty for each product and make those applicable for the FTAs, who are selling in the domestic tariff area, he added.

Harsh Hiroo Gursahani, Counsel, International Trade Laws and Food Laws, PLR Chambers said, “It is important to note that SEZs per se are not in conflict with WTO laws.

There are around 140 countries that have SEZs and in their various forms currently present as well. Services do not fall under the ambit of SCM Agreement, so the government can step in to give subsidies for services.

When you delink or demerge the bundle of manufacturing SEZs into their manufacturing component and the services components, you know, the central government actually has the option to go in and subsidize at least the services parts of even a manufacturing SEZs.”

July 7th - 13th, 2021 Issue

Shipping MRO Services GST Change

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NDIA has a 7,500 km long coastline. It is located along the Mediterranean trade route that constitutes of approximately 7-9 per cent of the global trade. Out of India’s total trade, approximately 70% by value and 95% by volume is handled by seaborne transport, according to the Ministry of Shipping. All ships and vessels undergo scheduled and unscheduled repair and maintenance during its entire life time.

I n d i a which is favourably located, enjoys low labour cost, qualitative work force and adequate availability of skilled professionals is best to perform ship Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (‘MRO’) services. This labour intensive nature of ship repair industry puts India to great advantage as compared to advanced nations and also neighbouring countries. Still the Shipping MRO industry wasn’t growing.

The reason was the high tax rates.

Till 1st June, 2021, MRO services in respect of ships and vessels were liable to GST at 18%.

MRO services provided to foreign flag vessels were not treated as ‘export of services’ in spite of receiving consideration in convertible foreign exchange and was attracting GST at 18%.

Exorbitant rate of GST overpowered the labour cost advantage and it made MRO services cost prohibitive when provided on Indian shore. That helped the neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, UAE, Pakistan and Philippines in getting foreign as well as Indian ships.

The airline industry also faced a similar issue a few days ago but the GST slab was reduced.

Acceding to the legitimate demand of ship repair industry, the Government has notified following benevolent changes granting tax relief in respect of ship Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (‘MRO’) services: • Notification No. 2/2021 – Central Tax (Rate) dt. 02.06.2021 – Reducing GST rate from 18% to 5% on MRO services in respect of ships or vessels.

• Notification No. 3/2021 – Integrated Tax dt. 02.06.2021 – Changing the place of supply for MRO services provided to foreign flag ships from ‘location where services are performed’ to ‘location of service recipient’.

Both these notifications have come into effect from 02.06.2021 and hence Ship MRO services provided on or after 02.06.2021 is eligible for above tax benefits.

Notification No. 2/2021 – Central Tax (Rate) dt. 02.06.2021: GST rate for following services is reduced from 18% to 5% w.e.f. 02.06.2021: “Maintenance, repair or overhaul services in respect of ships and other vessels, their engines and other components or parts”.

Reduced rate of tax applies only to maintenance, repair and overhaul services in respect of: • Ships or vessels; • Engine of ships or vessels; and • Any component or part of ships or vessels or its engines.

Notification No. 3/2021 – Integrated Tax dt. 02.06.2021: Place of supply for following services shall be the location of service recipient: “Supply of maintenance, repair or overhaul service in respect of ships and other vessels, their engines and other components or parts supplied to a person for use in the course or furtherance of business”.

Resultantly, MRO services provided in respect of foreign flag ship and vessel shall qualify as ‘export of services’ as defined u/s 2(6) of Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (‘IGST Act’) provided, consideration for such services is realized in convertible foreign exchange.

by Naresh Sheth, Partner, NA Shah Associates GST IMPLICATIONS OF MRO SERVICES PROVIDED ON OR AFTER 2ND JUNE, 2021: GST implications of MRO services provided on or after 2nd June, 2021 in respect of ships or vessels are tabulated below: Ship owner / operator Indian entity

GST implications

MRO services received in India is taxable at 5%.

The ship repairer will be liable to GST under forward charge.

Indian entity will be liable to discharge GST at 5% under reverse charge mechanism on MRO services received at foreign ports or dry docks.

The ship owner or operator will be entitled to input tax credit (‘ITC’) in both the above cases.

Foreign It will be export entity (Foreign of service subject to flag ship / realization of consideration in convertible foreign vessel) exchange.

Exporter of Ship MRO service has two options provided u/s 16(3) of IGST Act: 1. Export the services without payment of tax (i.e. tax levied is zero).

The exporter following this route can claim refund of unutilized ITC lying in its Electronic credit ledger u/s 54(3) of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (‘CGST Act’).

2. Export such services with payment of tax at 5% and claim refund of such tax u/s 54 of CGST Act r.w. section 16(3)(b) of IGST Act. This is done by discharging GST liability through electronic credit balance. This is ultimately a method of liquidating the accumulated ITC lying in electronic credit ledger.

The service provider should file letter of undertaking (LUT) in both the above cases and he should ensure that he realizes consideration in convertible foreign exchange within prescribed time limit.

Reduction in output tax rate without corresponding change in input tax rates, would result in inverted rate structure for ship repair industry. As a result, the ship repairers would be entitled to claim refund on unutilized ITC in accordance to the provisions of section 54(3)(ii) of CGST Act subject to prescribed conditions and restrictions.

CONCLUSION: Finally, the Government has acceded to the long-standing demand of ship repair industry.

These benevolent notifications will reduce the tax incidence by 13% on MRO services provided to Indian flag ship vessels and by 18% on MRO services provided to foreign ship vessels. This will indeed make Indian ship repairers competitive in global market and will act as a stimulus for Indian ship repair industry. It will bring back the declining industry and in fact increase the employability in this sector. It will also get India a lot of Foreign Exchange and it will add to the total revenue of the country. It may lead us to become the leader in the Mediterranean trade route.

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Commerce Ministry’s Logistics Division Unveils Plans for ‘Freight Smart Cities’ New Delhi Port Wings News Network ith growing urbanisation, requirements of rapid economic growth including e-commerce and associated first and last mile freight movements; increasing congestion, noise and sound pollution in the Indian cities is a menace affecting both public health and local economies. The Logistics Division under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has decided to work in a planned manner to improve the city freight movement.

This is all the more relevant as the demand for urban freight is expected to grow by 140 per cent over the next 10 years. Final-mile freight movement in Indian cities is currently responsible for 50 per cent of total logistics costs in India’s growing e-commerce supply chains. Improving city logistics would also enable efficient freight movement and bring down the logistics costs boosting all sectors of the economy.

The need for focus on city logistics was first discussed with States/UTs during the first National Conference of States on Logistics on 19 January, 2021. Taking this forward, the Logistics Division has been engaged with subject experts and technical organizations to devise a roadmap for improvement in freight movement in the Indian cities.

The roadmap envisions the concept of ‘Freight Smart Cities’ to improve the efficiency of urban freight and create an opportunity for reduction in the logistics costs.

During the consultative meeting chaired by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Hardeep Singh Puri on freight smart cities held on 02 July 2021, the logical next step was taken where issues were discussed with technical details, and specific examples of cities that have progressed in this area were shared.

On this occasion, Hardeep Singh Puri launched the website on ‘Freight Smart Cities’ and also released a handbook outlining 14 measures that can be taken to improve urban freight. Shri Puri appreciated the extensive participation of nearly 300 stakeholders. He stated that India is undergoing robust, vibrant and autonomous urbanisation. A shift from regulatory to a more organic approach making use of the enabling technologies is required to be adopted by the policy makers and city planners taking into account the aspirations of citizens and plan for their requirements.

He urged the State Governments to identify ten cities, to begin with, to be developed

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as Freight Smart Cities and also to set up institutional mechanism for the same involving the Government as well as Private stakeholderslike Logistics services providers, users and citizens. He also asked the States/ City Governments to focus on the quickwins like developing peri-urban freight centres, night-time deliveries, developing truck routes, using Intelligent Transportation Systems & modern technologies, Promoting electrification of urban freight, Parcel delivery terminals etc.

Representatives from NitiAayog, MoHUA, MoRTH, Railways, State Govts and City level urban bodies, ADB as well as the technical Institutes like RMI, SPA(Delhi) and SPA (Bhopal), CEPT, GIZ addressed the participants. States and cities like Gujarat, Panjim, Hyderababad, Shimla and Amravati presented their work related to improving city freight logistics. These cases and other good practices would help to accelerate the action.

“The 14 measures presented in the handbook represent high-leverage areas for cities to improve their economic competitiveness and reduce congestion and pollution. Several of these measures are lowcost, low effort initiatives that can be quickly taken up by working with the related public and private stakeholders.” said Sh. Pawan Agarwal, Special Secretary, Logistics Division in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Under the Freight Smart Cities initiative, city-level logistics committees would be formed. These committees would have related government departments and agencies at the local level, state and from the reacted central ministries and agencies. These would also include private sector from the logistics services and also users of logistics services.

These committees would co-create City Logistics Plans to implement performance improvement measures locally.

On the Freight smart city initiatives, the Logistics Division is working closely with GIZ (Germany) under Indo-German Development Cooperation, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India. A challenge is expected to be announced to encourage the participation of cities in this initiative.

From the ten cities to be identified on immediate basis, it is planned to expand the list to 75 cities in the next phase before scaling up throughout the country including all state capitals and cities that have more than one million population. The list of cities to be taken up would however be finalised in consultation with the State governments.

Indian Hydrographic Naval Ship Surveys Around X-Press Pearl Ship Off Sri Lanka

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Chennai

Port Wings News Network ndian hydrographic naval ship Sarvekshak has discovered a concentration of debris within three miles of the wreck of X-press Pearl that sank off the coast of Colombo in early June. Officials said that Sarvekshak arrived from India to aid Sri Lanka’s underwater survey programs around the gutted X-press Pearl to ensure the safety of navigation in that area.

Indian Navy officials have said that Sarvekshak has conducted concurrent surveys in three search areas. They also added that a significant amount of debris has been unearthed within three square miles of the shipwreck.

The survey is being carried out in collaboration with the Hydrographic Office, the National Aquatics Resource Research and Development Agency (NARA) and the country’s Navy.

The Singapore-flagged container vessel that had caught fire on May 20 had been carrying 1,486 chemical-loaded containers of which several fell into Sri Lankan waters

before the fire had been doused following an India-Sri Lanka operation as part of the Operation Sagar Aaraksha 2. On June 2, the X-press Pearl sank.

Several national and international agencies have assessed that the chemical-laden containers that had fallen off the cargo ship could threaten the livelihood of the fisher community along the western coast of Sri Lanka. It could also impact the safety of navigation of marine traffic that has been operating via the Colombo port.

On June 20, the UN told that the container ship has resulted in significant damage to the environment by releasing hazardous substances.

The organization has also announced that a team of experts would be appointed to research the extent of the disaster and suggest the necessary follow-up measures to be undertaken.

A team of chemical and oil spill experts from the UN and also the European Union (EU) is collaborating with Sri Lankan officials and agencies to determine the impact of such a massive ecological disaster.

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Vessel Position at Terminals - (07.07.2021 To 14.07.2021)

July 7th - 13th, 2021 Issue

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CCTL - Chennai ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

07/07

08/07

PIC-2

07/07

08/07

08/07 09/07

Voy

Agent/Line

CITPL - Chennai

Calling Ports

ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

SSL KRISHNA

CMB/TUT/COK/JEA/IXY

05/07

06/07

TCXNEW

RACHA BHUM

167W-167E

RCF

ISG

WINNER

JEB/COK/CMB

05/07

06/07

TCXNEW

THANA BHUM

322W-322E

RCF

09/07

ECH

SSL GUJARAT

KAT/HAL/CGP/PRT/KAT/KRI

05/07

06/07

MD1

TRF KAYA

1725W-1725E

OAS/BTL

10/07

ADHOC

TCI ARJUN

RGN

Calling Ports

Kattupalli Kakinada Container Terminal ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

Calling Ports

07/07

08/07

HAL>INCOK>IMAA

SSL GUJARAT

99

IMPERIAL

HAL>INCOK>IMAA

13/07

14/07

KAK>CMB

MSC JAINS 3

SAMSARA

HAL>KAK>CMB

NSICT - Mumbai ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

07/07

08/07

BMM

INTER SYDNEY

EMS CCA

ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

05/07

06/07

C15

INTERASIA HERITAGE

29

IAS

05/07

06/07

ECS

SSL SABARIMALAI

89

HMM

06/07

07/07

C15

STRAIT MAS

002E

WAN

10/07

11/07

CCG

SM NEYYAR

23

SIM

Calling Ports

Tuticorin,cochin,Pipava, Kandla,Jebel ali

Cochin , Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jebel Ali, Bandar Abbas, Dammam

Calling Ports

VCTPL, Vizag ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

Voy

Agent/Line

Calling Ports

07/07

08/07

ADHOC

MSC EMILIE

SC121R

MSC

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

07/07

08/07

MDM

TRF KAYA

1725E

OAS

Cochin, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jebel Ali, Bandar Abbas, Dammam

07/07

08/07

BLUENILE

NORTHERN DEPENDENT

09/07

10/07

AIM

NYK PAULA

MSK

09/07

10/07

MIDAS

EX ASTORIA

MSK

09/07

10/07

CSC

GUENTHER SCHULTE

SBG

07/07

08/07

CVK

MSC JANIS3

SV126R

MSC

10/07

11/07

MWE

SPHENE

MSK

07/07

08/07

CCG

SM NEYYAR

23

SMI

11/07

12/07

MECL

MAERSK CHICAGO

MSK

Cochin, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jebel Ali, Bandar Abbas, Dammam

08/07

09/07

FME

KMTC MUMBAI

2104E

KMT

12/07

13/07

ADHOC

GEMINI

CCA

Port Kelang(North port) – Singapore, Shanghai

12/07

13/07

MDM

GREEN HOPE

24126E

WHL

Colombo

12/07

13/07

AS1

CMA CGM RACINE

MSK 12/07

13/07

FME

XINN YUN GANG

086E

13/07

14/07

CHX

MAERK NILE

127W

MSK

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

14/07

15/07

CCG

VARADA

38

SMI

Cochin, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jebel Ali, Bandar Abbas, Dammam

Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Port Qasim, Singapore

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

13/07

14/07

ME2

OAKLAND

MSK

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

13/07

14/07

MESAWA

ALS FLORA

MSC

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

14/07

15/07

IEX

GULF BARAKAH

MSK

Colombo,Damietta Piraes Rotterdam, London

14/07

15/07

BLUENILE

CELSIUS NICOSIA

SAM

APM Terminal - Mumbai ETA

ETD

Service

Vessel Name

07/07

08/07

MINA

12/07

13/07

07/07

Voy

Agent/Line

Calling Ports

APL ANTWERP

CCA

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva

CIX3

OOCL SAN FRANCISCO

OCL

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva

08/07

NMG

TSS SHAMS

SEC

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva

14/07

15/07

MINA

DALIAN EXPRESS

07/07

08/07

CIX

SPIL KARTIKA

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva WHI

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

09/07

10/07

PS3

CONTI CONQUEST

ONE

Port Qasim, Nhava Sheva, Pipavav, Colombo, T.Pelepas,Tanjung, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ningbo, Pusan, Kwangyang, Qingdao, Dalian, Xingang

13/07

14/07

NMG

CAPE MORETON

SEC

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva

09/07

10/07

TIP

MOL GENESIS

ONE

Jebel Ali, Mundra,Hazira,Nhava Sheva

07/07

08/07

PS3

ONE CONTINUITY

ONE

Port Qasim, Nhava Sheva, Pipavav, Colombo, T.Pelepas,Tanjung, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ningbo, Pusan, Kwangyang, Qingdao, Dalian, Xingang

14/07

15/07

CWI

AKINADA BRIDGE

GLD

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

10/07

11/07

ME3

MAERSK KAMPALA

MAE

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

09/07

10/07

FM3

JOSEPHINE MAERSK

MAE

09/07

10/07

CWX

KOTA LUMBA

PIL

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.

Port Kelang(North port) – Singapore, Shanghai

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Witnesses Upswing in Cargo Handling entire JNPT ecosystem improve, resulting in increasing numbers in container handling, Port Wings News Network ith the easing of lockdown overall container traffic, and throughput restrictions and pickup in the even during a pandemic. At JNPT, we domestic economic activity, appreciate the efforts taken by our talented Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), one of and skilled workforce, esteemed and valuable the premier container handling ports, recorded Stakeholders. Our ever-aiding Trade Partners a throughput of 441,984 TEUs in June 2021 have shown in maintaining JN Port’s position as compared to 289,292 TEUs in June 2020. as a major contributor to India’s economic growth and the A growth of 52.78% as nation’s fight compared to the same period against Covid-19 by last year. In terms of rail relentlessly handling operations, JNPT handled the evacuation 88,849 TEUS of ICD traffic and procurement from 548 rakes in June 2021, of Medical Grade and the Rail-Coefficient is Oxygen and other 20.10%.

Medical accessories Following last month’s and supply”. endeavor to become one of During the the leaders in combatting month gone by, the pandemic, JNPT handled in a significant two containers of medical Sanjay Sethi, IAS, technological push accessories in the vessel Chairman, JNPT, and with a vision to MV Hyundai Privilege with a total quantity enhance the port’s efficacy, JNPT installed 2 of 23.8MT. JNPT’s APM Terminal handled Mobile X-Ray Scanners at NSICT & APMT. COVID –related medical accessories in the The JNPT – Antwerp Port Training and vessel MV Hyundai Hong Kong, handled Consultancy Foundation also conducted an two cryogenic containers with medical-grade online Training Programme on “Dangerous oxygen in the vessel MV Mol Garland, and Goods & Safety Management,” keeping in four containers with medical accessories mind the importance and the rising demand on the vessel MV Hyundai Platinum. for upgraded skills, safety measures at the port Additionally, MV CMA CGM RIGOLETTO area. brought containers with medical accessories.

These measures will help the port be at Commenting on the performance, Shri par with advanced global ports augmenting Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT, said, JNPT’s stature to be among the leading “We are proud to see the efficiency of the container ports in the world.

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Mumbai

July 7th - 13th, 2021 Issue

How To Solve COVID’s Crew Change Crisis And Protect Global Supply Chains Chennai

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Port Wings News Network ven as the world slowed down as a result of the pandemic, seafarers did not stop, but kept the supply chain running to ensure goods could reach their destination. This allowed world trade to continue, but it did so at great cost to the seafarers, says a World Economic Forum report.

Around 80% of global trade is transported by ships, and the maritime supply chain is supported by more than 1 million seafarers who are key in delivering the services needed to run our societies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented crew change crisis which has led to hundreds of thousands of seafarers being impacted and, in many instances, left stranded on ships beyond the expiry of their contracts.

The crisis has now been ongoing for more than a year and a half, and the latest data shows the situation is getting worse – despite efforts by the maritime community, including over 800 organizations who have signed up to the Neptune Declaration.

The Declaration was launched in January 2021 to respond to the crew change crisis, outlining key actions that need to be taken to resolve it by governments, companies and other stakeholders.

Our collective failure to properly address the crew change crisis puts the seafarers, who are key in supporting global trade, in an unacceptable situation. It prevents them from returning home to their loved ones and the extended periods at sea have significant consequences on their physical and mental wellbeing.

If left unresolved, the difficulties in carrying out crew changes could expand as seafarers understandably start considering if they want to return to sea, which could pose a threat to the resilience of global supply chains.

There is an urgent need to address

the further deteriorating crew change crisis. Data from the 10 largest ship managers, published through the Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator reported a more than 50% increase between May and July in the proportion of seafarers onboard vessels beyond their contract expiry.

With the fast-spreading delta variant, governments have tightened restrictions, closed borders and stopped crew changes, often imposing stricter requirements for seafarers than for citizens or other travellers despite the critical role seafarers play in global supply chains.

KEY MEASURES CAN HELP SOLVE CRISIS Protecting global supply chains and the wellbeing of seafarers will thus require governments to allow crew changes to take place in the safest manner possible. This can be done by implementing highquality health protocols based on the highest practicable standards, such as The Recommended Framework of Protocols for ensuring safe ship crew changes and travel during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has been recognized by the International Maritime Organization or the STAR Crew Change Protocols, which are based on existing best practice.

All stakeholders in the maritime logistics chain must also live up to their shared responsibility to ensure necessary crew changes can be carried out. No companies, including charterers, should use contracts prohibiting necessary changes, as has been frequently reported. Instead, ship owners and charterers should share relevant information transparently and collaborate to ensure that necessary crew changes can take place with the least impact possible in terms of cost and delays and highquality health protocols should be implemented in line with the best practices developed by a group of leading charterers and described

in the Neptune Declaration Best Practices for Charterers.

VACCINATION PROGRAMMES URGENTLY NEEDED While allowing crew changes to take place in the current situation is necessary, it will only help alleviate the symptoms of the crisis.

Resolving this crisis will require seafarers to have access to vaccines.

There has been some progress as a limited number of international seafarers have started to get access to vaccines, for instance in the US where vaccination programmes are being rolled out for national and nonnational seafarers. Nonetheless, the vast majority of seafarers, especially from developing countries, are still unable to be vaccinated.

Stakeholders from large seafaring nations, such as the Philippines, are reporting vaccine shortages and limited capacity. Meanwhile, some vaccinated seafarers also continue to face travel restrictions, constraining their ability to return home or travel to onboarding ports. It is therefore urgent that countries, who have spare doses of vaccines, prioritize international seafarers, whom close to 60 countries have designated as key workers, when allocating surplus vaccines.

TIME FOR THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO STEP UP Seafarers are the key workers supporting the more than 80% of global trade. In recent months we have seen the fragility of global supply chains with the temporary blockage of the Suez Canal and cessation of Yantian port operations.

We have a responsibility as a global community to take action to protect the seafarers who play this crucial role in these very difficult circumstances, not just for the sake of the seafarers and their families, but also for the billions of people like us who are dependent on international shipping to bring the food, energy and manufactured goods that we all rely on in our daily lives.

DP World Acquires Leading US-Based Supply Chain Solutions Provider syncreon Chennai

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Port Wings News Network P World on 1 July 2021 announced the acquisition of 100 per cent of syncreon for an enterprise value of US$1.2 billion. This transaction is subject to customary completion conditions and is expected to close in 2H2021. syncreon is a US based global logistics provider that specializes in the design and operation of complex supply chains for the high growth automotive and technology industries. syncreon provides specialized valueadded warehousing and distribution solutions through a variety of manufacturing, export packaging, transportation management, reverse/ repair and fulfilment services. syncreon has a global presence across 91 sites in 19 countries and services a large and diversified portfolio of customers made up of multinational companies.

The group focuses on two key segments. Firstly, large technology customers to enable eCommerce and omni-channel fulfilment and aftermarket services, and secondly automotive companies for reception of materials, warehousing, inventory management, kitting/sequencing for line feeding, and export packaging.

This is complemented by a growing presence serving customers in Consumer Goods, Healthcare and Industrial Markets. In FY2020, the group reported revenue of $1.1 billion with 57% generated in EMEA (predominantly Europe) and 42% in North America. syncreon has longstanding partnerships with customers averaging 18 years, and high contracts renewal rates.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World, said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of syncreon, which adds significant strategic value to DP World given its strong logistics solutions capability, and will allow DP World to deliver end-to-end solutions to cargo owners.”

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem stated: “syncreon’s complex solutions capability brings strong long-term relationships with cargo owners,

which fits with DP Worlds vision to provide smart tech-led supply chain solutions to enable trade across key markets. syncreon’s exposure to the sizeable, fast-growing technology and automotive industries offers significant growth opportunities over the medium to long term. We aim to build on this platform to deliver greater scale and provide compelling value add supply chain solutions to cargo owners across a wider market.”

The acquisition will be funded from existing available resources. DP World continues to make positive progress on its capital recycling programmes and remains fully committed to its leverage target of below 4.0x Net Debt/EBITDA by the end of 2022.

Brian Enright, CEO of syncreon, said: “We are excited to join the DP World group as we believe that syncreon will benefit from the group’s significant expertise in the wider supply chain and excellent relationships with cargo owners. We share the vision of serving our customers through removing inefficiencies and delivering value add solutions. While we have enjoyed great success over the years, we believe being part of DP World will enable us to take the business to other markets”.

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NEWS - BITS ABB Further Enhances Efficiency Of Azipod® Electric Propulsion With Digital Solution

Already delivering decisive efficiency gains to an ever-increasing variety of ship types, ABB Azipod® electric propulsion now benefits from an automated steering function that helps further minimize fuel consumption and emissions.

The new digital solution, ABB Ability™ OptimE – Toe Angle Optimization for Propulsion, supports crew in achieving maximum propulsion efficiency by automatically selecting the optimal steering angle for the ship’s Azipod® system. With ABB Ability™ OptimE, further fuel savings of up to 1.5 percent are achievable depending on a ship’s operating profile, in addition to Azipod® propulsion’s ability to cut fuel consumption by up to 20 percent when compared with a traditional shaftline setup.

Without requiring any additional skills from the crew, the digital solution adds a new dimension to proven Azipod® systems efficiencies, which have already saved more than 1,000,000 tons of fuel in the cruise sector alone. ABB Ability™ OptimE automatically adjusts the steering angle to achieve continuous optimal flow through the propulsors, taking prevailing operational needs and working conditions into account.

“Maximizing the energy efficiency of assets is a top priority for ABB and we are delighted to demonstrate yet further fuel savings and emission reductions in our Azipod® propulsion systems,” said Antto Shemeikka, Vice President Digital Services, ABB Marine & Ports. “We view the ship as a system where hardware and software operate seamlessly together to deliver maximum efficiency. We believe that every shipowner using Azipod® technology will want to capitalize on the further efficiency gains enabled by ABB Ability™ OptimE.”

Research To Start On End-Of-Life Oil Fields After The UK’s National Oceanography Centre Secures Funding The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has secured funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which will take robot submarine ‘Boaty McBoatface’ around end-of-life oil and gas fields. The Autonomous Techniques for infraStructure Ecological Assessment (AT-SEA) project, led by the NOC will trial the concept of using submarines like Boaty for high-tech, low-impact monitoring to pick up any potential environmental impacts at these sites.

The NOC has received £670,000 in funding from the UK NERC as part of the Influence of Man-made Structures in the Ecosystem (INSITE) research programme.

As a result of this funding, the project team will carry out the first robotic mission in summer 2022. This funding has allowed the use of state-of-the-art technology to provide future-proof solutions for the oil industry and will test whether these robotic approaches can gather equivalent information to the surveys currently facilitated on research ships. In doing so, emissions, risks and the cost of these operations will be significantly reduced in the future, thanks to the technology being automated.

Project lead for AT-SEA, Dr Daniel Jones from the National Oceanography Centre, explained: “There are currently thousands of oil and gas industry structures in the sea that are approaching the end of their lives – in UK waters alone there are nearly 500. As part of decommissioning, they typically need to be removed and the environment returned to a safe state. To ensure that no harmful effects will occur to the marine environment, decommissioning operations need to be supported by an environmental assessment and subsequent monitoring.

Port Of Southampton Welcomes First Passengers To New Cruise Terminal

ABP says the Port of Southampton’s new world-class cruise facility, Horizon Cruise Terminal, opens its doors to passengers for the first time today (3 July) ahead of its formal opening later in the year.

MSC Cruises’ MSC Virtuosa is the first ship to welcome passengers at the terminal, which is fitted with Shore Power. MSC Virtuosa, with Shore Power connectivity enabled onboard, will be able to ‘plug in’ once the Shore Power is commissioned later this year. Horizon Cruise Terminal is also fitted with more than 2,000 roof-mounted solar panels, which means that on a day-to-day basis it will generate more power than it uses.

Last year, Associated British Ports announced the new £55 million multi-user cruise terminal in partnership with MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. This strong investment into the future of cruise supports a developing industry and welcomes the next generation of ships in terms of size, capacity and technology. The Terminal was named Horizon Terminal by a local resident following a competition earlier in the year that welcomed name suggestions from across the world. The name represents a bright new chapter for cruise which is an iconic part of the heritage of the city of Southampton and its future.

Alastair Welch, Director of ABP Southampton, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be building the infrastructure for the future of cruise with a commitment to sustainable operations. We marked the UK restart of cruise with MSC Virtuosa leaving the port with the first passengers on 20 May and we’re excited to announce this next significant milestone for the future of cruise in the Port of Southampton.

CUSTOMS EXCHANGE RATES Notification No.54/2021 (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 18th June 2021

RATE (INR) Import Export 57.50 202.05 61.15 11.65 12.10 90.00 9.65 252.75 53.60 8.85 104.90 20.60 20.30 56.10 5.45 8.90 82.75 8.80 20.70 74.55 67.80 6.75

55.05 189.20 58.95 11.30 11.65 86.85 9.30 236.65 51.30 8.55 101.40 19.20 19.05 54.20 5.10 8.55 79.50 8.30 19.45 72.85 65.35 6.30

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 Wednesday (07.07.2021)

July 7th - 13th, 2021 Issue

BIMCO Issues Updated List Of Restrictions On Scrubber Wash Water Discharge

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Port Wings News Network IMCO has issued an updated list of local restrictions on the discharge of the wash water from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS), also known as scrubbers.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has initiated evaluation and harmonization of rules and guidance on the discharge of water (including wash water) from scrubbers into the aquatic environment, including a revision of the 2015 Guidelines for Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems.

However, due to COVID-19 the work has been stalled and as of June 2021, the discussions have been deferred to the 77th session of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee in November 2021.

The current (2015) Guidelines for Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (MEPC.259(68)) include criteria for monitoring and recording levels of: pH, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Turbidity/Suspended Particle Matter, Nitrates, additives and other substances in wash water from open-loop scrubbers.

Furthermore, the guidelines specify that any residues generated by the scrubber should be delivered ashore to the port reception facilities.

The forthcoming revised guidelines for Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems is expected to also unambiguously define and address bleedoff water from closed-loop or hybrid scrubbers.

While the work at IMO to harmonize the rules for discharge of scrubber wash water has been postponed, an increasing number of local restrictions enacted by countries or ports and terminals are emerging.

BIMCO UPDATING INFECTIOUS OR CONTAGIOUS DISEASES CLAUSES TO ADDRESS PANDEMICS The experiences of operating during the

Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges this has created have prompted a review of the BIMCO Infectious or Contagious Diseases Clauses (the “IOCD Clauses”).

The importance of preventing crews from being exposed to serious illness and the attendant risks for owners and charterers of costs and delays to vessels are issues which need to be addressed when fixing time and voyage charter parties.

To put BIMCO’s work into context, the IOCD Clauses were originally developed in 2015 during the Ebola outbreak to provide a generic contractual solution for epidemics. The concern to ship owners is to protect their crew against the infection and the consequences to the ship when trading these areas. This is why the IOCD Clauses are owner focused and give them strong rights when an outbreak of a disease occurs.

Clauses will aim for generic application The Covid-19 pandemic in contrast has presented different challenges because it is a pandemic and its impact is global. This means in the context of the IOCD Clauses that the entire world could arguably be an “Affected Area”.

The revised IOCD Clauses will be appropriate for outbreaks of both an epidemic and pandemic scale. The aim is not to produce specific COVID-19 clauses but instead to ensure that the revised IOCD Clauses have a generic application with a long shelf life because no one can predict the nature of epidemics or pandemics in the future.

Since not every disease covered by the clauses will pose a significant risk to human life, there will not be an automatic right for owners to refuse to call at an area where there is an outbreak. The revised clauses will take account of the fact that protective measures can be put in place to protect the crew and still allow the ship to trade.

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charterers unless caused by owners’ failure to take adequate protective measures to safeguard the ship and its crew.

The position is more nuanced under a voyage charter party or a contract of affreightment because owners have agreed to go to a specific port or range of ports and the charter party is often entered into in support of a specific sale contract or trade. The revised voyage charter party clause will aim to find the appropriate balance between the interests of owners and charterers in consultation with the industry.

The IOCD Clauses are being revised by a group of industry experts including representatives from Norden, Oldendorff Carriers, Vale, ENI, West and UK P&I Club. The clauses are due for publication in November 2021.

Maersk Signs Shipbuilding Contract For World´S First Container Fueled By Carbon Neutral Methanol

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Port Wings News Network .P. Moller - Maersk and Hyundai Mipo Dockyards have agreed on a contract for Hyundai Mipo to build a feeder vessel with a dual engine technology enabling it to sail on either methanol or traditional very low Sulphur fuel. Maersk announced the intention to order the vessel, an industry first, on 17 February 2021. It will fly the Danish flag.

“This groundbreaking container vessel shows that scalable solutions to properly solve shipping’s emissions challenge are available already today.

From 2023 it will give us valuable experience in operating the container vessels of the future while offering a truly carbon neutral product for our many customers who look to us for help to decarbonize their supply chains,” says Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands, A.P. Moller - Maersk.

The feeder will be 172 meters long and will sail in the network of Sealand Europe, a Maersk subsidiary, on the Baltic shipping route between Northern Europe and the Bay of Bothnia.

The methanol propulsion configuration for the vessel will be developed by MAN Energy Solutions and Hyundai Engine and Machinery (main engine) and Himsen (aux engine) in collaboration with Hyundai Mipo and Maersk. Classification society will be American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). ” Developing this vessel is a significant challenge, but we have already come a long way in our work with the yard and the makers to reach this milestone. While we are pioneering these solutions for our industry, we are working with well-proven technologies and the cost potential from further scaling is becoming very clear to us,” says Ole Graa Jakobsen, Head of Fleet Technology, A.P. Moller - Maersk.

More than half of Maersk’s largest customers have set – or are in the process of setting – ambitious science-based or zero carbon targets for their supply chains, making the order another important step in the Maersk efforts to support the rising number of customers calling for carbon neutral products.

Venice May Be Put On Endangered List If Cruise Ships Not Banned, Says UNESCO

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Refusal to call at a port: the last resort Under the new clauses the right of owners to refuse to call at a port will be a remedy of last resort available only in extreme situations where whatever measures the owners have taken will be insufficient to protect the crew.

The clauses attempt to balance the health and welfare of the crew against the commercial interest of the parties and the fulfilment of obligations under the underlying sale contracts to transport and deliver the cargo.

One of the principal commercial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic have been delays to ships due to local port restrictions or quarantine and how to allocate responsibility for them under charter parties. Under a time charter, it is charterers who decide where the ship is to trade. The revised time charter clause aims to allocate the risk of delay primarily to

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Port Wings News Network he UN art heritage agency has said it would examine a proposal to put Venice on its endangered list if the lagoon city does not issue a permanent ban on cruise ships docking there, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

UNESCO said it will discuss the issue at its plenary session on July 16-31. If approved, the agency could demand urgent action by the Italian government by next February.

UNESCO warned that Venice’s survival will be even more in peril if the lagoon city doesn’t issue a permanent ban on cruise ships.

Early in June, Venetians were caught by surprise when a cruise liner sailed into the lagoon city for the first time since the pandemic began, despite an announcement from the Italian government that the ships would be banned from the historic centre. The plan was for the ships to be diverted to the industrial port of Marghera while plans were made for the construction of a cruise terminal outside the lagoon.

Cruise ships to be kept away from St Mark’s Square in Venice Italian government announces ‘temporary’ move to force ships to dock at industrial port instead

The decree was approved by the lower house of the Italian parliament in April, but major infrastructure work will be needed to make it possible to redirect cruise ships to Marghera port.

In the meantime, the only way for the ships to enter Venice is via the Giudecca canal, where in June 2019 a 13-deck vessel operated

by MSC crashed into a wharf and tourist boat, injuring five people.

“A long-term solution is urgently needed,’’ said UNESCO. “A solution that will prevent total access to the lagoon, redirecting them to more suitable ports in the area.’’

“Unfortunately, the UNESCO decision has been in the air for some time,” said the Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini.

“Putting Venice on the UN endangered list would be a serious problem for our country, and there is no more time to waste.

An important step has already been taken with the latest decree but we must do more and immediately prevent the passage of large ships in the Giudecca canal,” he said.

Famous figures in the arts, including Mick Jagger and Tilda Swinton, recently signed a letter urging Rome to take urgent action to safeguard the lagoon city.

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.