I N D U S T R Y    N E W S


New Era begins with the launch of Caravel Lines

Mar 8

On March 1, 2010, Caravel Logistics Pvt. Ltd. launched its 'cellular container service' connecting Tuticorin, Dubai, Mundra and Kochi ports. The newly acquired vessel named 'Caravel Pride', with a capacity of 585 TEUs, has started its maiden voyage from Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu to Dubai via Mundra in Gujarat and Kochi in Kerala. The 15-year-old ship is built at the Foesn Mekanishkw Verksreder shipyard, Sweden. The container vessel was launched at the Tuticorin Port by G J Rao, Chairman of the Tuticorin Port Trust (TPT), in the presence of officials from TPT and PSA-SICAI.

"There will be a fixed day schedule at various ports to help customers plan their shipments. The vessel will call at Tuticorin twice a month with the route being Tuticorin-Jebel Ali-Mundra-Kochi-Tuticorin. With the new service, cargo to West Asia (Jebel Ali) will reach in 5 to 7 days. From Dubai, the ship will pick up scrap, oil and Iranian dates, while in the return direction it will be rice and engineering products," Mr. Saju Chacko, Managing Director, Caravel Logistics Pvt. Ltd., said while briefing media persons.

The company has lined up around Rs 150 crore for acquiring ships, setting up container freight stations and buying rail rakes. The company proposes to buy a ship in the next three months and will add another two in the following fiscal, with a capacity of 800-1,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs).Chacko said. Caravel, in order to become an end-to-end logistics service provider, had entered the shipping business by acquiring a ship for around Rs 25 crore, which it raised from Switzerland-based private equity firm BTS Investments last June. Most of the funds were used to purchase a small container vessel, said Mr Saju Chacko.

On the other hand, the first CFS will come up between Chennai and Ennore. The company is planning to invest around Rs 25 crore to set up the CFS on 15 acres of land.

The CFS, which is expected to commence operations in November, would handle 3,000-3,500 TEUs in the first year. Other CFSs would come up in Tuticorin, Mundra, Ludhiana and Delhi between 2010 and 2013.On plans to enter the railway business, Chacko said they would launch the first service between Mundra and Ludhiana in the first quarter of the next fiscal to cater to Dubai cargo. "Our current volume is around 180 TUEs monthly on this route and we do not depend on outside cargo," said Chacko adding initially, the company is planning to invest around Rs 20 crores to acquire railway rakes. The same logic justifies to set up Chennai CFS as our own volume stands at around 2300 TEUs monthly.

Nearly 60 per cent of Caravel's revenue is from Non-Vessel Operating Container Carrier -- cargo consolidator of small shipments - and the rest is from Custom House Agency, freight forwarding and warehousing, he said. The company is operating a fleet of 12500 containers which includes Special Containers like Flat Rack, Open Top for out of Gauge Cargo. Apart, Caravel also offers Refer Containers, Tank Containers and Flexi tank boxes as well for cost effective operations. Caravel is the only top 5 NVOCC player in India to provide Multi modal transport (MTO) Services in India.

With revenues of Rs 250 crore last year, the company expects revenue of Rs 320 crore in the financial year ending March 2010 and Rs. 450 crores turnover in the next fiscal, he said.

The move is aimed at achieving its target of Rs 1,000 crore turnover by 2015 and becoming a full-fledged logistics provider, said Saju Chacko, Managing Director, Caravel Logistics.

The company plans to set up its on offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Ningbo in China in the next fiscal. Besides having operational own offices in Hongkong and Dubai, Caravel has subsidiaries in Singapore in Malaysia. Caravel also runs CFS in Dubai. The company is having pan India network with 16 branch offices at key locations.

Meanwhile in the latest development, Caravel has opened up new office in Mumbai in Andheri, the shipping hub of the commercial capital of India.

The company would also go public once it reaches its target. The proposed investments will be funded through internal accruals and debt. Caravel has been able to consistently achieve higher Return Ratios due to its our efficient utilization of assets and high operational efficiencies.

The company has won many prestigious awards like the Best NVOCC of the year, Awards for providing efficient trucking services among others from several blue chip organizations which vindicates the trust bestowed by the various stakeholders.

Maritime India - Mumbai

Asia-Europe container rise in December signals upturn: ELAA

Mar 8

Asia-europe container volumes grew nearly 10 per cent in December year on year, the biggest monthly increase in 2009, reports the European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA), which replaces the now-banned Far East Freight Conference as the industry association on the trade lane.

Westbound volumes to Europe from Asia rose 9.4 per cent in December 2009 to 1.105 million TEU from 1.009 million TEU in December 2008, said the ELAA. December was the second month-on-month rise in 2009 after November, which posted a 2.5 per cent rise.

"Westbound December 2009 recorded the highest monthly figure for 2009, breaking the million box mark for the first time in 2009," the ELAA said in a statement.

The ELAA said it should be noted that the December figure was being compared with December 2008, "a time the shipping industry was dipping deep into recession", reported Reuters.

"December shows that the trade is coming back," Rod Riseborough of the ELAA told Reuters.

Container volume for the fourth quarter was down 0.05 per cent at 3.029 million TEU versus 3.031 million TEUs in the same period in 2008.

Total year-on-year volumes on the westbound Asia route to Europe in 2009 were down 14.7 per cent at 11.501 million TEU versus 13.494 million TEU in 2008.

The ELAA said eastbound trade from Europe to Asia jumped 46.9 per cent year on year in December to 543,286 TEU - the highest monthly volume in 2009 and 2008. Volume rose 30.1 per cent in the fourth quarter versus a year ago and was up 4.5 per cent for the whole of 2009 versus 2008.

"The big growth is east bound and it is very substantial," said Mr Riseborough, adding that it was largely in paper and plastics exports from Europe.

The Paris-based Alphaliner agency said there was increased optimism among operators in the liner sector, but added there was still significant overcapacity, which would continue to "put pressure on charter rates."

Maritime India - New Delhi

Indian owners on vessel acquisition spree

Mar 8

Indian shipowners appear to be on a vessel acquisition spree, having purchased 27 vessels during calendar 2009, added another eight during the first two months of 2010, and are expecting to buy at least another 25 vessels in the remaining 10 months companies like Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Great

Eastern Shipping, Mercator Lines, Essar Shipping, Five Star Shipping, Arcadia Shipping and Pratibha Shipping have, between them, added eight ships to their respective fleets, including tankers, bulk carriers and one very large crude carrier.

ng Corporation of India (SCI), Great Eastern Shipping, Mercator Lines, Essar Shipping, Five Star Shipping, Arcadia Shipping and Pratibha Shipping have, between them, added eight ships to their respective fleets, including tankers, bulk carriers and one very large crude carrier.

However, even such large-scale additions to the Indian fleet may not cause a substantial increase in the country's tonnage, which had stood at 9.31 million grt (equivalent to 15.36 million dwt) as on January 1, 2010, due to a number of planned scrappings of aged vessels and the enforced retirement of several single-hulled tankers, which need to go out of service by end-2010 as per the IMO's diktat.

Maritime India - New Delhi

Rising trade protectionism a matter concern: China

Mar 8

Faced with increasing cases of anti-dumping duties against a host of Chinese goods, China fears that its exports may be hit this year due to rising trade protectionism.

China will face rising trade protectionism this year as a result of an increase in its exports as well as high unemployment rates in the United States and the European Union, Sun Zhenyu, the Chinese ambassador to the WTO said.

China, however, is committed to pushing forward the stalled Doha round of WTO talks. Sun who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body said.

Last year, various countries including India launched a total of 118 trade cases against China, affecting Chinese exports worth more than $13 billion.

The US was among the most aggressive, launching 23 cases involving $7.6 billion worth of Chinese exports. "China was the scapegoat in most cases and some countries simply blamed China for their own economic problems such as trade deficits," Sun said.

The US also launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into imports of drill pipes used for oil wells from China during Spring Festival last month, while the EU filed two anti-dumping cases against China over coated fine paper and melamine earlier this year. As many economies recovered from the global recession China's exports surged by 17.7 per cent from a year earlier, ending 13 consecutive months of downturn since November 2008. In January, exports surged by 21 per cent.

Sun further said the Doha Round of WTO talks will not be concluded this year, partly because Washington is not going to put that high on its agenda.

Maritime India - New Delhi

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