I N D U S T R Y N E W S
Cargo handling at major ports rise 13.4 pc in Jan
Mar 7Over half of major ports have registered a double digit growth in January with the total cargo handled by ports registering a 13.4 pc growth at 51.3 million tonnes compared to 45.2 million tonnes in December 2009, with container volumes registering a 31 pc growth year on year. The surge was driven by ports like Paradip, Mormugao, Kolkata, Tuticorin and New Mangalore registering growth between 25 and 43 pc year on year, while Ennore was down by 21.8 pc and Haldia registering a fall of 26.6 pc. Haldia's cargo traffic declined by 22.3 pc over January 2009.
Analysts point out that with a slight increase and revival in the global market, the sector is once again on an upswing although at a slower rate. Container volumes saw a rise of 31 pc across all the major ports in January 2010 at 6.08 lakh TEU's compared to 4.65 lakh TEU's during the corresponding period in 2009.
The growth was driven mainly by JNP registering 30 pc growth during the period and Chennai growing 36 pc. Volumes at Kolkata port remained sluggish, dropping 15.5 pc during the period, according to data from the IPA.
The increase in cargo volumes was mainly driven by a 47 pc growth in coal volumes year on year. On a sequential basis, coal volumes increased 19.2 pc. Fertilizer and crude volumes fell 11.8 pc year on year and 2.2 pc respectively. Iron ore recorded an increase of 7 pc year on year.
The ports also registered a overall cargo growth of 463.2 million tonnes for the period ending January 2010 compared to 437.1 million tonnes in the same period last year. "For the sixth consecutive month, cargo volumes at major ports have registered a growth over the corresponding months last year. Cargo growth of 6 pc y-o-y in year-to-date FY10 indicates that economic activity is back on track. And with GDP expected to grow at 7 pc in FY10, we believe the Indian economy has revived and is looking buoyant," research firm K R Choksey said.
Maritime India - New Delhi
US machinery exports to India jumps 55 pc in 2009
Mar 7US exports of construction machinery to India jumped 55 pc in 2009 despite a drop of more than one third in the country's overall shipments due to the global economic slump, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has said.
In 2009, India imported construction machinery worth $181 million, up 55 pc over 2008, making it the US' 14th export destination for the equipment, AEM said.
India is the only country in the US' 15 construction machinery export destinations to have registered an increase in 2009.
US construction equipment exports dropped more than 38 pc in 2009 compared to the previous year.
"Exports have literally been a lifeline for the construction equipment industry, which saw US business plummet more than 40 pc last year and unemployment soar to more than double the national average," the AEM President, Mr Dennis Slater, said.
According to AEM, construction machinery exports in 2009 declined 29 pc to South America, 34 pc to Central America and 35 pc to Asia. Exports to Europe declined 51 pc to $1.5 billion, and by 41 pc to Canada at $3.7 billion.
Africa imported 29 pc less from the US worth $986 million, while exports to Australia/Oceania decreased 46 pc to $962 million.
Maritime India - New Delhi
NYK group acquires 26 pc stake in Tata Steel logistics arm
Mar 7NYK Holding (Europe) B.V., a wholly owed subsidiary of NYK, has acquired a 26 percent stake in TM International Logistics Ltd (TMIL), which offers steel-related logistics and harbor operation services. TMIL is a subsidiary of Tata Steel Ltd.
NYK has been working to strengthen its business activities in India and established the joint venture Tata NYK Shipping Pty. Ltd. with Tata Steel in 2007 in response to the growing transport of raw materials in India. The stock acquisition will allow the NYK Group to use its extensive know-how to contribute more to the supply chain of Tata Steel.
Maritime India - Mumbai
BTL, RCL, NOL team up to start Singapore-Chennai-Thailand service
Mar 7Bengal Tiger Lines (BTL) has tied up with Regional Container Lines (RCL) and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) to directly link Singapore to Laem Chabang in Thailand and Chennai.
Commencing Mar 23 from Thailand, the parties will each deploy a 1,100-teu vessel on a 21-day round voyage, providing fixed day weekly calls at all ports. The service will be named RMB after its participants – RCL/MOL/BTL.
However, BTL main trade remains Chennai market and, with this RMB service, BTL will offer four sailings a week to and from Singapore.
The Singapore based company is part of the Schoeller Group of Cyprus, which owns over 70 vessels and manages 350 ships. The BTL Chairman, Mr Joachim von der Heydt, said that the service would provide less than 10 days end-to-end transit and, on the return leg, a Penang call will cater to both inbound laden traffic from Chennai, as well as a feeder link to Singapore. In Chennai, the service will call at PSA's new terminal, CITPL.
Port rotation is Laem Chabang-Singapore-Port Kelang-Chennai-/Penang-Port Kelang-Singapore-Laem Chabang while Vessel are m.v. Bani Bhum, m.v MOL Evolution and m.v. Cape Fox.
Maritime India - Kochi
Shipbreakers from India, Pak and Bangla plan united front
Mar 7Representatives of ship breaking communities of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have decided to form a common front to oppose the new IMO-mandated ship recycling Convention which their respective governments are planning to ratify. At an internal meeting held on the sidelines of a recent shiprecycling conference in Dubai, members from the three countries have exchanged ideas and are expected to chart out their future course of action in due course.
"We had an internal meeting between the three countries and decided to work together against the IMO Convention. We are also planning to make one body of the three countries to work against the new stipulation," Pravin Nagarsheth, president of Iron Steel Scrap & Shipbreakers' Association of India. Last week, the association has submitted a memorandum to the shipping ministry repeating its demand ''that government of India should not ratify the IMO Convention on ship recycling as it is against the interests of the country. The Convention is totally one sided without any obligation on the ship owner or ship builder."
Stating that the Convention has not taken into consideration Indian points of view, itnoted that by ratifying it India has nothing to achieve except international interference.
"Whatever regulations that are needed for environmentally sound and labour safe ship recycling in the country can be implemented through national regulations - e.g., the Amendment to Gujarat Maritime Board Regulations 2003 and The Comprehensive Code on Ship Recycling being finalized by steel ministry under the directions of the Supreme Court of India," it has noted. The guidelines being developed now under the IMO Convention intend to go much deeper which will make ship breaking by beaching method impossible, it added.
"The Ship Recycling Facility Management Plan and Ship Recycling Plan are nothing but interferences in the national activity. Future requirements under Ship Recycling Facility Management Plan may force a number of ship recycling units to be closed down," the memorandum warned.
According to Mr Nagarsheth, pressure is also being built from the industry not to rectify the Convention. "Our efforts are to involve all industry players, other than association, to sign a memorandum to the government asking it not to rectify the Convention." He said associations in Gujarat are expected to follow suit with a similar memorandum to the government.
According to him, Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) appointed committee has had several meetings with industry stakeholders to arrive at a consensus on the issue, but 'we are far from it.' Efforts to contact concerned authorities at DGS did not yield results as they were not available.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh recyclers are feeling restless as they are badly affected by the recent government move of declaring ships as toxic waste. Because of the new stipulation, they are not allowed to bring ships for breaking without getting permissions from the exporting and importing countries.
According to reports, several vessels remain anchored off Chittagong as Customs has denied entry to ships which were not certified by the exporting country as free of toxic chemicals, as required by the new rules issued in late January. According to government sources, it started the crackdown on February 21 only after its previous attempts of barring toxic ships from breaking beaches failed. Workers, however, fear for their livelihoods, with breaking companies halting all work for the past few days.
The yards demolish about 200 ships a year. More than a dozen ships bought for scrapping are to arrive in the next couple of weeks, while other ships are already in Bangladesh. Ships with hazardous chemicals, asbestos, oil residues and poisonous and gas have caused casualties related to fires, explosions and poisonings in the recent past.
Maritime India - New Delhi
Maersk Line pulls out of Taiwanese hub port
Mar 7Maersk Line is pulling out of the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung. The box carrier the said that the decision was part of its global strategy. Maersk Line rents two docks in Kaohsiung harbour but will let the contract expire in May.
Reports said it was re-focusing operations across the Taiwan Strait in the Chinese port of Xiamen, where APM Terminals, a business unit of Maersk Line's parent company A.P. Moller-Maersk, is building a four-berth box terminal.
A spokesman for Maersk Asia, however, said that the decision to pull out of Kaohsiung was not linked to investments in Xiamen "or any other port". Observers said the Maersk decision was a new blow to the Kaohsiung, which has seen its share of the regional container market shrink in recent years.
Between 2006 and 2009 container numbers fell from 10.3 million TEUs a year to 8.5 million TEUs. Bunker sales in Kaohsiung have also been falling. In 2006 they were estimated to be around 1.7 million metric tonnes (mt). Two years later they had fallen to 1.46 million mt. A forecast by the Chinese bunker supplier Chimbusco last year predicted they would fall still further in the next five years.
Maritime India - New Delhi
Lianyungang Port throughput rises 17 pc in Jan '10
Mar 7Eastern China's port of Lianyungang handled 10.6 million tonnes of cargo in January, up 17 pc year on year. The volume was said to have surpassed the average monthly target based on the port's annual target this year of 120 milion tonner.
Maritime India - New Delhi
Export boxes pile up at Haldia dock
Mar 7Shipments of exports in containers from Haldia dock have come to a standstill for the past two days, with the result an estimated 1,000 boxes are lying accumulated in the container parking yard (CPY). The pile-up, it is feared, will increase as the boxes laden with exports keep on arriving at the dock even as not a single moves from CPY to the vessels.
The crisis has surfaced because the Haldia dock authorities failed to renew the contract for operation and maintenance of four RTGs (rubber tyre gantry cranes) in the dock. The contract with the existing firm came to end last Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the dock authorities have floated a new tender for operation and maintenance of the RTGs but the finalisation of the fresh contract will take time.
The existing contractor was requested by the dock authorities to continue operations for another three months. However, the firm expressed its inability to continue on the same terms and conditions and demanded 100 pc rise in its remuneration. Meanwhile, the Association of Shipping Interests in Calcutta (ASIC), has appealed to the Shipping Ministry seeking its immediate intervention to bring the present stalemate.
ASIC has also drawn attention of the authorities concerned to various other problems facing the port users such as the shortage of river pilots and inadequate dredging in the Hooghly river.
The pilot shortage has come to such a level that only one vessel is being called at Diamond Harbour for working against three normally, it is pointed out.
Maritime India - Kolkata
Box shipping rates hiked by 30-40 pc in India-Europe-US sector
Mar 7Shipping lines have hiked container freight rates by 30-40 per cent in the Indian-Europe-US sector to capitalise on the recent rebound in demand and increase in trade. According to freight brokers, rates have been increased by $250-$300/TEU and $300-600/FEU. SCI has hiked the rates by $250/TEU from March 1. The hikes will be applicable to all cargoes moving from India to North Europe, the UK, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea ports. Other carriers that have announced rate hikes from March-April are Maersk Line, CMA CGM, UASC and Hanjin Shipping. Shipping lines charge $1500/TEU and $2,000/FEU from India to Europe. For shipments to the US , customers pay $2,100 and $2,800 respectively.
Maritime India - Mumbai
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