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OOCL fourth quarter revenue dips 11.2 pc on volume decline


January 26

Plunging Asia -Europe and trans-Pacific rates pulled down Orient Overseas Container Lines (OOCL) fourth quarter revenue by 11.2 percent on a 2 percent decline in volume.Average revenue per TEU dropped 9.4 percent, helping to bring fourth quarter revenue down to $1.348 billion For the full year, carrier's revenue declined 1.5 percent to $5.5 billion despite a 5.6 percent increase in volume. Average revenue per TEU fell 6.7 percent for the year.

The declines come as several carriers prepare to report what are expected to be poor 2011 financial results during the next several weeks. OOCL company Orient Overseas (International) is scheduled to issue its 2011 financial report in March. Like other carriers, hit hard by excess capacity and weak rates in Asia-Europe and trans-Pacific trades. Asia-Europe revenue fell 29.2 percent in the fourth quarter and 17.1 percent for the year.

Trans-Pacific revenue was down 15.9 percent in the quarter and 6.8 percent for the year.Intra-Asia and Australasia trades posted revenue gains of 1.8 percent for the quarter and 11.3 percent for the year, while volumes.

Those trades, which already were OOCL's highest-volume services, surpassed trans-Pacific services last year as OOCL's highest-revenue routes.In the smaller trans-Atlantic trade, revenue rose 1.1 percent in the quarter and 13.3 percent for the year on volume increases of 5.2 percent and 6.6 percent. OOCL's overall load factor fell 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter on a 2.1 percent increase in loadable capacity. For the year, OOCL's load factor fell 4.8 percent as loadable capacity rose 12.3 percent.


Maritime India - New Delhi

Tobacco export volumes dip 7.8 pc in Apr-Nov


January 26

Tobacco shipments from India, the third-largest exporter in the world, fell by 7.8% to 1,54,171 tonnes during the April-November period of the current fiscal on account of surplus global stock and less competitive prices, the Tobacco Board said. The country shipped 167,319 tonnes of tobacco overseas in the year-ago period, it said.

contracted price was lower in the wake of surplus availability in the global market," a senior Tobacco Board official said. Tobacco shipments, comprising raw tobacco and its products, fell by 7.27% in value terms to Rs 2,523.14 crore during the April-November period of the 2011-12 fiscal from Rs 2,721.04 crore in the year-ago period, he said.

While tobacco product exports surged in terms of both value and volume terms, raw tobacco shipments declined.

The country shipped 26,429 tonnes of tobacco products like cigarettes worth Rs 659.59 crore abroad during the review period, as against 24,746 tonnes worth Rs 605.01 crore in the corresponding year-ago period.

In contrast, raw tobacco shipments declined marginally in volume terms to 1,27,742 tonnes from 1,42,573 tonnes, while in value terms, exports of raw tobacco fell to Rs 1,863.55 crore from Rs 2,116.03 crore in the period under review.

India, with annual production of about 700 million kilograms of tobacco, exports raw tobacco and products to major markets such as Belgium, Russia, Philippines and Germany. Cultivation of tobacco is controlled by the government. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the two major growing states. At present, tobacco prices in Karnataka are ruling at Rs 97.69 per kg in Karnataka on average.


Maritime India - New Delhi

Ennore-Manali road will be completed by June 2013: Ministers


January 26

Fifteen years may be too long a time for a 30-km road project to be completed, but, when the Ennore-Manali 'improved road' does open for traffic in June 2013, the past is likely to be forgotten, given the criticality of the road to users of the Ennore port.

The two Union Ministers, the Shipping Minister, Mr G.K. Vasan, and the Minister in-charge of Road Transport and Highways, Dr C.P. Joshi, gave a commitment at a joint press conference that the project would be completed by June next year. "Do not go into the reasons for the delay.

We are giving you the deadline and will jointly ensure that the project is completed on time," Mr Vasan said.The two Ministers had a meeting with representatives from the Tamil Nadu Government, the Chennai Port Trust, Ennore Port Ltd and National Highways Authority of India, which is implementing the project.

The project covers the four major roads in the industrial hub of north Chennai-Tiruvottiyur-Ponneri-Panchetti Road, Ennore Expressway, Manali Oil Refinery Road and the northern portion of the Inner Ring Road from Madhavaram to Manali.

The Chennai port handles over 5,000 containers a day and trucks need to take this thru Ennore-Manali road for entry and exit to the port. Dr Joshi said that the first priority is to complete the 1.6 km stretch from the Chennai port's zero gate. This will be completed in the first six months.

Mr Vasan also assured that work on the Chennai port to Maduravoyal elevated corridor would be speeded up.


Maritime India - New Delhi

CSAV shareholders to inject $347-m as ranking sinks


January 26

Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), is receiving a capital injection of US$347 million from Quinenco and Marinsa, believed to be the first phase of a planned $1.2 billion investment.

Quinenco subscribed to $247 million of newly issued shares, while Marinsa subscribed for $100 million. In an announcement made last October regarding a plan to recapitalise CSAV, Quinenco committed to subscribing to up to $1 billion of the new capital increase. Quinenco's $247 million participation is equivalent to its 20.6 per cent shareholding in the shipping line.Quinenco will have to increase its cash injection in case the CSAV share offer is not taken up by third party investors.

The restructuring plan also calls for a separation of CSAV's port, tugboat and logistics arm SAAM. The existing shareholders in the carrier will receive shares in the new company (SM SAAM), which will be traded on the Santiago Stock Exchange following the restructuring the exercise, it added.

Back in October, CSAV, then received a US$1.2 billion injection from shareholders to strengthen its books after it warned of "very negative" earnings for the full year. CSAV said it would use the funds to finance its $1 billion order of nine new ships that were to be delivered between 2010 and 2012, which the company then said was vital to reduce volatility and improve competitiveness.


Maritime India - New Delhi

Electrical equipment export to top $25-b in 10-yrs: IEEMA


January 26

Encouraged by rising demand for its products in the international market, India's electrical equipment industry expects exports to go up six-fold to touch USD 25 billion within a decade.

"With electricity sector being a sunrise sector across the entire developing world, there exists a significant export potential for the domestic industry," Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA)President Ramesh Chandak has said. Exports of electrical equipment stood at USD 4 billion in 2010-11, which is less than one per cent of the global trade in the segment.

"With demand from developed countries stagnating and developing nations seeing a significant growth, huge potential exists for India to tap the export markets." He said the industry will have to formulate a strategy for market diversification and develop country-specific export strategies to achieve the USD 25 billion goal.

"To increase the share of exports, specific actions need to be taken both by the Government and electrical equipment manufacturers. Domestic manufacturers need to focus more on going global as the latent demand for electricity is present in virtually every developing country," Chandak said. "A clear re-balancing of the global economic order is underway, and markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America will certainly have far greater potential in the future," he added.

Chandak maintained that Indian products were well-suited and cost-effective for African development and can effectively contribute to growth of power sector there, as well as enable the expansion of the equipment industry here.


Maritime India - New Delhi

Adani West Basin terminal handles record 67153 MT of coal in less than 24 hrs


January 26

Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) said its West Basin terminal at Mundra Port had handled a record of 67,153 metric tonnes of steam coal per day.

The West Basin terminal, Asia's largest coal import facility, turned around MV Apostolos- Panamax Bulk Carrier in 23 hours, which is their best performance till date, as less than 24 hour berth days were enjoyed by Container vessels only. It has has a capacity of 1.6 MT per day which is being expanded to 3.2 MT per day.


Maritime India - New Delhi

Union Budget may be presented in mid-March


January 26

The Union Budget may be presented around the middle of March in view of the ongoing Assembly elections, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated.
He said a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs will be convened in the first week of February to decide on the date of the Budget Session of Parliament.

He said the customary President's address to the Budget Session of Parliament can take place after March 9 because of the model code of conduct being in force till that day when the election process would be completed.

He said there is a Constitutional sanctity to two dates -- one is March 31 before which a vote on account should be taken so that there is no problem of withdrawal of money in the new financial year and the 75 days deadline after presentation of taxation proposals to pass the Finance Bill.


Maritime India - New Delhi

Iran agrees to pay in rupees for India's non-oil exports


January 26

The govt. is understood to have thrashed out a payment settlement mechanism with Tehran regarding India's non-oil exports to Iran. Iran has agreed to settle all the dues to Indian exporters in rupees through any bank (public or private) willing to facilitate the payment, official sources said.
Also, future export transactions from India can be carried out through a similar mechanism.

The development comes amid the US trade sanctions on Iran.

As regards crude oil supplies from Iran, Indian refiners are getting their shipment through the existing payment mechanism via Turkey. However, on a cautious note, the refiners are looking at alternative oil sources or increasing imports from the existing suppliers outside Iran.
MRPL, also buys from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, among others.

Meanwhile, Essar Oil is learnt to have renewed its long-term contract with Iran for 5 million tonnes per annum supplies.On the non-oil front, so far hardly any of the exporters and bankers - barring a mid-size nationalised bank- have shown interest in using the settlement mechanism for exports, the sources said.

Many are worried that if they deepen trade ties with Iran, it might affect their business with the US and even with the European Union, which has decided in favour of sanctions. There is at least an $8-billion opportunity immediately in Iran awaiting the bold among India's non-oil exporting community, they said. This amount is around the gap left by their counterparts, including from Europe, that have virtually put a halt to shipments to Iran on account of the sanctions.

Also, it is learnt that Iranians are not too happy with the quality of Chinese imports, the sources said, adding that Indian exporters, if willing, can fill this huge gap.Indian exporters can benefit in sectors such as food items, steel, medium-density fibreboard, mining and project exports. There is scope for the bilateral trade, at $13.7 billion in 2010-11, to go up to even $50 billion in a few years, they said. Exporters and bankers are now carrying out a cost-benefit analysis of doing business with Iran.

If they find that the benefits of exports to Iran are not as much as the cost of losing business in the US or other countries supporting the US, they may be hesitant to enhance trade with Iran, they added.

The US sanctions-unlike those by the UN -are unilateral and, therefore, by going ahead with boosting trade with Iran, India is not violating any international norms, say official sources.


Maritime India - New Delhi

Hiccups in efforts to bar-code drug exports


January 26

The Government's efforts to get drug companies to adopt bar-codes on their export consignments and keep counterfeits at bay have not seen a smooth run.

The January deadline for medicine exports to sport bar-codes on their secondary packaging has been extended by six months to July this year. And the earlier July deadline for bar-codes on primary packs of export consignments has now been pushed to January 2013 by DGFT.

The extension follows pharma industry associations' plea that sporting bar-codes on different layers of packaging is neither feasible nor fool-proof.

In fact, in a joint petition, the Confederation of Indian Pharmaceuticals Industry (CIPI) and the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) have approached the Madras High Court on implementation of the bar-code system. "We are still in discussions with the Government, but the implementation of bar-codes on primary packages is not feasible," Mr N. R. Munjal, Chairman, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil).

The Government had mandated that drug companies adopt this three-tier track and trace technology, after fake "Made in India" drug consignments that had originated in China found their way into Nigeria.


Maritime India - New Delhi

Heavy Industries Min seeks 14 pc import duty on power equipment


January 26

The Heavy Industries Ministry has pitched for 14 per cent import duty on power generation equipment for the projects above 1,000 MW. It claimed that the Power Ministry had already circulated a Cabinet note in this regard.

The Heavy Industries Minister, Mr Praful Patel, said, "Such a duty will provide a level playing field to domestic companies such as BHEL and L&T, which have significant disadvantage." The move is primarily aimed at imports from China.At present, equipment for power projects with capacity over 1,000 MW attract marginal duty.

This makes imports cheaper and is the key reason for power producers, such as Reliance ADAG and Adani, going in for imports from China.

This is a blow to domestic producers, who are already facing slower order flow because of fewer projects being planned and executed.


Maritime India - New Delhi

OOCL, Port of Long Beach inks 40-year terminal lease deal


January 26

The Port of Long Beach and Orient Overseas Container Line signed a 40-year, $4.6 billion tentative agreement that will make the shipping line the primary tenant on a planned terminal that will sharply scale up capacity at the second largest port.

OOCL and its terminal operating sister company, Long Beach Container Terminal, will pay the port to lease Middle Harbor container terminal. At full build-out in 2021, the terminal will have an annual capacity of 3.1 million TEUs. Port of Long Beach Executive Director Chris Lytle said the facility will boast the highly-automated operations, deep water and excellent on-dock intermodal rail capacity that are needed to compete in today's market.

"This is an extremely competitive business. It's time to be bold," Lytle told the Southern California maritime community in the annual state-of-the port address in Long Beach.

If the OOCL terminal were a stand-alone port, the terminal would rank as the fourth largest in the U.S. behind Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York-New Jersey, Lytle said. He said the 305-acre Middle Harbor Project will be built in phases, with the first phase scheduled for completion in 2016.
OOCL has called in Long Beach since 1969. Although the Hong Kong-based line will generate a large portion of the throughput through organic growth, OOCL would be hard-pressed to fill the terminal on its own.

Long Beach Container Terminal will look to OOCL's partners in the Grand Alliance as well as to third-party business, or possibly an additional partner, to fully utilize the facility, said Anthony Otto, LBCT president.

The Middle Harbor terminal will be one of the most highly-automated and environmentally-friendly terminals in country and will be the model for other terminal expansion projects in Long Beach, Lytle said. It will handle twice the container volume, yet generate half the pollution that was produced by the two facilities it will combine.

The decision by California United Terminal and Hyundai Merchant Marine in December 2010 to move to neighboring Los Angeles was both positive and negative for Long Beach. It will allow Long Beach to build the first half of the new terminal on the vacant CUT site without interfering with OOCL's operations.

When the first phase is completed, OOCL will occupy that portion of the terminal while the LBCT segment is built out. The entire project will take nine years to complete.Carrier will be primary tenant at Middle Harbor site with 3 million TEU capacity.

But Hyundai's move to Los Angeles cost Long Beach about 10 percent of its business, and the port experienced a decline of 3.2 percent in container volume in 2011. However, Long Beach's remaining tenants increased their volume by 8 percent last year, Lytle said.


Maritime India - New Delhi

DP World Tarragona terminal bags ISO 28000


January 26

DP World Spanish terminal in Tarragona has been awarded ISO 28000 certification, making it the 40th facility within the group to receive the certificate.

The ISO 28000 standard sets out mechanisms and processes to address security vulnerabilities as well as establishing preventive action plans.Located in the Catalan region of northeastern Spain the terminal was said to have earned security accreditation after a "long process of stringent audits" of container security, physical access controls, procedural security, personnel security, threat awareness and training in security issues, business partner requirements and IT integrity.

The achievement comes just one year after the terminal completed its phase 1 of it expansion in order to handle giant ships with a capacity of more than 13,800 TEU.

The group said its investment in the ISO security management system has been recognised by the US Customs Border Protection agency under its Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT)programme.

It said it "has the largest number of terminals participating in the US Customs' Container Security Initiative with 15 terminals in the programme, and is "principle partner" in the US-led Secure Freight Initiative, and is also a partner in the US Megaports initiative with six terminals involved in the container scanning programme".


Maritime India - New Delhi



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