The governments of Japan, India and Sri Lanka signed a deal to develop a terminal at the Port of Colombo, aiming to meet the development of the Indian Ocean to the world trade, as Nikkei Asian reports. The three countries will develop the East Container terminal, located at the south part of the port of Colombo, which was recently expanded.
Mumbai-based Mercator Ltd has not paid salaries to around 350 crew members on board its dredgers and tankers for March and April, indicating that it experiences financial stress. Mercator was once considered India’s second biggest private shipping company. Mercator confirmed that it has delayed salaries due to a downturn in the global shipping and dredging industries, especially in India.
India’s 12 major ports achieved a 5.65% increase in cargo handling to 60.07 million tonnes in April this fiscal year. This was mainly because of higher demand for coal, petroleum, oil and lubricants. These ports handled a total of 56.86 MT of cargo in April 2018. The growth at these port was mainly because of higher handling of coal, fertilisers and containers.
In its weekly piracy report for 7-13 May, ReCAAP ISC informed of one Category 4 incident of armed robbery against the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker ‘Arionas’, while anchored at Port Deendayal (Kandla) outer anchorage, India, on the evening hours of 9 May.
According to Xinhua, the government of Nepal is working to send two government teams to China, to study the possibility of Chinese ports being used as a third country trade. This step follows Nepal and China’s signed protocol concerning the transit transport agreement.
In its weekly report for 30 April-6 May, ReCAAP ISC informed of one actual incident of armed robbery against the Bahamas-registered tanker ‘Sonangol Namibe’, while the ship was proceeding at Visakhapatnam SPM anchorage, India.
ECSA launched a report of its fact-finding mission to o India’s ship-recycling facilities in Alang, in the State of Gujarat that took place from 25-27 February. The aim of the mission was to gain a better understanding of the possible threats to and opportunities for the Indian ship-recycling and European shipping industries.
The Indian Coast Guard reported that no loss of life or property was reported at sea after the cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ hit the country on May 3. However, ‘Fani’ still caused extensive damage at the shore, Indian Coast Guard Inspector General K.R Suresh informed. India started preparing from April 23, when it received the first low pressure reports.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd handled a total of 200 mt in the year to March 2019. Now it aims to invest as much as Rs 57,594 crore, aiming to expand the capacity of India’s biggest commercial port at Mundra, Gujarat. APSEZ has applied for environment and coastal regulation zone (CRZ) clearances to increase the capacity of Mundra by 385 million tons.
India has evacuated more than 300,000 people along its northeast coastline by boat, bus and train, as a severe cyclone will make landfall on May 3. In fact, many villagers are piling household possessions on to trucks prior to leaving their homes. Authorities have shut operations at two major ports, Paradip and Visakhapatnam, while ships have been ordered to move out to avoid damage.
