Tag: India

Eight Indian crew members released Indias largest shipowner has applauded the Indian Navys approach to combating piracy, following the return to Mumbai of eight Indian crew members from the released bulker.We are very grateful to them and wish that other navies would adopt the same tactics, he said. It is believed that the pirates kept the other seven crew members because they are Indian, as revenge or some such other, but there has been absolutely no official communication from the pirates that this is the case and that assertion thus remains nothing other than pure conjecture."

The joint war committee expanded large parts of northern Indian Ocean as a conflict zone Global insurer Lloyds of London has spurned Indias demand to reverse a recent labelling of almost all of the countrys west coast as prone to pirate attacks.In December, the joint war committee, a global body that assesses marine insurance risks, expanded large parts of northern Indian Ocean as a conflict zonethe eastern border of which extends to the west coast of Indiaciting increased instances of sea hijacking in the region.This has raised insurance costs of cargo reaching or leaving Indias western ports.The committee comprises underwriters from the Lloyds Market Association (LMA) and the International Underwriting Association (IUA).It is generally understood that piracy (in the region) remains a threatinsurers therefore have to act accordingly, Neil Roberts, senior executiveunderwriting, Lloyds Market Association, said in an emailed reply.India has been lobbying Lloyds and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the global maritime regulator, to overturn the expansion of the areas considered prone to pirate attacks, claiming the decision has triggered a 300% jump in ship insurance costs. This, in turn, has raised transaction costs of commodities shipped into India.Indias government and shipping companies informed the joint war committee in ...

It contains toxic materials and poisonous residues Toxic-laden and decommissioned Korean-built ship Gulf Safwa was impounded by the Guajarat Maritime Board on Thursday near Bhavnager while sneakily heading to the Alang ship-breaking yard in India.An official of the Pollution Control Board for Gujarat told the Khaleej Times that customers officers would conduct an examination of the 14,584-tonne bulk carrier, as well as an inspection by Delhi bosses.They confirmed that the Gulf Safwa does contain toxic materials and poisonous residues, and can be housing asbestos, PCBs, toxic paints, fuel and chemical residues, etc. according to reports.The impounding of the vessel was in response of a letter to Ministries of Environment & Forests from the Toxic Watch Alliance last Wednesday alerting of a hazardous vessel in Indian waters. The vessel, however, in question of the letter is called the Gulf Jash.The Gujarat Maritime Board has said that they have not received any communication from the Jash. Officials are still not certain whether the Safwa could possibly be the ship mentioned in the letter.The seized Gulf Safwa is believed to have been purchased by the Alangs Tagif Ship Breaking Company. The ship breakers of Alang responded by saying that this is another false ...

Containers between India and the Middle East region Maersk Line announced a piracy risk surcharge on containers shipped between India and the Middle East region.Effective June 1, the surcharge is $70 per 40-foot equivalent unit.As a result of the increased piracy activity, and in light of our continuous efforts to prevent piracy attacks and to protect our crew and cargo in the intra-Gulf region, we will introduce an emergency risk surcharge to mitigate the expenses incurred on securing and maintaining reliable and safe services, the Danish carrier said in a trade notice Wednesday.The intra-Gulf region primarily includes ports in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.Source: Journal of Commerce

The ship contains many tonnes of hazardous asbestos, toxic paints and fuel residues After being banned in Bangladesh, a toxic-laden ship, Probo Koala, is headed towards Indian shores for dismantling, a global group of activists called 'NGO Shipbreaking Platform' has warned.The ship, a 1989-built oil carrier cargo vessel weighing 31,255 tonnes now named Gulf Jash, was banned from entering Bangladesh waters recently after environmentalists in neighbouring countries warned the government about it.The ship has been in the thick of controversy in Africa and Europe. Its previous owner, a company called Trafigura, tried to offload its on-board toxic material in Amsterdam. It was detected in time and when the authorities imposed heavy charges for proper disposal, the company decided to instead send the ship to Africa.After trying its luck in Nigeria, the company finally found a dealer in Ivory Coast to dump the chemicals off board. Hundreds of tonnes of toxic chemicals were poured into the country's largest city, Abidjan. NGO Shipbreaking Platform said the toxic dumps lead to the death of 16 people and thousands of people falling ill.The company had to reportedly settle cases out of court by paying out 30 million pounds to the victims and nearly 100 ...

In 2010, the economic cost of piracy estimated $7-12 billion In 2010, the economic cost of maritime piracy on the supply chain was estimated to be $7-12 billion, said the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) quoting the One Earth Foundation. Piracy is a concern to any industry having to navigate through the Gulf of Aden to deliver goods by water, said the ICC, a global representative body that speaks on behalf of enterprises from all sectors in every part of the world.For India, piracy is a serious issue as a large number of Indian seafarers work on board foreign ships that pass through the Somalia coast every day. In January, India voiced its concern on the increasing piracy at the United Nations, and proposed a five-point plan, including tracking the trail of ransom money, to curb piracy.The Union Minister of Shipping, Mr G.K. Vasan, at the Maritime Summit 2011 at Oslo on Tuesday too highlighted India's concerns about increasing incidents of piracy and the need for concerted unified action under the UN. Ministers from 10 other countries also participated in the Summit.Increasing attacksThe past year has witnessed an escalation in both violence and the number of attacks on ships and ...

Crusial decision as piracy incidents increase The Indian Government has decided to allow deployment of armed guards preferably retired naval officers on board Indian cargo vessels sailing on the pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean, a top government official told Business Line.Detailed guidelines on the number of guards that each vessel can have will be issued shortly, he said. In the wake of rising incidents of piracy on the high seas, Indian shipping lines have been seeking government permission to deploy armed guards on board their ships.The plan is to give preference to retired naval officers, said the official who has just returned from the meeting of the Intentional Maritime Organisation (IMO) which discussed the guidelines on allowing armed guard on board the merchant ships. The Maritime Safety Committee of IMO has endorsed the use of armed guards.Draft guidelinesIn India, the proposal under consideration is to seek retired navy officers from the pool maintained by the Directorate of Resettlement under the Ministry of Defence. Each vessel can have a group of five armed personnel one officer and four others. The shipping companies have to bear the cost of hiring the guards.A draft guidelines prepared by the director general of shipping ...

More ports planned in India than the country actually needs There are more ports planned in India than the country actually needs.There seems to be a herd race for developing ports. The cumulative capacity of all port projects being discussed if added could surpass current global trade.Government is certain that some will be realized and in 2020 the capacity will be 2.2 bn tones, roughly 3 times current traffic and about 25% of current global trade.Is there something seriously wrong with Indian Ports Sector? AnalysisIn financial year 2010, Indian seaports handled 850 mn tonnes of cargo, about 9% of the global trade. Shipping Ministry is planning to augment the capacity of port to 2,200 mn tonnes by 2020, which is roughly 25% of current global trade. Is it not too much knowing India's trade pattern which is dominated by raw materials, export iron ore and import coal and crude oil.Take Gujarat for example, the fastest growing industrial state in India. With well developed infrastructure it is in a better position to cater to land locked North & Central India which houses India's roughly 50% of population.It has more than 41 ports (including Kandla) and is ever ready to declare a ...

Marine insurers should stop charging a war risk premium, already many insurance costs India wants marine insurers to stop charging a war risk premium on cargo ships plying the Indian Ocean that increases freight costs, and is lobbying the global maritime regulator for help in the matter.A joint war committee comprising underwriters from the Lloyds Market Association and International Underwriting Association on 8 January expanded large parts of northern Indian Ocean as a conflict zone, the eastern border of which extends to the west coast of India.This has raised insurance costs of cargo reaching or going out of the countrys western ports.Indias exporters and importers will also have to bear higher costs for transporting goods because of restricted availability of ships as many fleet owners may avoid using this route instead of paying higher premium, according to T.V. Shanbhag, group adviser to Indias biggest ship-broking firm, Mumbai-based Transocean Shipping Agency Pvt LtdConsidering that there have been no (pirate) attacks reported for the last two months within 500 nautical miles (926km) from the Indian coast, after the Indian Navy has taken remedial measures, it is imperative that the eastern boundary of the war zone be reduced to an appropriate longitude, M.M. ...

A major player on the Baltic Exchange As a leading global trader, India should be a major player on the Baltic Exchange's central trading platform to be launched in May covering forward freight agreements (FFA), a hedging tool for shippers, shipping companies and trade financiers, a senior official in the exchange has said."We see Indian global traders having a significantly higher role in the FFA trade," said Philip Williams, manager for Asia Pacific in the exchange's Singapore representative office.India-based companies were already using the Exchange's daily freight indices and assessments on coal and iron ore trade movements between India, Indonesia, Australia and China, Williams told PTI.The exchange produces around 50 specific route-based reports daily providing freight rate assessments that are widely used by traders as benchmarks in booking ships and cargo space on both the dry cargo and tanker markets.It began producing such information as long ago as 1985."Going by Indian demand for our FFA information, we are confident of seeing more and more Indian companies hedging exposure to freight market risk through the trading of specific time charter and voyage rates for forward positions," stressed Williams, who set up the exchange's Singapore office in 2007 to cover Asia Pacific ...