Page 6 - Shipping Industry

Red Sea attacks add urgency to alternate Mideast trade route: Govt

India has taken the first steps with the UAE to begin work on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, Sunjay Sudhir said in an interview in Abu Dhabi

Shipping rates volatile in February amid Red Sea crisis, shows data

Very large crude carrier (VLCC) rates up compared to January

Traffic handled by major Indian ports hits 5-year high in January

The total traffic for the major ports was 72.5 mn tonnes, the highest since Feb 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways and the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy

Govt mulls setting up maritime development fund to support shipping sector

The government is considering setting up a maritime development fund with a view to providing low cost, long-term financial support to the shipping sector, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Secretary T K Ramachandran at an event organised by industry body CII said, the government is also looking at granting infrastructure status to the shipping sector. "The government is working to set up Maritime Development Fund (MDF) for low-cost, long-term financing support," Ramachandran said. According to him, the two options for setting up MDF are -- setting up dedicated maritime vertical under the newly proposed development finance institution, or constituting standalone MDF as a company with majority ownership by multilateral/ bilateral agency. Ramachandran further said the government is also considering notifying guidelines for setting up NBFCs at International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to undertake vessel financing/ leasing fro

Taiwan protests China's boarding of tourist boat near Kinmen Island

Taiwan on Tuesday protested China's boarding of a tourist boat, as tensions rise around the Kinmen archipelago, which lies a short distance off China's coast but is controlled by Taiwan. Taiwanese media reported the King Xia, carrying 11 crew and 23 passengers, was boarded by the Chinese coast guard for about 32 minutes on Monday. Taiwan's coast guard escorted the boat back to Kinmen, and it then continued its sight-seeing voyage. Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling told journalists at the legislature on Tuesday that the incident hurt the feelings of our people, created panic among the people, and was not in the interest of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, referring to the 160 km- (100 mile)-wide waterway that separates mainland China from Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own territory. Premier Chen Chien-jen said Taiwan was seeking to lower tensions in the area, which have escalated as China increased military activities following ...

Ship attacked in Gulf of Aden at risk of sinking, say Yemen's Houthis

The Iran-aligned Houthis have made repeated drone and missile strikes since November in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, drawing US and British bombing against them

Defence PSU GRSE records Rs 2,801 crore income in nine months of FY24

Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd recorded a total income of Rs 2,801 crore in nine months till December 31 in the financial year 2023-24, an increase of 34 per cent compared to the same period in previous fiscal, an official said on Tuesday. He said that revenue from operations between April and December in 2023-24 stood at Rs 2,577 crore as compared to Rs 1,960 crore in the same period in 2022-23, recording a growth of 31 per cent. GRSE's profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 328 crore for the first nine months of fiscal 2023-24 as compared to Rs 229 crore in the same period the previous financial year, the official said in a statement. The profit after tax (PAT) was Rs 246 crore from April to December of 2023-24 as against Rs 173 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. The earnings per share (EPS) for the nine months in 2023-24 stood at Rs 21.45 as compared to Rs 15.09 in the same period of 2022-23, registering a growth of 42 per cent, the ...

Red Sea crisis may raise freight and forwarding cost by 25-30%: Report

Sustained disruptions in the Red Sea route is likely to raise the freight and forwarding (F&F) cost by 25-30 per cent for corporates largely dealing in international trade, a report said on Friday. Moreover, the working capital cycle is likely to aggravate by 15-20 days, and the impact could be higher for sectors such as agriculture and textiles, credit ratings agency Ind-Ra said in its report. Working capital cycle refers to the period between payments made to suppliers and revenue received from sales. The report also said that pressures on cash flow, although moderate for large entities, will further increase borrowings, especially for sectors such as iron and steel, auto and auto ancillaries, chemicals and textiles, which have seen a year-on-year rise in net leverage in the first half of the current fiscal. "The challenge is significant for the entities having low value addition therefore thin margins. Although large entities have adequate elbow room to accommodate such ...

Petronet plans to begin supplying LNG to Sri Lanka in 2025 for five years

Petronet will ship 850 metric tons of gas daily to the island nation in 50 containers of 17 tons each, CEO Akshay Kumar Singh said during the India Energy Week event in Goa

Availability of containers not affected due to Red Sea crisis: Patel

The Red Sea crisis at present has not affected the availability of containers for traders and the government is closely monitoring the situation, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said that exports from India are continuing as the sailings of containers carrying ships from India have been diverted via the Cape of Good Hope route, encircling Africa. "The crisis in Red Sea, at present, has also not much affected the availability of containers in most of the ports," she said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The crisis in the Red Sea shipping route began after Yemen-based Houthi rebels launched frequent attacks on commercial shipping vessels plying through the route in November as a fallout of the Israeli-Palestinian war, which started in early October 2023. Due to the crisis, the movement of goods from the Red Sea, the world's busiest shipping route, has disrupted the global supply chains as vessels have to take long ..

We are worried about the ongoing Red Sea crisis, says Piyush Goyal

Exporters are now able to stand up on their feet and we have been able to move away from the mindset of export incentives, said Union Minister Piyush Goyal

Red Sea disruption causing delays, higher costs: Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden

Shipments are currently delayed by about three weeks, CEO Bjorn Gulden said, and that is causing some delivery issues, especially to Europe

DTDC enters Malaysian market, strengthens presence in Southeast Asia

Express logistics company DTDC on Wednesday said it has entered the Malaysian market through its subsidiary, DTDC Global Express PTE Ltd, with the inauguration of an office in Kuala Lumpur. This newly established office, which further strengthens the company's global footprint, including in Southeast Asia, will offer enhanced trans-shipment solutions to its clients in Southeast Asia and the Australian peninsula, DTDC said in a statement. DTDC is already present in Singapore and Australia. As part of its global expansion plans, the company collaborated with Aramex last year to enhance its capabilities in cross-border logistics. Malaysia shares a healthy import and export relationship with India and has a prevalent Indian diaspora, according to the company. The newly established office will provide export and import services to and from India, Singapore, and Australia, along with handling local deliveries in Malaysia, it said. "The expansion in Malaysia will add to our capabilitie

Likely surge in prices due to Red Sea attacks, says finance ministry report

Geopolitics may weigh on 'remarkable' export show

Indian Navy contains fire onboard missile-hit cargo vessel in Gulf of Aden

The Indian Navy on Saturday contained a fire onboard a commercial oil tanker with 22 Indian crew in the Gulf of Aden while swiftly responding to a distress call from the vessel after it was struck by a missile on the key shipping route that witnessed similar strikes in the last few weeks. Following the Mayday call from the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel MV Marlin Luanda on Friday night, the Indian Navy deployed its guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam to assist the vessel. Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said in New Delhi that after six hours of battling the fire, along with the crew of MV Marlin Luanda, the Indian Naval firefighting team has successfully brought the blaze under control. The missile attack on the vessel reportedly by Iran-backed Houthi militants came amid increasing global concerns over the security situation in the Red Sea as well as the Gulf of Aden. The vessel is operated by UK-based Oceonix Services. The Houthis have been targeting commercial .

World's largest cruise ship begins its maiden voyage from the Port of Miami

The world's largest cruise ship is set to begin its maiden voyage Saturday as it gets underway from the Port of Miami. Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, which runs nearly 1,200 feet (365 metres) from bow to stern, is leaving South Florida for its first seven-day island-hopping voyage through the tropics. The ship was officially christened Tuesday with help from soccer legend Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates. Icon of the Seas is the culmination of more than 50 years of dreaming, innovating and living our mission to deliver the world's best vacation experiences responsibly," Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty said earlier this week. She is the ultimate multigenerational family vacation, forever changing the status quo in family travel and fulfilling vacation dreams for all ages on board. When the Icon of the Seas was first revealed in October 2022, the ship spurred the single largest booking day and the highest volume booking week in Royal Caribbean's .

Chinese vessel equipped to carry research permitted to dock, says Maldives

A Chinese ship, equipped to carry research and surveys, will be docking at a Maldivian port after being permitted by the Male government to make a port call for replenishment. The permission to allow the Chinese ship comes amid strains in ties between India and Maldives after its new President Mohamed Muizzu came to power and made Beijing as his first port of call early this month after assuming office. Traditionally, New Delhi has been the first port of call for a Maldivian President. In a statement on Tuesday, the Maldivian Foreign Ministry said a diplomatic request was made by the Chinese government for the necessary clearances to make a port call, for rotation of personnel and replenishment. The statement, however, said the Chinese Research Vessel Xiang Yang Hong 3, will "not be conducting any research while in the Maldivian waters". Further, the statement said Maldives has always been a welcoming destination for "vessels of friendly countries," and continues to host both civil

Iran is 'directly involved' in Yemen Houthi rebel ship attacks, says US

Iran is very directly involved in ship attacks that Yemen's Houthi rebels have carried out during Israel's war against Hamas, the US Navy's top Mideast commander told The Associated Press on Monday. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the Navy's 5th Fleet, stopped short of saying Tehran directed individual attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. However, Cooper acknowledged that attacks associated with Iran have expanded from previously threatening just the Persian Gulf and its Strait of Hormuz into waters across the wider Middle East. "Clearly, the Houthi actions, probably in terms of their attacks on merchant shipping, are the most significant that we've seen in two generations,he told the AP in a telephone interview. The facts simply are that they're attacking the international community; thus, the international response I think you've seen. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cooper's remarks. Houthi .

Oil mkt braces for a weeks-long disruption to shipping in southern Red Sea

Suezmax ships - so-called for their ability to sail full through the canal that links Asia and Europe - are up about 50% to almost $70,000 a day

India-Peru trade pact: Next round of negotiations to begin on Feb 12

The next round of negotiations between India and South American nation Peru for a free trade agreement is scheduled to start on February 12, an official said. The proposed agreement is aimed at promoting bilateral trade and investments between the two countries. In such pacts, two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them, besides easing norms to promote trade in services. "The sixth round of negotiations for a proposed trade agreement between India and the South American nation Peru is scheduled from February 12-15," the official said. Issues which are expected to figure in the negotiations include rules of origin, trade in goods, customs procedures and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Negotiations for the agreement started in 2017 and the fifth round was concluded in August 2019. The negotiations were paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. Duri