Archive for March, 2009
‘Kandla has large development potential for container trade’
A preliminary study, examining whether ports on the western coast have adequate potential capacity to handle estimated maritime containers, has
identified Kandla Port as having ‘large development potential among the government ports’ for container cargo.
The study by India-Japan joint working group and a report prepared by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which are aimed at [...]
Latest Ship Seizures Broaden Counter-Piracy Challenge
Two ship seizures in the Indian Ocean in recent days appear to indicate that pirates have broadened their focus beyond the heavily patrolled Gulf of Aden.
Pirates hijacked two chemical tankers: the Bahamian-flagged, Norwegian-owned vessel Bowasir on March 25 and the Panamanian-flagged, Greek-owned Nipayia yesterday, a Navy spokesman confirmed.
Bowasir and its 23-member crew were operating more [...]
Bangladesh bans ship-breaking
ship-breaking
Environmentalists are hailing a Bangladesh High Court decision to order the closure, in two weeks, of all ship-breaking yards that operate without environmental clearances. The ruling follows a public interest petition by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.
The court has also criticised the ministries concerned for not doing enough to enforce the environmental laws. In their ruling, [...]
V.SHIPS SLAMS IACS CHAIRMAN
MONACO-based shipmanager V.Ships has reacted furiously to quoted remarks by IACS chairman, and Korean Register chairman, Oh Kong-gyun accusing the master and mate of the VLCC Hebei Spirit of lying to the Korean authorities and concealing the truth about the December 2007 incident.
V.Ships has welcomed a personal apology from Mr Oh but says “the accusations [...]
Piraeus port earnings fell by 77% in 2008 at 5.6 million euros
Dockworkers’ mobilizations from the beginning of 2008, coupled with the global recession which showed up in Hellas during the last quarter of the year proved enough reasons to hurt the Piraeus Port Authority’s (OLP) earnings. The company’s turnover decreased by 32.28% amounting to 116.04 million euros, against 171.35 million euros in the financial year of [...]
SCI may withdraw container liner service to Europe
Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) may withdraw the container liner service that it operates to Europe jointly with four partners. The
foreign partners of the state-run SCI have expressed their desire to withdraw the weekly service.
The service - Indian Subcontinent Europe service - linked Jawaharlal Nehru Port to European cities such as Barcelona, Rotterdam and [...]
TANKERS SEIZED IN PIRACY SURGE
A SPURT of intense activity by Somali pirates has included the hijacking of two tankers and a yacht and numerous unsuccessful attacks in the Gulf of Aden and up to 500 miles out into the Indian Ocean.
The BBC reports the Panama-flag, 8,742 dwt Nipayia, owned by Athens-based Lotus Shipping. The ship is reported to have [...]
NATO resuming anti-piracy mission
NATO’s anti-piracy flotilla will resume patrols off the Horn of Africa soon, joining an international squadron already operating in the region, the alliance said Thursday.
A NATO statement said the five ships will reach the pirate-infested waters off the Somali coastline within days. They will do a stint with the anti-piracy patrols there before sailing on [...]
DRYSHIPS’ $1BN Q4 LOSS
GREEK-based, Nasdaq-listed bulk carrier operator DryShips made a Q4 $1.02bn. The result includes a non-cash loss associated with the acquisition of Ocean Rig ASA, a loss related to contract termination fees and forfeiture of vessel deposits of $160.0m , a non-cash loss of $177.0m associated with the valuation of the company’s interest rate swaps , [...]
Chennai Customs clears 2,248 duty drawback claims
A ‘special drive’ to clear all pending claims relating to duty drawbacks and refunds, undertaken by the Chennai Customs has come to the aid of exporters and importers at a time when they are facing unprecedented economic downturn.
According to the Chief Commissioner, Customs, Chennai, Mr Subhash Chander, 2,248 claims (Rs 110 crore) were disposed of [...]
