Industry cancels orders worth Rs 3,750 crore for new ship
NEW DELHI: India’s shipbuilding industry may suffer cancellations of about 15% of their total orders, worth at least Rs 3,750 crore, as a slump
in international trade in the wake of the global economic crisis has taken a toll on the sector, industry experts say. Orders for about 35 ships that were to be built [...]
India: Dry bulk cargo shipowners lay up vessels, sell older ships
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Bangalore: Indian shipping firms engaged in carrying dry bulk cargo such as coal or steel have started laying up vessels and even selling older ones as freight rates plunge to record lows amid the global economic downturn and credit crunch. A lay-up happens when a ship is withdrawn from trading operations.
“The market for dry bulk [...]
Terror on high seas, now a major worry for ship owners
Plummeting freight rates and shrinking cargo as a result of the global financial meltdown are not the only issues presently gnawing at shipping companies. The recent flare-up of terror on high seas, off the coast of Somalia, has become a sharper concern for ship owners.
Even after the Indian seafarers aboard Stolt Valor, which was hijacked [...]
Piracy scourge affecting India’s merchandise trade
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Twenty seven-year-old Jasmeet Singh, third officer with a Norwegian merchant vessel cruising along the Horn of Africa en route to the Mediterranean sea, is a worried man. Satellite phone usage on-board is limited to senior officers like the captain and chief engineer.
But these are exceptional times. Besides his family, Singh has repeatedly called four of [...]
Defiant Somali pirates await EU navy force
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Somali pirates were undeterred Saturday as a new European Union naval forces readied to launch an operation aimed at curbing relentless attacks that have rattled world maritime trade. The EU’s anti-piracy drive, dubbed Atalanta, was to formally kick off on Monday, increasing the military presence in the Gulf of Aden, which has in recent months [...]
Piracy at ‘Intolerable’ Level, Says Maritime Executive
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The massive deployment of foreign navies to the vital shipping lane off the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden has so far failed to slow the rate of pirate attacks, with new ships taken almost daily, according to maritime executive Christopher Hayman. He said most commentators agreed that piracy was merely the symptom [...]
Once upon a time… there were new buildings
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Long gone are the days when Greek ship owners were placing up to 10 new building orders for vessels every week, bringing the total orderbook of the leading maritime nation to over 1,100 ships. According to the latest reports the last couple of months (October and November) no new orders have been placed. The Baltic [...]
Regional shipping industry jobs still safe
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Despite the current slowdown in the global shipping industry, which has impacted operations, regional shipping companies will continue to retain their staff, said senior industry players.
Major international shipping companies have already announced more than 3,000 job cuts in an effort to reduce costs in the wake of the increasing financial crisis that continues to adversely [...]
Shipping cos stick to ramp-up plans
NEW DELHI: Undeterred by the global meltdown, Indian shipping companies are going full steam ahead with their expansion plans. Major domestic shipping companies, such as Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Great Eastern (GE) and Essar, have already placed orders for 58 ships in Korea and China worth $3.3 billion and are bullish on their future [...]
Melting polar ice cuts pollution in Straits of Malacca
KUALA LUMPUR: The polar icecap in the Arctic is melting away. Bad news for many scientists, but welcomed by shippers who see the fabled Northwest and Northeast Passages finally opening up.
And that could lead to fewer ships using the Straits of Malacca, causing less pollution and erosion of Malaysia’s coastline.
Maritime experts, though, believe Malaysia’s ports [...]
