Seamen’s Unity Day Celebrated
The Indian seafarers celebrate 6th November as the Seamen’s Unity Day. The National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) commemorated the occasion as is done annually on the 6th of November, which is also a paid holiday for seafarers working on Indian and foreign flag ships. The Seamen’s Unity Day function, 2015 was attended by hundreds of seafarers, family members besides the representatives of shipping organizations. NUSI President, Capt. N. Hiranandani presided the function and informed the gathering about the ISWAN award that was bagged by NUSI. He also notified everybody about the Income tax relief which has benefitted the Indian seafarers. The gathering also witnessed felicitation of Capt. Nalin Pandey, Managing Director of Pentagon Shipping Ltd. for being awarded the Link India U.K.
India Loses $12b on Higher Transaction Costs
India loses about $12b each year because of higher transaction costs at its ports, according to MM Saggi, nautical adviser to the government of India. Saggi told an industry conference that the transaction costs at Indian ports is about 10 percent, compared to 6 percent in developed countries, owing to problems like large turnaround time, port congestion, inadequate use of information technology, a shortage of dredging capabilities, and a shortage of trained personnel. has 12 major ports that handled 519 million tonnes of cargo in the year ended March 2008, with 12 percent year-on-year growth, a study by Ernst & Young Pvt. Ltd. shows.
