Business Standard News

Indian Ports Association (IPA) has appointed Tech Mahindra as the Managed Service Provider for five major ports. This is the first such outsourcing deal in the major ports.Tech Mahindra will build and maintain an enterprise business system (EBS) to modernise and automate port processes at five Central government-owned port  at Mumbai ,Kolkata, Chennai, Deendayal Port  and Paradip Port Trust.This initiative is a major step towards integrating the maritime sector and fostering growth and development of major public sector ports in the country.Tech Mahindra is partnering with world class leading players like SAP, Envision, CISCO, Dell, RTCom and other major players.

UK-based global metals and engineering firm controlled by billionaire Sanjeev Gupta Liberty House Group is planning to buy-out India's debt-laden ABG Shipyard. According to a report in the Business Standard, Liberty House has proposed a new business model to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) as part of its acquisition plan of ABG Shipyard. The plan includes a ship breaking facility, along with the existing shipbuilding and repair space. The newspaper report quoted sources saying that the negotiations are on. There will be more clarity on the deal soon. ABG Shipyard is one of the 12 firms on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s list to be forced into bankruptcy under a new regulation for failing to repay their debts.

India Natural Gas and LNG market is expected to grow from US$ 19.7 billion in 2015 to US$ 30.7 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 5.06% between 2016 and 2025. According to a report by Research and Markets, natural gas including Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (R-LNG) in India has been widely recognized as the fuel with multiple promising aspects. The present situation of the gas sector in India is going through multiple challenging phase. Due to its high macroeconomic growth visions and increasing population, the country is facing major challenge in terms of growing energy demand and greenhouse gas emission. Therefore, the appearance of natural gas is coming into existence with larger force.

The world of dredging is defined by the vast diversity of each assignment that contractors perform on any given day. Fortunately, DSC’s standard lineup of dredge equipment can be modified and customized to meet just about any job that needs doing. It wasn’t too long ago that retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Jim Loy told me, “If you’ve seen one port, well, you’ve seen one port.” That now-famous declaration was made in reference to port security in a post-9/11 world, but the quip is as valid now as it was when he said it during his tenure as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Similarly, it can also be said that if you’ve seen one dredging operation, well, then you’ve seen one dredging operation.

India's largest shipping company  Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has earmarked Rs 900 crore ($134m ) capex for the current financial year even as business climate remains grim for the industry across globe mainly because of availability of low-priced assets in the market, reports Business Standard. SCI Chairman and Managing Director B B Sinha said that the demand situation is pathetic and so it is the right time to buy assets. "We have a capex plan of Rs 900 crore for 2016-17. We have invested some money already and negotiations are on to buy a few more vessels," he said. The state-owned company has recently purchased one offshore vessel and negotiations are on for another tanker.

Around 200 seafarers with Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), the country's largest shipping company, are on a hunger strike (industrial action) since Saturday over wages and arrears. According to a Press Trust of India report, these seafarers, deployed on 15 vessels owned and operated by the Centre, launched their strike demanding revised wages in accordance with the clauses of National Maritime Board Indias agreement. These seafarers have also approached the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) for its intervention. "SCI was meant to have increased seafarer wages by 30% as agreed in March last year," says the Union. “The arrears haven’t been given for over a year now.

India, Japan and the United States kicked off the first joint naval exercises  in the Bay of Bengal in eight years and such drills will occur each year, Indian government sources said. The Japanese Maritime-Self Defense Force (JMSF) confimed that it will Permanently Join US-India Naval Exercises. An announcement will be made shortly  re-designating what had hitherto been officially an Indian-U.S. bilateral military exercise into a trilateral India-U.S.-Japan event, according to the Business Standard. While Japan’s participation is not new—the JMSF have joined in 2007, 2009, and 2014 respectively—it will be the first time that the Japanese Navy will not be a foreign invitee but rather a permanent member of the annual trilateral naval drill.

Sparking speculation that a recovery in commodities could be around the corner, the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities,  has risen 17.5 per cent since September 15, reports Business Standard. The indexis up 21 per cent at 943, since January this year. Analysts say the spike is due to an increase in iron ore imports by China. Iron ore prices in that country have risen 28 per cent since July. While some analysts say China is continuing to buy select commodities, the majority view on global commodities trade remains bearish. The index, analysts say, is unlikely to witness any major uptrend in the coming months, owing to a bleak outlook for the demand for commodities from China, the world’s largest importer of raw materials.

India’s state-run gas utility GAIL has begun talks with Iran to revive a decade-old LNG supply contract with the country, reports PTI. The Business Standard has reported that GAIL has opened talks with Iran over the LNG contract whose value is estimated to be $22 billion in light of the prospects for the removal of sanctions against Iran. "Dialogue has been initiated with Iranian counterparts to revive the LNG supply long-term SPA," the Business Standard has quoted GAIL as announcing in its latest annual report. GAIL, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) for buying a total of 5 million tons a year of LNG from Iran in 2005 but the deal was not finalized.

India's Adani Group is likely to take over the operational and management control of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Kattupalli International Container Terminal near Chennai, reports Business Standard. Adani is in the final stage of getting into an arrangement with L&T to take over the terminal, which the Mumbai-based construction and engineering major built at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore ($645 million). It is learnt that the AP Moller–Maersk Group, a Danish business conglomerate, is also in the race to acquire the container terminal operations of the Katupalli port. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd is evaluating the option of taking over the operation and maintenance of other ports too. Also on its radar are ports in Gangavaram, Andhra Pradesh, and Karaikal, Puducherry.

India's Ministry of Shipping has chalked out a plan to raise a trillion India Rupees to develop ports, build ships and improve inland waterways, says a report in the Business Standard. The money will help the shipping ministry, which floated the proposal, help finance port and maritime-related infrastructure projects. The amount would be raised in the dollar equivalent at an interest of three per cent. For, the government may set up a dedicated company by pooling the future income of the 12 ports it directly owns. The company set up specifically for this purpose—a special purpose vehicle or SPV—will leverage the pooled income of the dollar receivables of the 12 ports to borrow from overseas insurance and pension funds which seek good returns for their capital.

Anti-Corruption Bureau in the state of Gujarat has ordered by a Kutch court to probe the alleged multi-million rupee scam in Kandla Port Turst (KPT), has filed a revision petition saying the case be handed over to a national agency like CBI instead, reports PTI. “Gandhidham unit of ACB filed a revision plea before the sessions court yesterday and challenged the magistrate’s order to probe the scam. We have demanded that the case should be probed by a national agency, probably CBI, and we certainly cannot do it as the Trust comes under the Union Government” police inspector C J Sureja of ACB said. The sources in KPT as well as the Ministry of Shipping said that options are being evaluated with regards to what action can be taken against the official who has come under scrutiny.

Business Standard reported that real estate developer Hiranandani Group plans to set up a INR 2,400 crore floating LNG import terminal off Haldia, West Bengal and supply imported gas to users as far as Paradip in Odisha. H-Energy Pvt Ltd, the Energy arm of the Hiranandani Group, plans to set up a 4 million tons a year floating storage and Re-gasification unit (FSRU) some 115-km off the Haldia coast by first quarter of 2019. In the Natural Gas business, upstream integration is common. In order to achieve logistical integration with its regasification Projects in India, H-Energy is seriously examining the option of setting up a 13.5 MMTPA natural gas Liquefaction terminal in Canada.

With its vast and beautiful coastline, virgin forests and undisturbed idyllic islands, rich historical and cultural heritage, India may get some fillip in cruise tourism in the months to come. A report in Business Standard says that a high-level meeting of the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), Customs, Ministry of Shipping (MoS) and Ministry of Tourism (MoT) will be held in the national capital to deliberate on steps to popularize cruise tourism. Also, Royal Caribbean, one of the largest cruise lines in the world, is organizing a seminar on cruise tourism. Quantum of the Seas (QOTS), the third largest cruise ship in the world, will dock at Cochin port on June 4-5, en route to Singapore and Shanghai. The seminar on QOTS in June will involve officials from several government agencies.

Rising competition from fast growing private sector ports is forcing government-controlled major ports to re-invent themselves, reports Business Standard. Slowdown in India's international trade is adding to the woes. The government-owned port trusts had been used to near monopoly revenues and profits from 'grateful' exporters and importers. These ports are now finding it difficult to fill their berths as newer ports are willing to sing in customer's tune. A recent report from JOC stated that chronic capacity constraints and infrastructure woes at some state-owned ports spur the diversion of cargo and vessels to nearby minor ports. The gainers have been large private sector ports such as Adani Ports, Pipavav Port and Vadinar Port among others.

A court in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin city has granted bail to all 35 crew members arrested from the US-owned Sierra Leone-flagged private maritime security vessel 'Seaman Guard Ohio'  detained since October 2013, reports the Business Standard (India). Citing the advocate acting for the crew members, Business Standard says that police had been due to file a charge sheet within 60 days of the arrests, but had failed to do so, and hence the court granted bail. The Coast Guard escorted the ship with 35 people - 10 crew and 25 security guards - to Tuticorin port Oct 12, 2013.

The first cargo vessel, carrying liquified gas for the LNG Terminal at Puthuvype from RasGas in Qatar, has arrived off the port, and is anchored until necessary dredging work is completed, reports Business Standard. With the shipment, the Petronet LNG terminal, with an annual capacity of five million tonnes, is all set to commence operations soon. The vessel, carrying about one lakh cubic metre of LNG, is anchored about 20 km off Kochi, port sources informed the Business Standard. Dredging work is going on at the port and the ship would enter the harbour in another three days.

India's largest major port, Kandla Port Trust (KPT) invites global bids for setting up a container terminal at nearby Tuna -Tekra. The port authority has invited expression of interests (EOIs) from global majors for setting up the container terminal on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis for container vessels having capacity up to 18000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) reports the Business Standard. The project will be developed on public private partnership (PPP) basis with 30 years of concession period for the operator. According to official sources, the bidders will be required to prepare a feasibility study report along with a statement of total investment required and expected revenue generation.

As the world economy sputters, so too do the expansion plans for India's state-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), which according to a report on the www.business-standard.com will hold up on its plan to issue new tenders for new vessels. The company is already taking delivery of about 10 vessels this year, mostly bulk carriers, though there is overcapacity in the market. SCI, though, will go ahead with one domestic tender for purchasing six tanker handlers. The Mumbai-headquartered company has a target of ordering 62 vessels by next year under the national maritime development programme. Of these, SCI has already ordered 39 with $2 billion investment, with fresh acquisitions on hold, the company is expected to fall short of the target by 15 vessels.

According to a report on www.business-standard.com, India's Titagarh Wagon (TWL) (www.titagarh.biz) announced plans to enter shipbuilding business and was scouting for land near Kulpi. In the report, TWL Chairman JP Chowdhary was quoted as saying that the company is scouting for up to 400 acres, as well as technical partners.

According to a Sept. 26 report from the Press Trust of India and Business Standard, engineering major Larsen and Toubro’s (L&T) shipping arm L&T Shipbuilding has earmarked around Rs 1,500 crore to develop around 800 acres of land at Kadipully near Ennore in Chennai for expanding its vessel building capacity, a top company official said. The Kadipully project, to make vessels primarily for defense, would be developed in phases and the first phase will start by mid-2011, the official said. (Source: Business Standard)

According to a Nov. 25 report from Business Standard, the current global credit crisis and an over 63 percent fall in crude oil prices in the last four months have resulted in oil companies drilling fewer wells in offshore areas. This has increased the availability of rigs across the world and helped bring down rig rentals by up to 10 percent in the recent past. The rig rates have corrected primarily in the shallow water fields where there have been traditionally more rigs available. (Source: Business Standard)

Oilfield services firm Aban Offshore said it has entered into an agreement with Husky Oil for leasing its jack up rig for a drilling operation in China.    The three-month contract would yield an estimated revenue of $38.70 million (Rs 178 crore) for Aban Offshore, the filing added.  The rig as per the new contract would be deployed in the first quarter of 2009.  Shares of Aban Offshore were trading at Rs 2,200, down by 5.32 per cent in the afternoon trade on the BSE.   Source:  Business Standard