India News

Nitin Gadkari, the Union  Minister for Shipping, India said in Dushanbe, that India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019. Gadkari was addressing the Indian Community at the inauguration of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre at the Indian Embassy in Dushanbe. He said the opening up of the Chabahar Port would make the CIS countries more accessible. Shri Gadkari also spoke at length about the efforts and initiatives taken by his Government in the last four years to bring qualitative change in the lives of people.

The Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS) in India, a well-funded start-up in skill development for maritime and shipbuilding sector, has announced setting up of 24 labs -6 in Mumbai and 18 in Vizag campus. It also shared the list of courses being offered. The labs being set up include Product Design & Validation, Advance Manufacturing, Hull Design, Automation, Welding Technology, Robotics, Virtual Reality, Advance Machine & Robotics, Electrical and several others.

BMT has appointed Anup Vittal as Managing Director in India.An aerospace and defense industry veteran, Anup has over 28 years’ experience working in both the private and government sectors. He joins BMT following his most recent role as an industry expert and external consultant with Ernst & Young and prior to this, as Managing Director and Member of the Board at Safran Engineering Services India.

APM Terminals Mumbai, India’s busiest container terminal, has embraced ‘Direct Port Delivery’ (DPD)service initiated by the Indian government as part of its “Ease of Doing Business Program” to enhance India’s access to the global logistics chain. The streamlined Direct Port Delivery protocol can result in substantial savings of time and money for importers by reducing container dwell times after vessel discharge. In the past, import containers were sent to Container Freight Stations (CFS) 1-1.5 days after arriving by vessel.

DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem met with the Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi at the 8th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit held in Ahmedabad, India. Discussions highlighted the immense potential of India’s growing economy and the nation’s maritime and inland trade. New opportunities resulting from the Prime Minister’s programmes such as Invest India, Digital India, Skill India and Made in India were also on the agenda, evidence of the new economic direction of the country. Mr.

DNV GL, the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts and certification body, is today showcasing the final reports in a study which demonstrates the commercial and technical feasibility of the offshore wind market In India. Co-funded by the European Union (EU), GPCL and ReNew Power the Facilitating Offshore Wind in India (FOWIND) project will enable organisations to make future investments in the region. India has made strong commitments under the UN Paris Climate Agreement and announced ambitious renewable energy goals in 2015…

State-run gas company GAIL (India) Ltd has signed a time-swap deal with Swiss trader Gunvor to sell some of its U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), sources said, as the Indian firm tries to ease the burden of its costly foreign LNG supplies. It is the first time-swap agreement by GAIL, which is trying to juggle its LNG portfolio to cut costs for price-sensitive Indian customers after a sharp fall in Asian spot prices made its U.S. gas unattractive. The deal equates to around 5 percent…

Maersk Line said that the growth of EXIM container trade of India in the current year is likely to be in two digits. The export-import container trade volume of India grew by 10% for the full year 2016, which was double of 2015, that too amid weak global trade. In 2017, the growth is likely to be in two digits provided that India maintains its growth in markets like the Middle East, Latin America and East Africa, enhancing its client portfolio and diversifying the risks, said Maersk in its 2016 Annual India Trade Report.

The Indian Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved MoU on passenger cruise services on the coastal and protocol routes between India and Bangladesh for starting regular movement of passengers and tourists in water crafts between the two countries. The operationalization of this MoU will promote people to people contact and cooperation between the two countries in respect of economic, social and cultural advancement. It will also generate employment opportunities for the people of India and Bangladesh.

India's Iran oil imports jumped to a record high in 2016/17 topping half-a-million barrels per day (bpd) as refiners boosted purchases after lifting of some Western sanctions against Tehran last year. India, Iran's biggest oil buyer after China, was among a handful of countries that continued to deal with Tehran despite Western sanctions over its nuclear programme. Refiners shipped in about 541,000 bpd of Iranian oil in the fiscal year to March, a growth of about 115 percent over the previous year, ship tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts showed. Iran was India's second biggest oil supplier - a position now belonging to Iraq - before economic sanctions aimed at Iran's nuclear programme hampered its trade relations…

agreement between Rolls Royce and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) will see final assembly of MTU Series 4000 engines in India. Under the terms of the deal, the 12V and 16V 4000 M90 type engines will be assembled in GRSE’s Diesel Engine Plant in Ranchi, while an option for the future local production of parts was also agreed upon. The agreement includes the transfer of MTU technology related to assembly, testing and painting. The 12V and 16V 4000 M90 type engines have a rated power of 2…

Concerned with declining market of Indian seafarers industry despite having high population in comparison to its rival countries, representatives of leading shipping associations in the country have joined a ‘task force’ or committee formed by Directorate General of Shipping of India to primarily increase the global share of Indian seafarers' market to over 9 percent from 7 percent at present. Among the associations are National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), Maritime Union of India (MUI), Maritime Association of Shipowners, Shipowners and Agents (MASSA) and others.

French based CMA-CGM, a member of the Ocean Alliance, began the new INDIAMED service to Mumbai with the arrival of the 5,009 TEU capacity CMA CGM Virginia at APM Terminals Mumbai. The service, linking South Asia with ports in the Arabian Gulf and Mediterranean, was officially introduced on July 2nd, operating with vessels provided by CMA-CGM, its APL subsidiary, and Chinese-based Alliance partner COSCO. The weekly INDIAMED service provides the fastest transit times between India and CMA CGM hub ports in the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf…

Following Indianan Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June 2017 visit to the U.S., where President Donald Trump and PM Modi agreed to deepen the energy engagement between the two countries, India oil companies have started the process of procuring crude oil from the U.S. Now six weeks after the visit, the first orders for $1 billion of crude are being placed. Two Indian oil giants, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum, have already taken delivery of the first 2 million barrels that have shipped from ports in Texas and Louisiana.

The port of Antwerp is taking steps to further boost its name recognition in India, by expanding its network of local representatives and setting up the Port of Antwerp Alumni Association. On the occasion of the recent state visit to India by HM King Philippe of Belgium, three honorary representatives for North, South and West India were appointed by Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Antwerp Port Authority, to support the port’s representative office in Mumbai. Further, the setting up of the Port of Antwerp Alumni Association (PA3), will give an additional boost to Antwerp’s reputation in India.

The Government of India will consider giving shipping the status of Infrastructure in the country and all efforts would be made to improve it’s productivity, says Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mansukh Lal Mandaviya. He was reviewing the activities of Shipping Corporation of India in Mumbai today. The Minister was briefed by the senior officers of the Shipping Corporation of India about the recent business initiatives like formation of Inland Waterways…

India's oil imports rose by about 1.8 percent in 2017 to a record 4.37 million barrels per day (bpd) as the country boosted purchases to feed its expanded refining capacity, ship-tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts showed. To meet its growing fuel demand India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, raised its refining capacity in the second half of 2017. India's capacity expansion to about 5 million bpd was aided by Reliance Industries…

The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), India’s first sovereign wealth fund, and Dubai-based ports operator DP World have announced the creation of an investment platform to invest up to $3 billion in ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India. The partnership follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in May 2017 and the visit to India of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, in February 2016.

India imported a record 4.93 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in January to feed its expanded refining capacity and meet rising demand, ship tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts showed. The world's third-biggest oil importer shipped in 13.6 percent more oil in January than a year earlier and about 12.5 percent more than the previous month, the data showed. Imports in January were high as state-run refiners, which operate two-third of India's nearly 5 million bpd capacity…

Indian imports of oil from Venezuela have fallen to their lowest levels in over half a decade, shipping and industry data showed, as a severe economic and political crisis hits crude output in the South American OPEC member. India's oil imports from Venezuela averaged around 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) between November, 2017 and February, 2018, a drop of about 20 percent from the same period a year earlier and the lowest such level since 2012, according to data from shipping sources and industry. The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media.

India is scouting for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts globally as part of a push to secure cheap supplies for its under-utilized gas-fired power plants, reports Bloomberg. Australia, Qatar and Iran could all act as potential suppliers of long-term LNG contracts, power minister Piyush Goyal said in Sydney. The global search for LNG comes as India’s gas-fired plants, which can generate nearly 25 gigawatts of power, run at less than a quarter of their capacity because of a shortage of the fuel at affordable prices. “I think gas needs to be between $5 and $5.50 landed at my power plant.

Rolls-Royce said it has reached a deal with Indian naval shipbuilder Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) to cooperate in the local manufacturing of technologically-advanced MTU Series 8000 engines. Under the agreement, which was signed this week at the defense trade show Defexpo in India, the companies will assemble the 16-cylinder and 20-cylinder MTU Series 8000 engines at GSL’s new facility in Goa.The MTU brand produces large diesel and gas engines and complete propulsion systems as…

Asia’s most populous democracies and emerging powers, have firmed up a blueprint for enhancing maritime cooperation and resolved to jointly combat terror. India and Indonesia enjoy a good maritime partnership. India has backed Indonesia on the latter’s escalating dispute with China on territorial claims in South China Sea. This nexus is expected to irk China. “Indonesia is our most important partner as part of our ‘Act East’ policy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in a joint statement with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.