India News

The number of Indian seafarers employed on Indian or foreign flag vessels increased by 35 per cent in 2018 on the back of a series of measures taken in the last four years, said the shipping ministry. "The shipping sector has witnessed an unprecedented growth of 35 per cent in the number of Indian seafarers employed on Indian or foreign flag vessels this year. The figure rose from 154349 in 2017 to 208799 in 2018. Along with this, the number of students placed for on-board training also increased from 14307 last year to 19545 this year…

The major chunk of global energy supply growth is expected to come from renewables and natural gas over the next two decades, but steep investment in oil exploration and production will be needed to meet crude demand in 2040.The global energy demand is set to rise by around a third by 2040, driven by improvement in living standards, particularly in India, China and across Asia.- These are the key highlights of BP Energy Outlook 2019.It shows how rising prosperity drives an increase…

The world's largest container shipping company Maersk Line began moving 16 containers on the Ganga river from Varanasi to Kolkata, the Shipping Ministry of India said.It will be Maersk's first container movement in the 1390-km inland waterway in the River Ganga from Haldia to Varanasi."Maersk Line will move 16 containers on river Ganga (National Waterway-1) from Varanasi to Kolkata tomorrow. The firm is onboard India's inland waterways for the first time," the ministry said in…

Major ports in India together handled 578.86 Million Tonnes (MT) of cargo during April-January 2019, representing a growth of 3.11 per cent, an official statement said.The major ports had handled 561.39 MT cargo in the corresponding period of previous fiscal, the Ministry of Shipping said in a statement."The major ports in India have recorded a growth of 3.11 per cent and together handled 578.86 MT of cargo during the period April to January, 2019 as against 561.39 MT handled during the corresponding period of previous year…

A new initiative in light of the International Maritime Organization’s 2019 World Maritime Day theme, ‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Community' is launched in India.Sanjam Sahi Gupta of Sitara Shipping Ltd said that the company has launched three surveys to gather data from employers/owners, women seafarers and women in shore-based positions.Currently, no data is available on women in maritime in India and the shipping industry is missing out on 50% of the potential talent…

Cargo liquefaction continues to be a major risk for dry bulk shipping.INTERCARGO welcomes the latest amendment to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC 04-17) which entered into force on 1st January 2019 and includes important updates related to cargoes that may liquefy. Pertinent updates include: changes to section 4.5 of the Code which stipulates the shippers’ responsibility to ensure that the testing and sampling for Transportable Moisture Limit (TML) and moisture content is carried out at the correct intervals…

Turkey, one of the five major ship recycling countries in the world, has ratified the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Hong Kong Convention, the treaty for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling…

Danish shipping company Dampskibsselskabet Norden has signed a ten-year Panamax contract of affreightment (COA) with Indian utility firm Sembcorp Energy India.Commencing April 1, Norden will carry out the transportation of steam coal in panamaxes totalling 12 million tonnes over the ten-year period  from Indonesia and South Africa to the port of Krishnapatnam in East Coast India.The voyages will be carried out on both Norden owned and chartered vessels.Norden pointed out in a press release that demand for energy in India is on the rise in line with the country’s economic expansion.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE)  has won a new order in India from ReNew Power, India's large largest renewable energy independent power producer (IPP), for the supply of 270 SG 2.1-122 wind turbines with a total capacity of 567 MW.The agreement is one of the largest announced in India and will see Siemens Gamesa provide the infrastructure needed to install and operate two wind power facilities, 127 SG 2.1-122 wind turbines for the project in Bhuj, Gujarat and 143 SG 2.1-122 wind turbines for the project in Davanagree…

The government of India has allocated a budgetary support of USD 266mln to shipping sector in the interim budget presented by Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal.The government has pitched for development of India’s Blue Economy with the Finance Ministry proposing an impressive USD 77mln under Sagarmala. This allocation was up from USD 53 mln (revised estimates) allocated during 2018-19.Underlining importance of developing India’s 7,500 km long coastline and converting them into industrial hubs…

Iran's Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar, which was taken over by Indian Ports Global Limited last month, registered high volumes in in container loading and unloading.“Container and petroleum products unloading and loading in the Chabahar port have increased by 61% and 81% respectively,” Behrooz Aghaee, Director General of Ports and Maritime of Sistan and Baluchestan Province said.Detailing on the performance of the Chabahar port, Aghaee pointed that Loading and unloading of containers operations has grown by 61% within the last 10 months compared to the same period last year.

London-based international law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised Foresight Group of Dubai on the delivery arrangements relating to a LeTourneau Super 116E jackup drilling rig named “VIVEKANAND 3”.The rig was constructed in China by Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry Dalian Shipyard (“Cosco Dalian”) and is one of three jackup rigs constructed, delivered and employed over the last three years; a great achievement given the current challenges faced by the offshore drilling market.VIVEKANAND…

The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) on Sunday clarified that its very large crude carrier (VLCC) tanker Abqaiq was not breaching the US sanctions on Venezuela.Earlier, the US Senator Marco Rubio accused Bahri of trying to sell diluents to the Venezuelan regime."Abqaiq is in ballast condition with no cargo onboard and on her way from the Red Sea to pick up a cargo from the Port of Jose Terminal in Venezuela for one of its regular customers in India," said a statement…

Global floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) market is growing at a CAGR of +93% during forecast period 2019-2026 as the demand for natural gas has been rising as it is a preferred fuel in power generation in various industries.According to a report from Research N Reports, the demand comes from mainly for the regions such as North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India.Natural gas is cleaner, safer, and more cost-effective than other fuels. It has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions…

The energy demand would continue to grow driven by emerging economies and the projected growth in global population, which will touch nine billion by 2040.LNG demand is expected to increase at an average four per cent annually to reach more than 600 million tonnes in 2035 versus 290 million tonnes in 2017, said Qatargas CEO, Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani.Khalid said, “Natural gas remains the fastest growing fossil fuel globally, benefiting from its flexibility, competitive economics, and low emissions profile.

The Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs and the Indian Ministry of Shipping have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen the cooperation in the maritime sector between the two countries.With the conclusion of this agreement, the two countries’ mutual commitment and interest in cooperating to ensure good conditions for the maritime sector is underlined.Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Rasmus Jarlov said: “India is a major growth economy that plays a key role in the global maritime sector.

India's largest container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), has made its way to the top-30 container ports across the globe.JNPT notched up five spots as per the latest Lloyds Report, to be 28th on the list, compared to its previous ranking," Indian shipping ministry said in a statement.This is a validation of all the efforts and strategic initiatives being implemented at JNPT in order to enhance overall port efficiency, it said.Various new processes activated under the 'ease of doing business' initiative have not only helped in overall growth of the port business…

Indian multipurpose port APM Terminals Pipavav has launched a rail connection to its Kanpur Inland Container, giving customers the opportunity to connect more efficiently to the gateway port.The new connection was named the 'Polymer Express' as the first train on the route was carrying 90 TEUs of polymer for Gail, the natural gas transmission company.APM Terminals Pipavav is one of India's gateway ports for containers and liquid and dry bulk cargoes, serving customers in the state…

Global offshore drilling market accounted for $79.53 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $152.47 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 7.5%.Some of the important aspects that driven the market growth are huge investments on new offshore reserves and increasing demand for oil and gas, said a market research report by ResearchAndMarkets.However, the growth of offshore drilling market is inhibited by the regulations regarding environment and low oil prices. One of the major opportunities is the Arctic Discoveries.Based on service…

The Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has secured a contract for the provision of classification services for four large survey vessels for the Indian Navy. These 110 meter vessels, which will be constructed by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd., Kolkata, are the largest hydrographic survey vessels ever constructed for the Indian Navy.IRClass has also been awarded the classification services for two diving support vessels by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd., Visakhapatnam to be built for the Indian Navy.

The last four years saw an unprecedented growth of 42.3 per cent shipboard jobs for Indian seafarers.The seafarers employed on ships worldwide increased from 108446 in 2013 to 154349 in 2017.India now provides 9.35 per cent of the global seafarers and ranks third in the list of the largest seafarer supplying nation to the world maritime industry."The Ministry of Shipping has strived to improve employment generation in the Shipping sector during the last four years," said Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya.He further added…

The first export cargo from Afghanistan to India will be shipped through Iran's Chabahar port within the Next Month using the international customs transit system (TIR system).A government press release from Iran quoted  Husne Mubarak Azizi, head of foreign affairs and Ministry of Transport of Afghanistan saying that  that Afghanistan is preparing to ship the first cargo of five containers through Chabahar to India, which will take place within a month or less.The cargo is mung beans and each container will weigh about 22 tons.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Greece and the United States of America (USA) top the list of country dumpers of ocean-going commercial vessels in 2018, according to new data released today by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.UAE owners were responsible for the highest absolute number of ships sold to South Asian shipbreaking yards in 2018: there were 61 ships in total.Greek owners, beached 57 vessels out of a total of 66 sold for demolition. American owners closely followed with…