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…

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Revalidation of permission to raise Extra Budgetary Resource (EBRs) of INR 660 crore (USD 103 mln) as Government of India Bonds by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) in 2017-18. The proceeds from the bonds will be utilized by IWAI for development and maintenance of National Waterways (NWs) under National Waterways Act, 2016 (effective from 12.4.2016). Funds received through issue of bonds will be used exclusively for capital expenditure to improve infrastructure funding.

The government is aggressively promoting the adoption of ‘Make in India’ campaign including the shipping and port sectors. The Ministry is aiming to raise cargo and passenger movement through waterways from the current five per cent to 30 per cent in the next 15 years. This means that there will be demand for more coastal ships, barges and passenger vessels, which would offer more opportunities to local shipyards. India plans to build seven ports by 2017, using 7.6 billion in public and private funds.

Maersk Training, part of the Denmark based A.P. Moller-Maersk, is betting on the Indian training centre, reports the Hindu. India is one of the 10 Centre’s that is making profits. "While other Maersk training centres are facing issues due to downturn in maritime and oil and gas sectors, India is doing a good job by balancing it. We are ready to provide them a helping hand so that they can tap into global talent pool of trainers to get information, knowledge and content to offer high end and niche courses in oil and gas sector…

The government of India has approved a draft bill to empower 12 major ports in India by providing them full autonomy in decision-making for greater efficiency. According to Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Lal Mandaviya, the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2016 once enacted, would replace the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963. "With the growth and development of private ports, the major ports are facing severe competition and difficulties in implementing the changes which may help them compete in the evolving market conditions.

Last October, Tehran linked its energy dialogue to India’s nuclear diplomacy asking New Delhi to support Iran in the next meeting of the IAEA board of governors in November. That November meeting saw no vote and now Iran is back to flexing its energy muscle ahead of the crucial IAEA meeting this week, the Indian Express reported. After having signed a Sale Purchase Agreement (SPA) last June to export 5 million tons per annum of LNG to India at a price linked to $31-per barrel crude, the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) told India that the price agreed to in that pact is no longer valid. This despite the fact that Tehran never raised the issue of a price hike even when international crude had touched $68 a barrel last August.

Allcargo Logistics has announced the acquisition of two additional vessels aggregating 24000 DWT. for its coastal shipping business. Post this acquisition Allcargo now owns a total of five cargo vessels making it one of the largest players in the logistics industry. The main criterion for this acquisition was to cater to the growing requirements not only of coastal shipping but regional trade and commerce as well. India has over 7,000 km of coastline. Considering India’s demography and strategic location as a global trade hub…

Indian port professionals who follow courses given in Mumbai by APEC, the port of Antwerp training centre, can now benefit from a purpose-built training facility. The new facility was officially opened on Monday this week during the annual Port of Antwerp Mission to India, in the presence of Belgian deputy prime minister Alexander De Croo, port alderman Marc Van Peel, APEC principal Kristof Waterschoot, JNPT chairman Shri Neeraj Bansal and Indian Port Association chairman Shri Sanjay Bhatia.

In order to promote ship building and ship-repair industry in India, the government has formulated a policy of financial assistance for shipbuilding for a period of ten years for contracts signed between 1st April, 2016 and 31st March, 2026. The Financial assistance at the rate of 20% of the contractual price of a vessel, fair price, or actual payments received by the shipyard is payable after delivery of the vessel and as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Shipping. There are 18 major ship-repairing facilities on western coast and seven on eastern coast  at present in the country.

Making her way north to commence duties as part of Operation MANITOU, HMAS Newcastle made a port visit to Cochin, India, further strengthening relationships recently made on exercise off Fremantle. As a continuation of Exercise AUSINDEX, the visit allowed for the strengthening of international relations between Australia and India, and gave the crew the opportunity to experience the wonderful culture India has to offer. There were many notable interactions between Newcastle and the Indian Navy which allowed each group to gain an appreciation for how the other operated.

The Ministry of Shipping in India is organizing a workshop titled ‘Promoting Coastal Shipping and Inland Navigation in India’ in Bhubaneswar, Odisha state today. This is the second in a series of workshops the Ministry plans to hold over the next 6-8 months to create awareness about the Sagarmala programme amongst the stake holders and to engage with them. India’s 7500 kms of coastline and almost 14,000 kms of navigable rivers provide the perfect platform for the development of integrated water based transport system for domestic and EXIM freight as well as passenger transport.

Congestion at Paradip expected to ease in a week if rains stop; higher-than-usual congestion at some other ports too. Indian power and steel companies are importing shiploads of coal due to a severe shortage at home, leading to heavy congestion in one of the country's busiest ports that now has twice the number of vessels waiting than its available berths. The over-crowding at Paradip port in eastern Odisha could derail India's efforts to prevent a shutdown of more than half of its power plants which are running on stocks of less than a week in the worst deficit since a massive blackout in 2012. While Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has urged power firms to bring more coal into India - already the world's No.

Vietnam has extended an Indian oil concession in the South China Sea and begun drilling in another area it disputes with China in moves that could heighten tensions over who owns what in the vital maritime region. The moves come at a delicate time in Beijing's relations with Vietnam, which claims parts of the sea, and India, which recently sent warships to monitor the Malacca Straits, through which most of China's energy supplies and trade passes. Vietnam granted Indian oil firm ONGC Videsh a two-year extension to explore oil block 128 in a letter that arrived earlier this week, the state-run company's managing director Narendra K. Verma told Reuters.

India's biggest importer of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) is trying to re-negotiate prices with the U.S. seller, sources said, undermining plans by U.S. President Donald Trump to export more gas to the fast-growing Asian nation. At a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House this week, Trump said the United States looked forward to exporting more energy, including new major long-term contracts to purchase American natural gas. The effort is part of Trump's policy of seeking to assert power abroad through a boost in natural gas…

Second such cargo in a year - traders; cargo loads from Cherry Point, heading to Botany Bay. Oil major BP Plc is shipping diesel from the United States to Australia in an unusual shipping flow, several industry sources told Reuters on Thursday. The Jupiter Express carrying about 35,000 tonnes of diesel loaded from BP's Cherry Point, Washington refinery on June 29 and is currently headed to Botany Bay, New South Wales in Australia, shipping data on Thomson Reuters Eikon showed. BP declined to comment.

India's largest container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT)registered a growth of 5.11 per cent in container traffic in the first quarter of 2017-18. According to a press statement, the JNPT handled 1.20 million TEUs in the first quarter of the current financial year as compared to 1.14 million TEUs in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year. Meanwhile,  Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) handled 4.01 lakh TEUs during this period as against 3.99 lakh TEUs in the corresponding quarter of the last year, showing 0.5% growth.

Qatari exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) remain stable amid ongoing tension between the world's biggest LNG exporter and its neighbours, an executive for Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday. "LNG flows remain stable, cargoes are going into the market," said Steve Hill, Executive Vice-President for Gas and Energy Marketing and Trading at Shell, one of the world's biggest LNG traders. "Qatar is a very credible and competent LNG producer," Hill said at an industry event in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of backing terrorism. Doha has denied the allegations. Qatar said on Monday that its exports, including of LNG, to Japan, India, South Korea and China had not been affected by a the boycott.

The Cochin Shipyard Limited in India delivered two RoRo vessels to the Kochi Municipal Corporation (KMC), Press Trust of India reported. The vessels with modern equipment are expected to provide a great relief to the transportation problems in Kochi, the report said quoting company officials. With a length of 27 metres and 8.25 metres breadth, the vessels can achieve speeds of six knots, it said. The vessels are provided with ramps on either side, both in the forward and aft, eliminating the need for reverse parking of the vehicles on the ferry.

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) announced today that its land systems arm, Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd has injected S$4.2m (equivalent to INR200m) into its wholly owned subsidiary, SDG Kinetics Pte Ltd (SDGK), for flowthrough capital injection into LeeBoy India Construction Equipment Private Limited (LeeBoy India) to provide working capital for LeeBoy India’s operations in India. At the same time, SDGK has purchased shares worth INR9.4m (approximately S$0.2m), approximately 1.2% of LeeBoy India’s total share capital, from LeeBoy India’s management staff. The shares were purchased at the subscription price of INR10 (approximately S$0.21) per share in accordance with the terms of the management staff’s employment contracts.

PetroChina is this week unloading the first Chinese purchase of crude oil from U.S. strategic petroleum reserves at a port in eastern China, according to shipping data and two industry sources. The move comes as China, the world's No.2 oil consumer, steps up imports from the Americas to diversify supply sources. PetroChina unit, PetroChina International America Inc, bought the 550,000-barrel cargo of Bryan Mound sour crude in a sale from U.S. strategic petroleum reserves in March for $28.8 million. Supertanker Cosrising Lake <C}KV7309834335>, chartered by PetroChina, is unloading the U.S.

Sailors and Marines assigned to the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) commenced the Malabar in-port portions in Chennai, India, July 9. The maritime exercise Malabar, which was first held in 1992, occurs annually to improve interoperability between U.S., Indian, and Japanese maritime forces. The exercise enhances maritime relationships and demonstrates credible naval power in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. "The exercise continues to grow because we are bringing in more ships and we are bringing together three countries," said Cmdr.

The German trade hub recently opened the 'Gateway to India' at Hamburg's Port Anniversary, the world's largest port festival. Highlights of the 823th port anniversary included the spectacular christening ceremony of the AIDAmar, turning Hamburg's port into the world's largest baptismal font.. Trade relations between Hamburg and India date back to the 16th century. Hamburg is Germany's gateway to India: each year, 300,000 containers to and from India are handled in Hamburg; the trade volume approximates €1.3 billion. Hamburg and India maintain excellent relations in politics, business, science and culture. At the festival, about two million German visitors to the port festival gain an insight into this year's partner country.

Royal Australia Navy (RAN) ship, HMAS Newcastle commanded by Commander MD Sirois is visiting Kochi, India from 04 - 07 Jul 17. On 04 Jul 17, the Commanding Officer of the visiting RAN Ship accompanied by Ms. Harinder Sidhu, High Commissioner of Australia and Captain Sheldon Williams, Defence Attache called on Vice Admiral AR Karve AVSM, Flag Officer Commanding- in- Chief Southern Naval Command (SNC) for interactions on issues of common interest to both navies. A friendly volleyball match between teams from SNC and the visiting ship was also played.