Indian Government News

U.S. President Joe Biden hoped to present a firm international response to Yemen's Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping by launching a new maritime force, but a week after its launch many allies don't want to be associated with it, publicly, or at all.Two of America's European allies who were listed as contributors to Operation Prosperity Guardian - Italy and Spain - issued statements appearing to distance themselves from the maritime force.The Pentagon says the force is a defensive…

India and Russia will explore the possibility of using new transport corridors such as the Northern Sea Route and Eastern Maritime Corridor between Vladivostok and Chennai to widen maritime cooperation, the Indian government said on Wednesday.A decision to work towards this was made during a meeting between India's Ports, Shipping and Waterways minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Russia's Development of the Far East and Arctic minister, A.O.

Crown LNG Holdings AS, a provider of LNG liquefaction and regasification terminal technologies for harsh weather locations, has agreed to merge with Catcha Investment Corp, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, that would result in Crown becoming a U.S. publicly listed company. The combined company, named Crown LNG Holdings Limited (“PubCo”), intends to apply to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “CGBS”.Crown designs and…

The Indian government plans to invite financial bids for the privatization of Shipping Corp of India Ltd (SCI) next month, as it looks to sell the state-run company after years of delay, two government officials told Reuters.The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had, in 2019, announced plans to privatize a number of state-run companies, including selling its stake in SCI, which was stalled due to regulatory delays.SCI – which owns and operates bulk carriers and crude oil tankers, among others – had to spin off its non-core assets before the government could sell its 63.75% stake, which hit a roadblock over the amount of funds to be transferred to the demerged entity.SCI completed the spinoff last month after getting regulatory approval late in February.This demerged entity…

“India is heading for the highest wheat harvest on record of 112 million tons this spring. However, exports will likely be limited in the coming year as the country is still recovering from last year’s poor harvest and is expected to focus on rebuilding its own wheat inventories,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.During the past year, the Indian government has struggled to combat high domestic wheat prices and securing local food availability. A wheat export ban…

After the announcement by the Indian government that they would reduce export duties on iron ore and steel products, the Alang market surged by Rs. 4,000 (about USD 49) in a single day, only to come crashing down in subsequent days to the tune of USD 50/Ton by the time the weekend had arrived.In the midst of this surge, there was one Capesize Bulker sold for HKC / strictly green recycling into India, and it is hoped that some stability on prices will be found in the week(s) ahead.Notwithstanding…

Dubai ports giant DP World is set to build an inland port in Jammu and Kashmir as part of plans by the emirate to invest in the Indian territory, the head of the region said on Thursday.The Indian government last year said Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), would invest in infrastructure and other projects in the disputed region claimed by India and Pakistan but ruled in parts by both.Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is in Dubai this week to promote investment…

Dr. Anil Sharma, CEO and founder of GMS, is a dominate player in the world’s ship recycling business. MR TV caught up with him in late June 2021 for insights on the pace and direction of ship recycling activity and pricing.Dr. Sharma, to start, can you give us an overview of the ship recycling market as you see it today?Thank you, Greg. Let's start with prices because that's the news of the hour. Today we are at about 70% of record numbers in the ship recycling market. In 2008…

The Indian Navy has commissioned its third Kalvari-class submarine, INS Karanj, built entirely in India to Naval Group's Scorpene design.The Scorpene is a 2,000-ton conventional-propulsion submarine designed and developed by Naval Group for all types of mission, such as surface vessel warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations or intelligence gathering. Extremely stealthy and fast, it has a level of operating automation that allows a limited number of crew, which reduces its operating costs significantly.

INS Vagir is the fifth P75 Scorpene submarine entirely built by the Indian shipyard Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) based on technology transfer and partnership with Naval Group.After recent commissioning of INS Khanderi in September 2019 and the launch of the INS Vela in May 2019, Vagir is the fifth of the series of six Kalvari-class submarines ordered by India in 2005, to be launched.The submarines have been completely built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) through a transfer of technology from Naval Group, in line with Indian Government’s “Make in India” policy.

Ship classification society Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has classed India’s first LNG-FSRU.Built at Hyundai Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, the 180,000 cu.m, the Indian-flagged, is designed for continuous operations without the need for drydocking over a period of 20 years. The unit is assigned class notation for 20 years extended interval between successive dry-dockings and complies with the requirements of IRClass Rules and Indian Flag for this purpose. The unit is owned by Triumph Offshore Pvt Ltd.…

Port states benefit greatly from the vessels that call at their ports, loading and unloading cargoes with great efficiency and speed. The items manufactured in those states and sold overseas keep many of their citizens gainfully employed. The items imported supply stock for the stores of their nation and provide goods for their citizens. The physical ports utilized by the vessels are employment magnets, attracting a diverse array of industries.Yet, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, those port states took swift actions against the very vessels that keep their economies in operation.

Singapore's PSA International and Indian container freight operators have warned the Indian government that its order to waive container storage charges during the coronavirus lockdown could lead to port congestion, letters seen by Reuters showed.India's Ministry of Shipping asked ports to allow free storage of containers as part of relief measures to ease pressure on companies hit by logistics restrictions because of India's nationwide lockdown.PSA's local unit in a letter to the government on April 24 said importers might not remove their containers from ports due to free storage…

The technology group Wärtsilä will upgrade its Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) installed in the Indian port of Cochin, bringing additional benefits such as improved traffic monitoring and control.The system was originally delivered in 2008, and the order with Wärtsilä to upgrade the system was placed in February 2020 by the Cochin Port Trust (CoPT). The upgrading project is scheduled for completion by the end of July 2020.According to Wärtsilä, the upgraded VTMS will enable…

Indian government has green-lighted a mega container port, to be constructed at a cost of INR655.45bn ($9.2bn) at Vadhavan, around 160 km north-west of Mumbai.The proposal to create the huge port – on a ‘landlord model’ – was cleared at a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The proposed port is set to catapult India among countries boasting the top 10 container ports in the world. At the moment, the largest container port in India is Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which sits in the 28th position among the world’s top container ports, with annual throughput of 5.1m teu.A Special Purpose Vehicle will be formed with Mumbai’s JNPT as the lead partner…

Indian Government approved a model pact with foreign countries that would also allow unilateral recognition of seafarers' competency certificates, thus easing the process for them to seek employment on ships under the flag of that country.The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will pave the way for mutual recognition of maritime education and training of seafarers by the countries involved.“The Cabinet has approved a model MoU with foreign countries for unilateral/bilateral recognition of Certificates of Competency of seafarers,” a government official said.Indian Seafarers…

Pirates have kidnapped 19 crew members from a crude oil tanker off Nigeria in an area where acts of piracy are on the rise, an official with the ship's operator said on Thursday.The loaded vessel, the Nave Constellation, was attacked 77 nautical miles off Bonny Island on Tuesday and 18 Indians and one Turk from the crew were seized, the official said.Seven other crew members remain on board the vessel. Neither the vessel nor the cargo were damaged, the official said.The shipping…

India and Saudi Arabia have decided to expand its ‘energy relationship’ into next phase to include Saudi partnership in building additional crude oil storage reserves in India, a new refinery on the west coast of India and investment in retail sector in petroleum.Saudi Arabia is its second-biggest supplier of crude oil after Iraq. It sold 40.33 million tonnes of crude oil to India in 2018-19 fiscal, when the country had imported 207.3 million tonnes of oil.India imports around 18 per cent of its crude oil from the Kingdom, making it the second-largest source of crude oil for the country, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.PM Modi…

The government of India will put in place a comprehensive plan to develop 204 minor ports in the country in the next six months to boost coastal shipping and inland waterways, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said. These minor ports will be developed so that it can support 12 major ports in India. Small cargo will reach to major port from minor ports and boost EXIM cargo, the minister said.All these ports have been centers of maritime activity in the past, and if revived, they can once again become important centers of sea trade. Mandaviya said that the Government is looking at developing synergy between the Major and Minor ports so…

Sri Lanks will invest a sum of US$ 190 million to installs gantry cairns and also add other infrastructure to the East Container Terminal, said Sagala Ratnayaka, the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development.He said Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) would initially invest this amount and then get it reimbursed from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)  under a loan agreement.Ratnayaka said that the passenger terminal in the Colombo Harbour too would be developed. “We want this passenger terminal to be in par with the Singapore Cruse terminal to attract vessels that would pick up and drop passengers in Colombo.”He said…

The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) has announced the launch of a groundbreaking Port Integrity Campaign in India, with the support of the Government of India.The global business network of over 110 companies working together to tackle corruption in the maritime industry said that the campaign, which aims to reduce and (in the long term) eliminate integrity issues and bottlenecks to trade during operations in Indian ports, is a collective action of MACN, the Government of India, international organizations, and local industry stakeholders.The pilot of the campaign will take place in Mumbai ports (MbPT and JNPT) and will run until October this year.

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 a statement.The Indian government has been developing National Waterway-1 with technical and financial assistance from the World Bank at an estimated cost of around $790 million.On November 12…

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. Thus, natural gas is called to play a major role in the energy transition, supported by the industrialisation and power demand particularly in emerging countries in Asia and Africa…