Mumbai Port Trust News

India's Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has launched two Ro Pax vessels designed and built for Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).The vessels launched at present are the third and fourth vessels in the series of 10 vessels order from IWAI, said the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India.Cochin Shipyard is building a total of 8 Nos. Ro Pax vessels and 2 Nos Ro-Ro vessels for Inland Waterways Authority of India.IWAI nominated CSL for the construction of these vessels, which will be operated in strategic locations in National Waterways 1&2. These vessels can accommodate around 200 passengers and will have 8 crews and can carry 2 trucks and 4 cars.

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.

India's Ministry of Shipping has undertaken a diverse set of initiatives as part of its drive to boost profitability across major Indian ports.One major initiative is to improve the returns earned on treasury investments by the ports for pension, provident and surplus funds. Across all major ports, these funds add up to around INR  33,000 crore (USD 4.8 billion), yielding interest of around INR 2,700 crore (USD 394 million)Looking for ways to push this amount further, the Ministry has realized an opportunity to improve returns by INR 150 crore (USD 22 million) or more through a strategic shift in its guidelines for provident and surplus funds.As per the most recent guidelines…

Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Private Limited (BMCT) continued to improve connectivity and ease of doing business for JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) users with its first barge and train volumes last week. A 90-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) block train departed for Mandideep on 13 March 2018, while a second train left for Nagpur on 16 March. Both trains were operated by Container Corporation of India (Concor). On 18 March, there were both barge and rail movements as Shahi Shipping’s “Royal Hugli” barge loaded 75 TEUs at BMCT for the short marine transit to Mumbai Port Trust; while an export train operated by Concor arrived from Boisar, carrying containers for other terminals in JNPT.

The Indian Navy’s third state-of-the-art Scorpene class submarine, INS Karanj, was launched by Reena Lanba, wife of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, , at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai. This historic event reaffirms the giant strides taken by MDL in the ongoing ‘Make In India’ programme, which is being actively implemented by the Department of Defence Production (MoD). The new submarine is named after the earlier Kalvari class INS Karanj, which was decommissioned in 2003. The submarine was then towed to Mumbai Port Trust, for separation from the pontoon. Karanj will now undergo rigorous trials and tests, both in harbour and at sea before it is commissioned into the Navy.

Mumbai and Nhava Sheva Ship Agents Association (MANSA) has requested the Mumbai Port Trust to re-consider the proposed bank guarantee amount levied on vessels calling at the port. In a letter addressed to the Mumbai Port Trust, MANSA said, “The time given for introducing this change may be extended till January 2017 end in view of the prevailing state of the banking to cope with work of demonetization and after effect. Earlier, Mumbai Port Trust in its circular dated December 14, 2016 had proposed to revise bank guarantee to be submitted by vessel agents at Rs 15 lakhs for foreign going vessels, Rs 5 lakhs for coastal vessels and Rs 2 lakh for container vessels, effective December 31 with a validity period of three years.

Mumbai and Nhava Sheva Ship Agents Association has drawn the attention of Mumbai Port Trust towards the shortage of dock workers and winch drivers that continues to adversely affects the vessel operations and if need be to outsource these activities. Shortage of workers at the port has been instrumental in prolonging the vessel stay at the port affecting the turnaround time to 4-5 days from around 2-3 days, thereby escalating the costs. As against the normal requirement of 4/5 gangs (workers) per vessel, the supply is only of 1/2 gangs. In fact, the port had invited applications for awarding stevedoring licenses to the private operators in light of the heavy shortage of labour, but the progress of this initiative is yet to be ascertained.

Mumbai Port proposes to develop its land and water front. It has about 752 HA of land in Mumbai city and its nearby areas. Out of this about 200 HA are used for port operations. About 500 HA of land is proposed to be developed with a mix of port operations, business, office, commercial, retail, entertainment, community projects and convention centres, etc. The proposed projects would also include renewable energy and waste water recycling, creation of spaces for community recreation and engagements, maritime museum, marinas etc. Mumbai Port has already invited global tender from eligible national/international consulting firms for “Appointment of Consultant for Planning, Design and Program Management Support for Master Planning and Infrastructure Design of the Mumbai Port”.

The Mumbai Port, one of the oldest in India, will be investing Rs 225 crore ($33.68) to build a modern passenger terminal that can cater to cruise ships, reports PTI. "We have identified cruise shipping as a focus area, which can help the city as well. We will soon be floating tenders for a passenger terminal which will be built on a PPP model," Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) chairman Sanjay Bhatia said. Work on the terminal, which will resemble an airport and have the capacity to handle thousands of passengers disembarking from a single ship, will be over in next two years, he said. Meanwhile, the ministry of shipping has appointed an international consultant — Bermello Ajamil & Partners — to prepare an economically viable plan to develop coastal and inland cruise ports in the country.

Mumbai Port Trust needs to bring about administrative reforms to develop ability to compete with the private ports, said Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mansukh L. Mandaviya on an inspection visit to Mumbai Port Trust. He further expressed a need for the port to have a clear vision and road map for development for next ten to twenty years and appealed to all the stakeholders to work in this direction. The Minister held a meeting with the Deputy Chairman and the Heads of Departments and reviewed the functioning of the Mumbai Port in all its scope and ambit. While reviewing the existing and the future projects undertaken by the Port…

Mumbai Port Trust has allowed berthing of dry bulk cargo vessel at its OCT (Offshore Container) Terminal on trial basis following persuasion by members of Mumbai and Nhava Sheva Ship Agents Association to overcome congestion. The two vessels that were allowed to berth at the OCT Terminal were MV Julia Oldendroff and MV Interlink Fidelity. Welcoming the initiative by Mumbai Port to allow berthing of dry bulk vessels at the OCT Terminal, Captain Vivek Anand, President, MANSA said, “We appreciate the approach by Mumbai Port for taking a pro-active step towards ease of doing business. It may be recalled that in December last year, MANSA had sought berthing facilities at the Offshore Container Terminal for higher dimensional vessels carrying large parcels of pulses, steel and general cargo.

Mumbai Port Trust commissioned its second Liquid Chemical Berth at Pir Pau on January 13th 2016. The facility was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. The second Chemical Berth is a modern state-of-the-art facility with four mooring dolphins, equipped with Quick Release Mooring Hooks (QRMH), two breasting dolphins having cell fenders with frontol pads for smooth berthing of chemical tankers and a service platform with a provision of seven Marine Loading Arms (MLAs) connected with 650 Mtrs long trestle having roadways and pipelines. The berth is designed to handle 55,000 DWT vessels carrying liquid bulk chemicals and POL products, which can be upgraded to 65,000 DWT in future. The total project cost about $ 20 million.

Mumbai and Nhava Sheva Ship Agents Association (MANSA) has conveyed their disappointment to Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) over the extreme inconvenience faced by vessels calling at the port due to acute shortage of cargo handling workers. MANSA, in a letter addressed to the Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust states, “The Port is not in a position to allot the required number of gangs for ensuring normal rate of operations of discharge / load the vessels. Pointing out the manning levels prescribed by National Tribunal Award, the letter states that had the revised and rationalized Manning Scales been implemented by the Port, the prevailing shortage does not occur.

In order to reduce congestion and lower the transaction cost, Mumbai and Nhava Ship-Agents Association (MANSA) have sought berthing facilities at the Offshore Container Terminal for higher dimensional vessels carrying large parcels of pulses, steel and general cargo. In a letter addressed by MANSA to the Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust states, “These vessels cannot be accommodated and are required to be lightened at the Anchorage Port Lighterage Point. Such repeated occurrences have contributed to frequent congestion at the port. Hence, under such circumstances, over dimensional vessels be permitted to berth at OCT as a special case to circumvent under-due congestion at the port, the letter said.

Indian shipping minister Nitin Gadkari has said the government is working on an ambitious plan to build one smart city each at the country's 12 major ports. The plan estimates total investment of Rs 50,000 crore ($8 billion). Government moving ahead with its ambition plan to build twelve cities at twelve ports, as part of its ambition plan of building 100 smart cities in the country, Gadkari said. The 12 major ports under the Centre’s control have between them an estimated 2.64 lakh acres of land, which is being mapped through satellites and are major resources with Shipping Ministry. Each city will be built with an expenditure of about Rs 3,000-4,000 crore. These will be green smart cities.

Port and dock workers in India are planning to go on an indefinite strike starting March 16th – they are protesting the government’s move to corporatize major ports. The original decision by workers to go on an indefinite strike from March 9 has been tentatively postponed to March 16, following a meeting called by the chief labour commissioner (CLC). According to S R Apraj, general-secretary, Mumbai Port Trust, on March 9, a meeting is scheduled with the Indian Ports Association; on March 12 with the shipping secretary; and, on March 13 with the CLC. If the negotiations are fruitful, there will be no strike on March 16, he added. The strike has been called against the unilateral decision of the Shipping Ministry to corporatize the country's major ports…

The Senior Docks Manager of Indira Docks of Mumbai Port Trust has informed by a circular that from !st June 2014, the 18, 19, 20 and 21 Harbor Wall vessels will berth starboard side alongside and will have draft restrictions of 8.5 meters.   Vessels may  berth port side alongside at 18 Harbor wall depending on the weather and tidal conditions.    No immobilization will be allowed at outer berths  viz. BPS, BPX,  18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 Harbor Wall.

The Mumbai Port Trust has resolved to create a cement terminal that will cater for the needs of the city of Mumbai. The city of Mumbai consumes approximately 1.25 MMT cement per annum to meet its developmental needs. Currently, this cement is moved by road/rail through neighboring states necessitating entry and exit of nearly 350 trucks per day, congesting the already overstrained city roads. In its bid to decongest the city roads, without affecting the city’s requirement of cement, the Port of Mumbai, which shares 141 years long symbiotic relation with the city of Mumbai, has in its Board meeting on 27.3.2015 resolved to lease 2.5 hectares of its land at Petroleum Godown to M/s. Ultratech Cement Ltd. for 30 years on ‘as is where is basis’ informed the Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust, Shri R.

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.

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.

A fire broke out due to a suspected leakage in an oil pipeline passing through a land owned by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) in Wadala in central Mumbai, but no one was injured. Fifteen fire tenders and 12 water tankers eventually doused the flames after a five-hour fight around 11pm. There were no casualties. Sources said the flames were spreading fast in the evening because of the strong monsoon winds blowing from the southwest. Dark smoke could be seen from up to 7km away in Lower Parel. The fire began at 5:50 pm. "An oil leakage was detected this morning and we had taken all the necessary precautions. But at 6 PM, we were informed of a fire," MbPT chairman RM Parmar said. He added that no casualties have been reported in the incident so far.

Continuing its record breaking performance of handling all time high cargo volume of 61.61 metric million tonnes in the preceding financial year, Mumbai Port Trust has registered an overall growth of 15% upto 31st July this year against the corresponding period in the previous year. Highest growth of 55% was registered in the Iron & Steel segment followed by 18% in stream/transshipment cargo. The Port has also registered rise of 15% in crude oil imports and nearly 13% in POL products (imports). The cargo handled in the Indira Dock Basin has registered an overall growth of 15%. Besides improvements in cargo handling, the Port has also recorded enhancement in its efficiency levels with 18% increase in average ship berth day output and 6% rise in berth occupancy.

Mumbai Port Trust in their circular No. MbPT Circular No. TM/ID/CIRCULAR/678  has informed about their plan to repair the outer lock gate through a private contractor. Removal of the lock gate on 15th May during day by Port floating crane Shresta, this operation will be from 15th to 20th and resulting in no movements during day ie from 0800 hrs to 1800 hrs from 15th May to 13th September, Indira Dock will be tidal. Since Indira Dock being tidal navigation is possible only during flood tide, which will result in restriction of vessel to loa 152 meters and beam 22.86 meters . There could be only 2/3 movements in each tide and maximum permissible draft will be reduced to 8 mtrs, higher draft will be considered, depending  on tide.