Indian Register of Shipping receives RO authorisation from Denmark October 24 , 2019

MUMBAI: The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) has approved the application by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) for authorisation as a “Recognised Organisation” (RO).

Seeking RO status from key maritime flags is part of IRClass’ strategy to expand its presence in Europe. The company already has offices in the UK, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey with plans to expand its business in other Northern European countries.

 

With the addition of this high-quality flag, IRClass is now approved by 44 leading flag administrations globally. Having secured EU approval in 2016, IRClass has been authorised earlier by flag administrations like Malta, Cyprus, Netherlands, Bulgaria and are in the process of seeking approval from other key maritime flags in Europe.

 

In a letter to IRClass the DMA stated: “We are fully convinced that IRClass is a qualified and competent organization capable of providing professional services for our Danish shipping industry. The agreement will further strengthen the maritime ties between India and Denmark.”

“IRClass is proud to have been formally recognised as a “Recognised Organisation” by the DMA. This enables us to offer our classification services to Danish flagged vessels and further enhances our reputation in the European market as a trustworthy classification society with a commitment to provide prompt and value-added services to European shipowners,” said Mr PK Mishra, Vice President & Regional Manager (EU) for IRClass.

 

The DMA letter concluded by stating that: We look forward to establishing a sound working relationship with IRClass and will seize future opportunities for direct technical cooperation with your distinguished classification society.”

India bans single-use plastics on Ships in its Waters

NEW DELHI: India has decided to ban single-use plastics on ships sailing in its waters, effective immediately. According to Directorate General of Shipping, plastics including cutlery, plates and cups, are prohibited on board Indian ships and foreign ships when in India.

The current ban includes other plastics, such as bottles, bags and dispensing containers for cleaning fluids. India also announced that, with effect from January 1, 2020, additional single-use plastics would be added to the list.

Over the years, India has actively collaborated in the work of the UNEP, including for the prevention of marine pollution. The Directorate General of Shipping cited International Maritime Organization as saying that marine litter “presents a huge problem in our oceans,” with some scientists warning that, by 2050, the quantity of plastics in the oceans could outweigh fish.

The Country opted for the ban in order to avoid future pollution through non-responsible manner of single-use plastics disposal.

India-US trade: Contours of a deal almost final, says Piyush Goyal October 24 , 2019

NEW DELHI: In a clear sign that India and the US are close to finding common ground on their outstanding trade issues that started looking intractable, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently said here that the two sides “have almost resolved the broad contours” of an imminent deal in this regard. He even hinted at a “much larger engagement between the two countries in the days ahead”, hinting at the possibility of a larger bilateral trade agreement, following the limited deal on the immediate horizon.

 

This is perhaps the first time New Delhi is making it unambiguously clear that the differences between the two sides on a host of trade issues have indeed narrowed down. A limited deal was expected to be announced when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump on Sept. 24 

 

but that was not to be, as both sides practically stuck to their positions. India’s exports to the US, its largest market, touched $52.4 billion in 2018-19, while imports were to the tune of $35.5 billion. Its trade surplus with the US has been shrinking in the past two years, as it has stated importing oil and gas from the largest economy, something that India has been highlighting. According to the US Government data, New Delhi’s trade surplus with Washington eased to $21.3 billion in 2018 from $22.9 billion in 2017. In contrast, China’s trade surplus with the US widened further to a record $419.2 billion last year from $375.6 billion in 2017, despite the tariff war between the top two economies.

On the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Goyal said that the government would protect the interests of domestic industry before entering into the proposed mega free-trade pact, which is in the last phase of negotiations.

PICT handles its First Concor Container Movement October 24 , 2019

PARADIP: The first Concor Container train movement took place from Paradip International Cargo Terminal (PICT) on dock rail siding for our esteemed customer Jindal Stainless Steel Ltd on 6th October 2019. 

 

A detailed advance planning / coordination in terms of necessary approvals pertaining to siding inclusion, Railway Receipt (RR) generation, 

etc was well coordinated by 'PICT marketing & railway liaisoning team', finally with smooth rake handling within free time, by PICT operations team, ensured overall a happy customer experience, especially for the reputed corporates involved namely JSL and CONCOR.

The rake was loaded with 44 TEUs of Quick Lime and 46 TEUs of Scrap.

HICT bags the Swachhta Hi Seva Award 2019

KOLKATA: The Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) held an event “Swachhta Hi Seva” at the CPT Officers Club Auditorium, Haldia Township at 1800 hours on the 2nd of October 2019. The event was to acknowledge the efforts of the entities towards sanitation and cleanliness of the surroundings and by extension, the environment.

 

The Haldia International Container Terminal (HICT) was felicitated by the HDC for the upkeep and their efforts in the “Swachhta Hi Seva” motto. HICT has played an active role for ‘Pakhwada’ with the activities pertaining to cleanliness. Scheduled guidelines for the ‘Pakhwada’ were formulated and circulated to each department of HICT and all departments observed the same in the effectively. A series of activities, like upkeep and cleaning of office premises, terminal, carrying out inspection and repair work of all sanitary facilities in the office premises and terminal, cleaning and painting of road signs, displaying cleanliness message safety banners have been undertaken as part of the ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’. Besides, a special cleanliness drive was organized on 19th May 2019 and 19th September 2019 at the office premises, terminal, wharf, main stores, workshop and Training Centre. Also, various training programs on cleanliness and ‘5S’ Kaizen were organized for employees explaining the importance of keeping the premises clean & hygienic and to stop the usage of plastic in daily life.

 

The award was presented by Shri. G. Senthilvel, Dy. Chairman Haldia Dock Complex, KOPT and was received by Mr. Sauvik Kumar Saha – Head HR and Mr. Harikesh B Singh – Head Engineering on behalf of HICT and the J M BAXI GROUP.

 

Some notable personalities like Shri. CR Das – Deputy Inspector General, Coast Guard, Shri. B Dutta – Principal, DAV School, Shri. SK Jha – Commandant, CISF, Haldia, and other representatives from TMIL, Five Star Logistics, ISPL, AM Enterprise, AEGIS Logistics, Replay Stevedoring and Nationalist HDC (C.P.T) Thika Sramik Mazdoor Union graced the occasion.

Shipper must indicate specific HS Codes rather than adopting ‘Others’ category: DGFT October 24 , 2019

NEW DELHI: The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has asked the trade and industry to be careful while mentioning Harmonised (HS) Codes in the Bill of Entry, in case of imports and Shipping Bills in case of exports.

It has asked them to indicate the specific HS Codes of items at 8 digit where they exist, instead of using the ‘Others’ category in a loose and inaccurate manner.

The DGFT warned that any wilful mis-declaration of HS Codes will be duly dealt with under Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992.

India maintains 8 digit HS Codes under the Indian Trade Classification (Harmonized System) 2017.

DGFT said it has observed that many importers while filing Bill of Entry with the Customs Authorities are not doing due diligence in mentioning the correct HS Codes at 8 digit level.

It said that even though specific codes are available for the imported items under ITC (HS), 2017, Schedule – 1 (Import Policy), importers tend to casually adopt the ‘others’ category, which is essentially a residual category of the relevant products.

Next FTP may reduce raw material costs to boost sliding exports

NEW DELHI: India’s upcoming Foreign Trade Policy is likely to ease the norms for import of raw materials and capital goods for exporters in a bid to provide a boost for exports, hit by sluggish global demand.

The Foreign Trade Policy 2020-25 will also offer higher export rewards to products with geographic indication (GI) tag such as Alphonso mango, Banarasi sarees and Moradabadi metal craft with the Make in India scheme being at its core, officials aware of the details said.

The Commerce Department also proposes to lay special emphasis on services and e-commerce in the upcoming policy that is to come into effect on April 1, 2020.

“In certain cases, there are notional duties that increase the export obligation of the exporters. We are rationalising some schemes to encourage them to do more local sourcing,” said an official.

The Department is considering simplifying various export incentive schemes such as Advance Authorisation Scheme, which facilitates duty free import of inputs for export products, Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) that allows exporters to import certain amount of capital goods at zero duty for upgrading technology related with exports, and Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) to incentivise exports of various services ranging from legal and accounting to engineering and medical, officials said.