More than 100 Containerships out of operation for scrubber retrofits: Alphaliner November 04 ,

LONDON: More than 100 containerships are out of action due to scrubber retrofits and over 500 others are scheduled for retrofitting over the coming 12 months, according to data from Alphaliner.

 

With IMO 2020 just around the corner, the world’s shipping fleet is gearing up to face the new regulation capping bunker sulphur content at 0.5%, or the continued use of high sulphur fuels will need the installation of a scrubber to bring the sulphur content down to the compliant level.

 

As at 29 October, the number of containerships that stay at repair yards for scrubber retrofits has reached 86, with at least 14 ships currently waiting for a yard slot to become available.

 

In addition, more than 500 containerships are scheduled to be retrofitted over the coming 12 months. Such a long retrofitting queue has led to congestion at various yards as the scrubber installation works have taken longer than anticipated. “Yard stays for the 79 ships that have completed retrofitting works so far this year averaged 62 days, compared to initial expectations of 40 to 50 days,” Alphaliner noted.

 

“The 62-day average does however include yard stays of ships that, in addition to having a scrubber installed, also underwent other repairs or conversions to increase the vessels’ container capacities,” the container analyst added. The more extensive work could consist of raising the deckhouse or installing higher lashing bridges.

 

The shipyard delays have so far forced carriers’ to postpone the scheduled liner service re-phase-in of some converted ships, and they have created queues for ships waiting to enter the yards, Alphaliner observed.

 

“In some cases, container vessels waited at anchor for two to three weeks until a yard slot became available,” it said, adding that the current yard congestion problems are expected to last for some time, well into next year.

India loses export incentive case filed by US at WTO, to appeal against the ruling

NEW DELHI: India suffered a setback at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a dispute against the US that had challenged its key export subsidy schemes including the one for special economic zones. The WTO has ruled that these export subsidy programmes violated provisions of the trade body’s norms. New Delhi is likely to appeal the ruling before the organisation’s Appellate Body, officials said.

 

A dispute panel in the WTO ruled that these export subsidy programmes provided by the Indian Government violated provisions of the trade body’s norms.

 

“The dispute panel rejected India's claim that it was exempted from the prohibition on export subsidies under the special and differential treatment provisions of the WTO's Agreement on Subsidies & Countervailing Measures (SCM),” the panel said in its ruling.

 

The other affected schemes are - Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), Export Oriented Units Scheme and sector specific schemes, including Electronics Hardware Technology Parks Scheme and Bio-Technology Parks Scheme; Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme; and Duty-Free Imports for Exporters Scheme.

 

“According to the Indian Government, thousands of Indian companies are receiving subsidies totaling over $7 billion annually from these programs, and India has increased the size and scope of these programmes,” office of US Trade Representative said in a statement.

CargoSmart: Schedule Reliability rises in Q3 2019 November 04 , 2019

HONG KONG: The overall ocean schedule reliability for the third quarter of 2019 was 75.7%, slightly higher than in the second quarter of the year, according to intelligence provider CargoSmart.

 

The peak of on-time schedule reliability was 80.2% in July 2019. It then dropped to 73.8% in August and remained at a similar level at 73.1% in September 2019.

 

Comparing 2019 and 2018, the monthly reliability was higher and fluctuated less in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the same period a year earlier.

 

When looking at the schedule reliability on 25 trade lanes, CargoSmart said that Intra Middle East, Europe-Middle East, and Intra South America had the highest schedule reliability in the quarter, with average reliability of 93.1%, 89.1%, and 88.6% respectively.

 

When comparing the schedule reliability to the second quarter of the year, 13 of the 25 trade lanes decreased. The Intra Europe, Europe-Middle East, and Intra North America had the biggest increases, while Africa-North America, Africa-Middle East, and North America-Oceania dropped the most with Intra Africa continuing to have the lowest quarterly reliability.

Need to diversify Service exports to reduce dependency on IT exports: Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI: There is a need to accelerate export growth to reach the export target of US 1 trillion in the next 5 years and the Report of the High-Level Advisory Group shows the way in which this goal can be achieved. This was stated by Mr Piyush Goyal, Hon'ble Minister for Commerce & Industry and Railways, Government of India at a Session to Release of the High-Level Advisory Group Report. The session was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in cooperation with the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and the Centre for WTO Studies in New Delhi.

 

The Minister stated that there was a need to look at the ways addressing the high cost of capital and the high taxation levels in the Indian Economy. He noted that the Government had already acted upon the latter based on the Group's interim report and the Finance Ministry had reduced the corporate tax rates.

 

The Minister also highlighted the need to diversify India's service exports so that we were not always dependent on IT / BPO exports. In addition, he stated that the fear of FTA's needs to go and India needs to negotiate FTAs as a win-win situation for both sides. He stated that there was also a need to promote manufacturing in the Country and develop economies of scale.

 

Dr Surjit Bhalla, Executive Director - Designate for India to IMF & Chairman, HLAG stated that India had missed the path to accelerate exports growth in the past and the recommendations of the report were designed to ensure that we did not miss this opportunity again. He also stated that India's strength lay in the Financial Sector and there was a tremendous opportunity to increase our exports of financial services.

Mumbai Port Trust lights up the Gateway of India on 31st October 2019 to spread the message “Integrity – A Way of Life” on occasion of Vigilance Awa

Mumbai Port Trust lights up the Gateway of India on 31st October 2019 to spread the message “Integrity – A Way of Life” on occasion of Vigilance Awareness Week 2019.

Sea Cargo Manifest & Transhipment Regulations deferred to 16th Feb 2020 November 04 , 2019

NEW DELHI: The implementation date of the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations 2018 (SCMT) has been postponed for a further period of 3 months, it is learnt.

 

As per Notification No. 78 /2019-Customs (N.T.) issued by the Union Ministry of Finance, Government of India, the implementation date of India Sea Cargo Manifest & Transhipment Regulations has now been further deferred to February 16, 2020.

MSC creates Mobile Game to raise awareness on sustainability in Shipping

GENEVA: MSC is pleased to announce the launch of a first-of-its-kind shipping game: The Sea Rider, said a recent release from the company.

Available on the Apple Store (for iOS) or Google Play (for Android) for everybody, the game provides fun, engaging entertainment for the users, who can navigate a giant container ship, collect coins and gather points.

While featuring MSC’s green fleet including some of the World’s Largest Container Ships and the actual MSC Global Network of some 200 ocean services worldwide, the game also provides insights into MSC’s environmental performance and sustainability approach.

Users will not only learn about some of the company’s activities around preserving the environment, but practically they will have to sling the ship from one port to another while minimising the environmental impact. This might include adapting the vessel speed, or avoiding whales.

Conducting shipping operations in a sustainable, ethical way MSC is a responsible company with a longstanding nautical heritage and passion for the sea. As an active member of the United Nations Global Compact, and supporter of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, MSC is pleased to introduce The Sea Rider game as a way to raise awareness on the importance 

of conducting container shipping operations in a sustainable way.

Recently, the company published its 2018 MSC’s Sustainability Report highlighting some key achievements from various companies in the MSC Group. To download a copy, please go to msc.com/sustainability.