MOL, K Line & NYK Line report Profits in first Half of fiscal year 2019 November 04 , 2019

TOKYO: Japanese big three shipping companies, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), wrapped up the first half of the fiscal year 2019 with a profit. As explained, the companies’ performance improved as their container shipping joint venture Ocean Network Express (ONE) returned to profitability from a significant loss suffered last year.

This was a result of service stabilization, recovery of liftings and space utilization as well as lower operational costs.

 

A significant boost in the containership segment helped MOL post a much higher net income. In the two quarters ended September 30, 2019, the company’s net income rose to JPY 25.6 billion (about USD 237 million), from JPY 5.7 billion seen in the corresponding period a year earlier.

 

MOL’s revenue decreased to JPY 574.3 billion in the first two quarters of FY2019 from JPY 619.8 billion posted in H1 FY2018. This was due to negation of MOL’s non-consolidated revenue for the containerships, which was included in the results for the same period of the previous year, the company said.

 

Driven by major improvements in liner business, NYK returned to black by reporting a net income of JPY 11.1 billion in H1 FY2019, compared to a net loss of JPY 9.7 billion recorded in the same period last year.NYK’s revenue dropped to JPY 824.7 billion in the first half of this fiscal year from JPY 915.6 billion seen in the first two quarters of FY2018. According to NYK, the decrease was due to the sales of subsidiary shares as part of a business portfolio revision.

 

The bottom line of the third carrier, K Line, was also stronger, reflecting improved profitability of ONE. The company ended the first half of the current fiscal year with a net income of JPY 16.3 billion, against a net loss of JPY 24.6 billion suffered in the same period last year.

On the other hand, K Line’s operating revenues decreased to JPY 372.4 billion in H1 FY2019 from JPY 416.1 billion reported in the corresponding six-month period of FY2018.

IOC commences deliveries of IMO-compliant low sulphur furnance oil November 04 , 2019

NEW DELHI: State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said it has commenced delivery of fuel for ships that is compliant with International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) low sulphur mandate.

 

In a statement, the company said it commenced deliveries of IMO-2020-compliant Low Sulphur Furnace Oil (LSFO) with 0.5 per cent sulphur as marine fuel at Indian ports.

 

‘The first such supply was made on October 26, 2019, to the LPG tanker Berlian Ekuator at Deendayal port,’  it said. IOC has made available LSFO 0.5 per cent S grade marine fuel for immediate deliveries at Deendayal and Kochi Ports. ‘Bunker fuel deliveries at other Indian ports Mumbai, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Haldia shall start by mid-November,’ it said.

 

IOC had earlier unveiled two new IMO 2020-compliant marine fuel grades as well as a range of marine lubricants specifically formulated and complaint with IMO 2020 low sulphur marine fuel specifications in Mumbai.

1st Export preparedness Index to rank States, UTs likely in Jan 2020 November 04 , 2019

NEW DELHI: The Government is likely to release the first index to rank States and Union territories based on their preparedness to promote exports, an official said. The exercise would help in promoting healthy competition among States and UTs to work on parameters for promoting the country's exports, which is one of the key indicators for boosting economic growth.

 

The index will rank them on some key parameters such as business environment, infrastructure, transport connectivity, access to finance, export infrastructure and trade support, the official said. The index will rank them on some key parameters such as business environment, infrastructure, transport connectivity, access to finance, export infrastructure and trade support, the official said.

 

Both the Niti Aayog and the Commerce Ministry is working on this index. Besides overall ranking, it will also be there for Coastal States, Landlocked States and Hilly States. According to experts, the exercise would help in giving a direction to States and UTs to work on their policies and infrastructure to attract both investors and exporters.

 

"It would give an empirical tool to States and UTs for introspection for their export preparedness. Exporters will also get a direction and guideline," Professor at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) Rakesh Mohan Joshi said. The Government is already carrying out similar exercise to rank states and UTs on the Ease of Doing Business.

 

Several steps are being taken to promote foreign trade as it constitutes 45 per cent of the country's economy. There is a target to increase share of the Country's exports in global trade. India's share in global merchandise exports and services was 1.7 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.

 

The country's exports dipped by  2.39 per cent to USD 159.57 billion during April-September 2019-20. Since 2011-12, India's exports have been hovering at around USD 300 billion. During 2018-19, the shipments aggregated at USD 331 billion. Promoting exports helps a Country to create jobs, boost manufacturing and earn more foreign exchange.

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.