India may extend onion export ban to February to curb prices

MANCHAR: India may keep a ban on onion exports until February because domestic prices have risen after the harvest of summer-sown crops, which were expected to augment supplies, was delayed and damaged by untimely rains, a Government official said. 

The ban on overseas sales by India, the world's biggest exporter of the bulb, will keep prices elevated in Asia and require importers in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to find other sources to fulfil their demand.

 

Despite the export ban enacted in September to keep domestic supply inside India, prices have surged after rain and floods during October and November limited onion supply, especially in Maharashtra, the Country's biggest producer.

 

"We will think about resuming exports once prices come down. 

 

Right now it is not possible," a senior Government official at the Indian Department of Consumer Affairs said recently.

Alliance Air starts flight operations on Ahmedabad-Kandla route November 21 , 2019

NEW DELHI: Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, has started flight operations on Ahmedabad-Kandla route, making it the 228th route to be activated under Centre's regional connectivity scheme UDAN.

 

Flight operation in the route was started on 18th November. Kandla is Alliance Air's 55th destination under UDAN scheme. Alliance Air would operate flight on the Ahmedabad-Kandla route every weekday, according to a release by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA).

"This also provides better connectivity for Kutch commercial hub Gandhidham and the Country's Major Port - Deendayal Port," the release said.

This is the third flight to operate from Kandla airport. Currently, Spicejet and Truejet operate a daily flight for Mumbai and Ahmedabad from Kandla.

India plans incentives for 324 firms to capitalize on Trade War

NEW DELHI: India is planning to offer 324 companies including Tesla Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc incentives to set up factories in the South Asian nation in a bid to capitalize from the trade war between China and the U.S.

The Government proposes to provide the manufacturers land to set up a factory along with power, water and road access, according to draft of the document prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and Invest India. Other companies that officials will reach out to include Eli Lilly & Co., South Korea’s Hanwha Chemical Corp., and Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.

While the trade war has benefited countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia, rigid land acquisition rules and labor laws have prompted investors to largely ignore India when looking for alternatives to China. The latest proposal may reduce red tape, and set the nation, which expanded at the slowest pace in six years last quarter, on a path to double its gross domestic product to $5 trillion by 2025 -- a goal set 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Piraeus Port Authority surpasses 5 million TEUs mark November 21 , 2019

PIRAEUS: The Piraeus Port Authority S.A. has announced on November 18th 2019 that it had handled the container with number CSUN7025891, which was unloaded from the COSCO SHIPPING CAPRICORN ship, reaching the total throughput in the Port of Piraeus at 5,000,000 TEU for this year.

The fact that the 5,000,000 TEU limit is already broken from November, brings the Port of Piraeus closer to the first position in the Mediterranean and possibly among the top four ports in Europe, said a Port release.

Yang Ming to launch New Southeast Asia services November 21 , 2019

TAIWAN: According to the latest estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the GDP growth rates in Myanmar and Philippines are expected to exceed 6% for the upcoming two years. In view of the strong and steady economic growth in both countries, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. announces the launch of two new services, SPE service 

(Singapore-Philippines Express Service) and MYX service (Malaysia-Yangon Express Service).

The new SPE service will provide a weekly service between Singapore and Philippines effective from December 2nd, 2019. The port rotation will be Singapore – Manila – Cebu - Singapore. Currently Yang Ming already has four services that directly link to Philippines, namely TPE, TPS, PH2 and KMC. The addition of SPE will enable local customers to have greater flexibility in cargo arrangement.

The MYX service will provide a weekly direct service between Port Kelang and Yangon effective from December 7th, 2019. The new service will not only satisfy the export and import demand in Myanmar but also shorten delivery time effectively.

Yang Ming is committed to pursuing better service quality. The new SPE and MYX services will optimize Yang Ming’s Intra-Asia service network and easily connect to Yang Ming’s global service network via transit hub Port Kelang and Singapore. With the new services, Yang Ming will provide customers with more convenient and comprehensive service.

OOCL celebrates 50th Anniversary with Hong Kong community

HONG KONG: OOCL held a 50th Anniversary Free Family Fun Day event on November 10, 2019, at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum (HKMM) to celebrate the company's fifty years anniversary with the Hong Kong community.  Specially arranged exhibits, videos, souvenirs and family activities were organized to share with visitors who came to learn more about

Hong Kong's home carrier and the city's colorful maritime history. 

In November of 1969, OOCL's Founder Mr. C. Y. Tung made international headlines for establishing one of the first Asian carriers to provide regular containerized shipping services between the Far East and the West Coast of the United States. OOCL's first box ships were all converted from its conventional liners with a carrying capacity of just 300 TEUs and they were known as the Victory class in the fleet. 

The first container sailing saw just 13 TEUs transported across the Pacific Ocean from Hong Kong to Long Beach, California, with an all Chinese crew.  In comparison to OOCL's latest G-class vessels like the OOCL Hong Kong with a carrying capacity of 21,413 TEU, the ultra-large containerships in our fleet today ships hundreds of thousands of containers each day, a far cry from the early days of containerization that began 50 years ago.

“OOCL is deeply rooted in Hong Kong and very proud of our long heritage in this port city we call home," said Mr. Andy Tung, Co-Chief Executive Officer of OOCL. “Together with Hong Kong, we witnessed the birth of containerization which changed the course of shipping and our company's history. 

We also saw the beginning of modern globalization where Hong Kong earned a prominent place on the trade map, and OOCL was there to link the city to markets around the world.  We are very happy to be on this journey together with the Hong Kong community and we certainly look forward to reaching many more milestones in the next 50 years ahead!"

Mrs. H. K. Joshi wins "Woman of Substance" Award

MUMBAI: Mrs. H. K. Joshi, CMD (A.C.), SCI has been conferred with Sailor Today Sea Shore Awards 2019 for the category of "Woman of Substance".

This Award was presented by Mr. M. Pinto, former Secretary Shipping at the 18th Sailor Today Sea Shore Awards 2019 held at Mumbai on 16th November 2019.