Blogs

Maersk Considers Air Routes To Circumvent Blocked Suez Canal Maersk is now looking at alternative routes and contemplates air solutions for particularly time-sensitive cargoes. Meanwhile, a salvage company tells Dutch media that the operation may take weeks. Now, Maersk has nine container ships and two partner ships waiting in the area, awaiting the reopening of the passage. 156 ships currently in line, waiting to pass through the Suez Canal as soon as it reopens. Most of the vessels are stuck in the area near port city Suez and are scheduled to sail north through the passage. Container traffic has in recent months been red-hot with sky-high freight rates caused by capacity shortages. The giant vessel had been wedged diagonally across Egypt's Suez Canal - one of the world's most vital waterways - since March 23. JNPT Signs 100 Crore Agreement With CNB Logitech The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CNB Logitech worth Rupee  100 crore per annum for monitoring, tracking, and optimise the movement of as many as 50 lakh containers in foreign trade. The agreement will facilitate the country’s foreign trade policy through a more efficient movement of containers. Additionally, CNB Logitech is a firm that utilizes machine learning, artificial intelligence technologies, and network-based processes to automate the container terminals, as well as port operations. World’s First Zero-Emission Wind And Hydrogen Power Cargo Ship A Norwegian partnership is moving forward with the development of what they are calling the world’s first zero-emission cargo ship. After a six-month competition, with more than 31 ship owners bidding on the project, the contract for the construction has been awarded. The team expected to complete the design this year so that the vessel can enter service by 2024. The project is now entering a more detailed development phase where technical solutions will be further developed and optimized. This phase contains several sub-projects that will be developed which the team believes will provide further value to the broader efforts to develop the next generation of shipping. During 2021 the ship concept will be fully developed and optimized. The goal is to order the vessel by the end of the year. The ship is expected enter operation in early 2024. Decision To Divest SCI Did Not Sail With Ministry The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways led by Mansukh Mandaviya had opposed the privatisation of Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI), its comments to the Cabinet note on the subject shows. Though the Ministry’s stand was overruled by the Cabinet when it cleared the new public sector enterprises policy on January 27, this revelation shines light on the varying views within the government on the sale of state-run firms. In its comments, the Shipping Ministry had reportedly sought a “review” of the earlier decision to go for a strategic sale of SCI with transfer of management control, arguing that “there is a dire need to treat Indian shipping as a strategic sector and to ensure adequate policy interventions to make it grow considering its strategic importance for economic development, energy security as well as national security”. The merchant navy is considered as a second line of defence for the Indian Navy and thus Indian tonnage under government control shall be crucial from a national security perspective, the SCI had reportedly argued. The long coastline of 7,500 km and the worsening maritime security scenario in the oceans around Asia should also be considered, it had said. India Chalks Out 4-Point Plan To Deal With Suez Canal Blockage The Centre has chalked out a four-point plan to deal with the situation arising from the blockage of the Suez Canal including advising ships to re-route via Cape of Good Hope. This plan was chalked out in a meeting convened by the logistics division, department of commerce, overnment of India Friday. It includes prioritisation of cargo, freight rates, advisory to ports and re-routing of ships. A 193-km canal, which is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe. The 224,000-tonne container ship was grounded in the Suez Canal on Tuesday morning, completely blocking the traffic along the waterway and delaying a number of ships carrying cargo ranging from oil to consumer goods. Blockage of the Suez Canal is seriously hitting the global trade, the ministry of commerce and industry said in a statement. This route is used for Indian exports/imports worth USD 200 billion to/from North America, South America and Europe. It includes petroleum goods, organic chemicals, iron and steel, automobile, machinery, textiles and carpets, handicrafts including furniture, leather goods, etc. Sources: https://splash247.com/ https://www.maritimegateway.com/ https://maritime-executive.com/ https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ https://www.hindustantimes.com/