India: Seaports and Shipping

[Bombay2Calcutta]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/11628075.cms
Essar Projects to commission Ro Ro facility to connect Saurasthra with south Gujarat

The state government kicked off the commissioning of Ro Ro facility between Gogha in Saurashtra and Dahej in South Gujarat. The state authority Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) awarded contract to build the Ro-Ro Ferry Service to Essar Projects. The project is scheduled to be completed in 15 months and will cost Rs 225 crore. On Wednesday, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Ro Ro facility between Gogha and Dahej.

Proposed Ro-Ro Ferry Service will reduce distance between Gogha & Dahej by 360km land-route to a 31km sea-route. The government of Gujarat and Essar Project are claiming that the project will reduce 80% distance besides saving in fuel costs and travel-time.

Commenting on the project, Essar Projects president & CEO Alwyn Bowden said, "It is a matter of pride for us to associate with this prestigious project. The vision of Gujarat to provide a strategic connectivity through this project will go a long way in boosting trade and industry in the region by substantially reducing travel time. Essar Projects can contribute to making this vision a reality with its four decades of experience in marine construction."

According to 'Origin Destination' survey conducted by GMB in November 2008 , a large number of passenger and cargo traffic is available and demonstrated a potential to develop a ferry service in the Gulf of Cambay. The strategic locations of Gogha and Dahej in the Gulf of Cambay offers the planned ferry service a great potential to develop, given the easy crossing of the Gulf.

In order to keep up with the recent advances in technology and ship size, the Ro-Ro terminals are planned so that RO-RO vessels of larger sizes could load and unload at the terminals, read the media statement issued by Essar Group.

In order to develop this service, the government of Gujarat has constituted a "Gujarat Coastal Area Development Board (GCADB). This project, initiated by the GMB, is part of the government of Gujarat's effort to develop a 1,600-km coastline as a means to develop trade and transport between Southern Gujarat and Kutch.

The GMB along with the GCADB will primarily focus on tourism, forest & environment, fisheries development, industrial development and natural calamity management.

The scope of Essar Projects contract includes designing and construction of Ro Ro Service terminals at both Gogha and Dahej. It will constructing an approach bund of total 609 meters, of which 497 meters will be at Gogha and 112 metres at Dahej besides constructing an approach trestle of total 562 meters at two locations among others.

[Euromast]

Great neus, interesting to see what kind of ferry they will use

[Euromast]

Launch of CSD of Adani group in our Slidrecht unit.

[Euromast]

In march first TSHDof DCI will be launched. 2013,2014 will see again launch of second and third dredger (copy order)

[Bombay2Calcutta]

PMO fast-tracks use of inland waterways

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The government on Saturday kicked off the process to fast-track development and use of inland waterways transport involving private and state-run companies.
The move is expected to harness the huge potential of inland waterways in transporting bulk cargo such as coal, food grains, fertilizers, project cargo, fly ash, over dimensional cargo and containers at competitive cost for both public and private sector companies, while it is also expected to ease the burden on rail and road infrastructure.
A tripartite agreement has been signed between the Nataional Thermal Power Corporation, the Inland Waterways Authority of India and a private developer for the Farakka power project. This has led to competitive transportation rates for NTPC and a private sector investment of Rs 650 crore has been committed. The interministerial coordination committee was informed of the development by the principal secretary to the PM.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has taken a series of initiatives in recent weeks to dispel the perception of a policy paralysis. Principal secretary to the PM, Pulok Chatterjee, has led the efforts to push policies and get projects off the ground.
APMO statement said that NTPC will provide a long-term cargo commitment for 3 million metric tons of coal for the Barh power project once all its five units are operational by 2016-17. It was also agreed that the execution of coal handling facility at Jogighopa and rail connectivity would be taken up under the non-lapsable central pool of resources (NLCPR) scheme.
The Food Corporation of India will provide a longterm cargo commitment for three years for transportation of food grains to Tripura and Assam from Kolkata and within Assam. The external affairs ministry will try to extend the period of trade and transit protocol beyond March, when it comes for renewal.
It was also decided that the ministry of shipping will consider providing additional money, if needed, to ensure night navigation facilities on the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route. ONGC and Oil India will convey a firm commitment of cargo through the inland waterways transport in two weeks to the Inland Waterway Authority of India. CONCOR will also provide firm commitment for transportation of part of their container cargo from Pandu through inland waterways transport. Chatterjee will review the progress on these decisions in two months, the statement said.

[Euromast]

Nissan eyes alternative port for exports

The Japanese car-maker is seeking from Ennore Port Ltd a level playing field with other ports. The high charges at Ennore port is making it very expensive to export cars, said a Nissan official on condition of anonymity.

The scale of charges set rate for a vessel of 5,000 units capacity at Ennore was $122,000 per vessel as against $68,000 in Chennai port – while Ennore had to build infrastructure from scratch, it was already in place at Chennai. At $13.60 per car, Ennore is the most expensive in India and globally, claimed an official of Nissan.

For the last couple of months talks have been going on between officials of Nissan and Kattupalli port. Last week, Nissan’s Corporate Vice-President, Mr John Martin, met senior officials of Larsen & Toubro, which is building the Kattupalli port north of Ennore, according to sources

Link

[Naresh]

.

PORT OF MUNDRA

Cargo Handled in April – December 2011 : 48.48 Million Metric Tonnes - Increase PoP : 29%

Cheers

[Naresh]

Originally Posted by Euromast

Launch of CSD of Adani group in our Slidrecht unit.

Euromast Ji :

Is this a "Lauch" or "Floating Out"?

Cheers

[Euromast]

Launch into the water

[GJ10]

x-posting from Gujarat Ports thread

Adani wins Rs 1060 Cr Kandla Port Terminal Project

The Adani Port and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has won the bid to construct a Rs 1,060 crore dry bulk terminal at Tuna which is being developed as a satellite port of Kandla in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.

The terminal having a cargo handling capacity of 14.11 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) was decided to be awarded to APSEZ after the board of trustees of the Kandla port — the country’s biggest port — “decided unanimously to award the PPP (public-private-partnership) project to the highest bidder — APSEZ.” The decision was taken in the meeting of Kandla Port Trust (KPT) board held on Tuesday.

“They (the board) have also taken note of the assurance given by the promoter, Gautam Adani to complete the project in time,” stated an official statement from KPT. The board has also imposed certain conditions to monitor the project with six monthly milestones. Ironically, over the years APSEZ, which operates a private port in Mundra in the same Gulf, has been targeting to overtake Kandla as the top cargo handler of the country by handling 100 million tonne of cargo by 2013. On the other hand, KPT itself is in the process of building four multi-purpose cargo berths to help it cross 100 million tonne of cargo by 2012-13.

“The concession agreement will be as part of the model documents followed by all major ports for similar projects with stringent conditions to take care of any delays by the concessionaire,” KPT official said in the statement.

Apart from the dry bulk terminal at Tuna, KPT is also setting up a single point mooring (SPM) and allied facilities off Veera in Gulf of Kutch (project cost Rs 621 crore).

[joefernando]

Efforts on to resume Tuticorin-Colombo ferry service soon


TUTICORIN, MARCH 17:
Efforts are being taken to resume the ferry service from here to Colombo by March-end or April, according to a top official.

“It (resumption of service) may coincide with Tamil New Year (April13),” Mr A. Subbiah, Chairman of V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust, told newsmen here yesterday.

The international ferry service between India and Sri Lanka was stopped for technical reasons few months after it was flagged off by the Union Shipping Minister, Mr G.K. Vasan, in June last year.

The nine-deck ‘Scotia Prince’, a passenger vessel chartered by Flemingo Liners, operated twice a week between Tuticorin and Colombo and vice-versa.

He said problems encountered by the vessel operators had been resolved and they had also committed with a letter, indicating that the ferry services would resume. As many as 12,240 passengers were ferried from June to November 18, 2011, Mr Subbiah said.

The passenger terminal, established at the port, would have additional infrastructural facilities. In the second phase, it would have centralised air conditioner


businessline.com

[Euromast]

Water launching ceremony of DCi dredger XIX

[adam_india]

Angre Port woos Western Maha exporters

Pune: Privately developed Angr Port in Maharashtras coastal district Ratnagiri is set to go operational from April 24 and promises to offer a convenient and cost effective option to the exporters and importers of Western Maharashtra.
Atul Kulkarni,chief executive officer of developer company Chowgule Ports & Infrastructure Pvt.Ltd told reporters on Friday that exporters who use the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) facilities near Mumbai have been suffering from congestion and delays that add significantly to their logistics costs.Angre port will help in reducing the distance and the costs the exporters bear.
Exim cargo from Kolhapur and Belgaum currently is handled from JN Port,which involves land transportation charges of about Rs 28,000 per container moving from Kolhapur and about Rs 35,000 for those moving from Belgaum.
The port will be advantageous to exporters from Pune,given the difficulties they face with JNPT and Kandla ports as the effective savings in time will be higher than the incremental transport costs,he added.
The company has invested Rs 520 crore to develop the all weather port which a 700-metre long berthing length on piles and a natural draught of around 10 meters,which will be dredged to around 13 meters subsequently,Kulkarni said.On completion of the final dredging,the Angr port will be able to handle vessels up to 80,000 dead weight tonnage and reduce the congestion at Indias largest container handling port on the west coast,he said.

TOI

[Naresh]

.
Mundra Port 4th Largest Port - Up from 7th among Indian Commercial Ports.

Operational Highlight 2011-2012

Handled 64.01 MMT Cargo 24% Growth (Yoy) & Its MARKET SHARE Improved TO
10.3% From 8.3% (YoY).

Handled Highest Container Volume 1.52 (Million TEUs) 24% Growth (YoY) & Market
Share In Container Improved To 16.4% From 14.0% (YoY).

Handled Highest Coal Volume (18.75 MMT) In FY¡¦11-12.

Cheers

[GJ10]

Even more impressive than that is how it looks certain that Mundra will move to 2nd position for overall cargo and for container traffic within a matter of months.

from the link Naresh posted.

[krishnancv]

Cross Posting from Chennai thread

Originally Posted by karkal

L&T Kattupalli Port ready for operations, awaits Customs nod


Zhen Hua 20, a heavy lift vessel, carrying three quay cranes anchored at the L&T Kattupalli port. Photo: Special Arrangement
The container terminal of Larsen and Toubro's Kattupalli shipyard-cum-captive port is all set to commence operations and awaiting communication from the Customs Department notifying the terminal.

The port has been in the news since January 2012 and is touted by the export-import trade as an alternative to the Chennai Port, which is facing congestion for the last two years.

The port is located adjacent to the Ennore Port. While the latter handles break-bulk carriers, cars and coal vessels, it may take one more year or more for its container terminal to be ready. L&T is ready with its container terminal (berth two). The six-line gate complex is connected to two container berths by a four-lane road.

According to informed sources, the L&T management wrote to the Customs Department some six months ago seeking notification of the area for handling containers. Customs officials visited the port on February 27. It is said that shortage of Customs officials is one of the reasons for the delay.

Talking to The Hindu, a Customs House agent said, “Currently, Customs are deploying their officials from the Chennai Port to the Ennore Port for clearing consignments. As the Ennore Port receives fewer vessels, it does not pose any problem. But, the L&T Port would require more officials. Perhaps, a separate Commissionerate is needed to handle both the terminals… L&T has acquired land to create basic facilities for Customs officials.”

When Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman S.K. Goel visited the city last week, the matter was referred to him. He also made a reference to the shortage of Customs staff in his speech and said that efforts were on to recruit more officials.

Three rail-mounted quayside cranes (RMQCs) arrived at the L&T Port in December 2011 from China and are ready for operations.

It also has 15 rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGCs), two reach stackers and 420 reefer plug points. The port employees have been trained in RTGCs, sources said. On April 12, L&T received Zhen Hua 20, a heavy lift vessel, with three more RMQCs to be installed at the second berth. Out of the three cranes, one crane was installed on Sunday. It will take at least a month to commission it.

The L-shaped berths will handle about 1.2 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units of containers. Initially, the port will handle only container cargo. Later, the capacity would be expanded to handle other cargo. The berths would be operated by the Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc for 28 years.

A company note says the Rs.4,675-crore project is being implemented by L&T Shipbuilding Ltd., a joint venture between L&T and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation . It will build commercial ships, specialised cargo ships, defence ships, including submarines, offshore platforms and floating platform-cum-storage facility and heavy engineering fabrication and component production for ship building.

[Naresh]

Originally Posted by GJ10

Even more impressive than that is how it looks certain that Mundra will move to 2nd position for overall cargo and for container traffic within a matter of months.

from the link Naresh posted.

GJ10 Ji :

With containerization picking up and India's Imports of Oil as well as Coal, one will not be surprised if Mundra overtakes Kandla.

Kandla will have to go in for "Deep" Berths which I believe the Adanis have got a contract for its Development. In addition Mundra will have possibly Six to Eight Deep Water Berths i.e. Four for Containers and Four for Dry Bulk Cargoes. In addition the Crude Oil SBM in Mundra has a Depth of 30 Metres or so.

Cheers

[ajithv]

Vizhinjam project: Foreign queries galore

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government might be saddled with just one bidder for the post of port operator for the Vizhinjam seaport project, but fresh enquiries have started coming in from abroad with the government readying to float global tenders for constructing the port.

Over the past two months, teams representing the governments of Britain, Japan, Germany and Canada had met the officials of the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) evincing interest in investing in the multi-crore project.

On Tuesday, VISL officials staged a presentation on the project for the British Deputy High Commissioner Mike Nithavrianakis who visited its offices at Vazhuthacaud. “Britain has many strengths in this area. They can participate in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) bids which will be floated soon,” VISL CEO A S Suresh Babu said.

“The Deputy High Commissioner has also promised that he will inform British companies of the investment opportunities in this project,” Suresh Babu said.

The German Deputy Consul General had met VISL officials and also visited the project site at Mulloor, Vizhinjam, nearly two months ago. He was followed by a Canadian team led by a minister and a Japanese team.

The approximately Rs 1,600-crore EPC contract involves the construction of breakwater, reclamation, quay wall and dredging.

The State Government is yet to decide on the question of port operator with negotiations with the lone bidder, the Welspun group, to bring down the grant amount hitting a wall. Welspun was left the only bidder after the Home Ministry denied clearance to Mundra Ports and SEZ.

The EPC bids for building the port will be floated once the Environment Impact Assessment which is underway is completed by June-end.

[GJ10]

Gujarat okays Rs 4000 Cr Nargol Port construction

Gujarat government has given a go-ahead to construction of the proposed port at Nargol, 120 km south of Surat. A consortium of Cargo Motors Limited and Israel Ports Company (IPC) will develop the port at an investment of Rs 4,000 crore, a state government official said.

"The Gujarat government has recently okayed the GMB bid given to the consortium. Now the work of this greenfield port will take off," said a senior official of the department of Road, Ports and Transport.

Nargol is amongst eight greenfield ports being developed by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), the maritime regulator in Gujarat. Other ports Mundra, Pipavav, Dahej and Hazira have been made operational by private players, while Chhara, Kacchigadh and Mahuva are under various stages of development.

Nargol falls in the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor ( DMIC), about 120 km south of Surat and 140 km north of Mumbai is perceived as a multi-purpose port capable of handling solid, liquid and container cargo. The place is well connected with road and rail network. Plans are underway to expand the two-lane state highway into an eight-lane divided carriageway.

It has a draft (depth) of 11-12 metres. The developers expect to reclaim 75-150 hectares of land for developing the port, whose first phase is likely to be commissioned by 2015-2016, said a GMB official. The proposed port is estimated to have an initial cargo handling capacity of 1.2 million twenty-feet equivalent units (TEU).

When operational, it is expected to ease the burden on the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust ( JNPT) in Mumbai. The developers are also looking at the possibility of offering Roll-On-Roll-Off (RO-RO) service, where passenger and cargo vehicles can be ferried in giant ships.

Mumbai-based Shapoorji Pallonji has undertaken work for the Chhara port in Junagadh and Larsen and Tubro is developing Kachchigadh port in Jamnagar. The consortium had won a bid in January earlier this year and was awaiting a final approval for the go ahead from the state government.

The bidding witnessed participation of at least twenty companies of which Essar, Sterlite-Vedanta consortium, Gammon India and consortium of Israel Port Company -Cargo Motors were shortlisted for the final selection. Cargo Motors runs car dealerships and is akso involved in the hospitality, logistics, construction and power industries while IPC has over 50 years of experience in maritime infrastructure.

Gujarat Maritime Board handles 41 minor ports, which have a share of 25% of the nation's total cargo and account for 80% of the total traffic handled by other non-major ports of India. Traffic at Gujarat's non-major ports grew 11.31% quarter-on-quarter to reach 63.20 million tonnes during the first quarter of the current fiscal.

[passionfruit12]

Adding to the woes of the International Container Transshipment Terminal, it is now the turn of the Railways to cry foul.

While the Cochin Port Trust has already been up in arms over the under-performance of the much-hyped terminal, what worries the Railways is the scarce revenue from the facility after having invested Rs 360 crore for rail connectivity to the terminal from Edappally. With the ICTT struggling to pick up, the railway-line built exclusively for container movement is lying almost idle. According to highly-placed Railways officials, the rate of return (RoR) from the railway line is negligible compared to the investment. “Like any other stakeholder of the project, we were also hopeful of its success and expected that we will get at least one full rake (40 containers) of outward movement per day. Unfortunately, outward movement is almost nil. We do not get even a single full rake movement in a month,” said a top official of the Railways.

For instance, the Railways can earn Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 15 lakhs from a full rake of outward movement from Kochi to Whitefield ICD (Inland Container Depot) in Bangalore.

“Railways’ earning through container freight comes from outward movement which does not happen here. Trains coming to the ICTT return with empty rakes,” said P L Ashok Kumar, Railways’ area manager in Kochi.

“Even on July 6, a train which came fully loaded from Bangalore returned with an empty rake, after waiting for an additional day in anticipation of cargo,” he said.

The railway line link was constructed by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL). The 8.86-metre rail link has the longest rail bridge in the country, spanning 4.62 km, over Kochi’s iconic Vembanad Lake. The project also has four smaller bridges, built on 1.2 diameter piles driven to an average depth of 55 metres.

Work on the project began in June 2007 and was completed in record time in two years overcoming all hurdles.

The funds for the project was allotted by the Government of India through the Ministry of Shipping. RVNL constructed it and handed over to the Railway.

Commissioned in February 2011 with a capacity to handle 1 million TEUs annually, the ICTT has not touched this figure yet. As per statistics available with the Cochin Port Trust, the parent organisation of the ICTT, the volume of containerised cargo handled at ICTT has fallen by 10 per cent during the first 45 days of the current fiscal in comparison to the same period in the last fiscal.

In the first 14 days of June, the situation was even more pathetic with the growth-rate registering a steep fall by 20 per cent. The terminal had registered a negative growth of 5 per cent in the first ten days of January 2012, compared to the same period in the financial year 2010-11.

from newindianexpress: http://newindianexpress.com/cities/k...icle569900.ece