Shipping
Shipping sector: Story of neglect
``We are helpless. Go back to politicians and start lobbying, if you want to be heard.'' Words such as these are unexpected from a bureaucrat. But this seems to be the advice of the Indian Maritime Administration to shipowners, if one goes by the words o
f Mr D. T. Joseph, Director General of Shipping.
Shipping industry in perspective
INDIAN shipping is facing a declining growth trend, and its prospects appear uncertain, because of various recent developments. The shipping sector is now passing through a most critical phase, facing as it does a threat to its very survival, in an envir
onment where there appears to be not much concern about its vital importance to economic independence, the country and the critical role it can play, now and in the future, in the economic and trade growth.
Port cargo traffic up
THE cumulative cargo traffic at major ports in the first eleven months of the fiscal 2000-01 was 256.85 million tonnes (MT) against the target of 259.97 MT and 246.18 MT actually handled in the corresponding previous period. The traffic handled in this p
eriod recorded a 4.3 per cent increase over April-February 1999-2000, according to a government press release.
Ship-building industry needs shoring up
THE Union Government must act fast to provide a level-playing field for the country's ship-building and ship-repairing sectors in the wake of competition from foreign yards, according to a paper submitted at the convention of marine engineers held in Koc
hi recently.
Transport
Opportunities for multimodal operators
THE firms that have acquired expertise in multimodalism for handling project cargoes for the petroleum refineries are now looking for opportunities in non-refinery projects such as power plants or aluminum complexes. Else, the skills they have developed
will be rendered useless.
Nine consignments for Barauni refinery -- Despite bottlenecks, NW1 floats ODCs
THE authorities of Indian Oil Corporation's Barauni refinery, Samsung, the Korean industrial conglomerate, and others heaved a sigh of relief recently when nine packages of overdimensional cargoes (ODCs), required for the refinery's expansion programme,
arrived at the site without any major hitch.
