SCI set to get a chief, finally

After a wait of about 13 months, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is set to get a new chairman, with the appointments committee of the Cabinet giving a go-ahead to the selection of Arun K Gupta for the job. Gupta is currently director-offshore services, SCI. The shipping ministry will notify the company about the new appointment in a week.

Senior officials said with the appointment, the decision-making process in the company would get expedited.

In August 2012, the Public Enterprises Selection Board had selected Sunil Thapar, director for bulk and tanker, as chairman and managing director, but the Central Vigilance Commission stalled the selection over pending vigilance cases. Following the delay, B K Mandal, director (finance), was made interim chairman in January 2013, after S Hajara retired in December 2012.  

Earlier, Hajara was given a one-year extension, as the ministry could not finalise his successor.

SCI, which owns a third of the shipping fleet in India, has been struggling for the past few years, mainly due to a decline in freight rates and an oversupply of vessels in the market. The company could also not tap into the offshore services sector unlike many of its rivals, denting its balance sheet further. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 1,14.3 crore in 2013.

Last year, a parliamentary standing committee on transport, headed by Sitaram Yechury, had pointed out the company was expected to go the Air India way, unless it cut costs and run in a professional manner. The panel said the company acquired a number of vessels when prices were very high, affecting its fortunes.

SCI has also struggled to take advantage of the various memorandum of understanding (MoUs) it had signed with big public sector companies, including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Coal India Limited  and Steel Authority of India Limited. These MoUs could have helped the company with assured cargo and helped it through the downturn in the sector. SCI is now in talks with ONGC to form a joint venture to tap into offshore services.