Page 4 - Ports

Port, dock workers' unions defer indefinite strike scheduled from Wednesday

Port and dock workers' unions of major ports have deferred their indefinite strike proposed from Wednesday, official sources said on Tuesday. The decision came after an agreement between representatives of workers' unions and ports management on workers' demands at a marathon meeting in the national capital on Tuesday, they said. At a national coordination committee meeting in Tuticorn (Tamil Nadu) on August 8, major port workers' unions affiliated to five federations decided to go on an indefinite strike from August 28 to press for immediate wage revision and other benefits, pending for nearly 32 months. Subsequently, strike notices were served by the unions to administrators of the respective ports on August 12. "The federations have agreed to postpone the proposed strike from August 28," a top port official said. As part of the agreement, the fitment benefit of 8.5 per cent on the aggregate amount of basic pay as on December 31, 2021, plus 30 per cent cent VDA as on January 1,

Major ports invite workers for discussion next week ahead of strike call

Major ports operators have invited representatives of the ports and dock workers' unions for a discussion in New Delhi on Tuesday next week to avert an indefinite nationwide strike call given by employee federations from August 28, a source said on Friday. The worker unions at a national coordination committee meeting in Tuticorn (Tamil Nadu) on August 8 decided to strike work indefinitely from August 28 to press for immediate settlement of wage revision and benefits, pending for more than two years. Subsequently, strike notices were served to the administrators of the respective ports on August 12. Meanwhile, Mumbai Port Authority Chairman, Rajeev Jalota, told PTI that a meeting of the Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee has been called in the national capital on August 28 to consider the workers' joint charter of demands. Jalota is also the chairman of the Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee. "We have already started deliberations with the workers' representatives. We have .

JN Port to scale up handling capacity to over 10 mn TEUs by April

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said that the container handling facility at Jawaharlal Nehru Port is being scaled up to 10 million TEUs. Speaking with reporters after reviewing various infrastructure and development projects at the port, the minister also said that the upcoming Vadhvan Port in the Palghar district of Maharashtra would generate 10 lakh jobs in the region. To be built as an all-weather port, the greenfield deep draft mega port will come up at an investment of Rs 76,200 crore. The minister said JNPA soon will have a container handling capacity of around 10 million TEUs. A senior JNPA official said that the container handling capacity currently stands at 7.4 million TEUs, which will go up to 10.4 million TEUs by April next year. Sonowal said that Jawaharlal Nehru Port has become the first 100 per cent landlord port in the country, adding that, "accordingly we are aiming for bigger and bigger ships at this facility."

Indian port workers to go on strike to demand better wages, benefits

Around 20,000 workers are part of the group of port workers' unions, and all of them would join the strike, said Sathya Narayanan, a senior union member

Port workers' union call for strike to demand better wages, benefits

A strike by India's port workers could exacerbate the existing congestion issues at Asian and European ports, leading to further delayed shipments

Indian ports make bunkering activity gains amid Red Sea crisis: S&P

Bunkering activity and STS calls at the country's ports increased 64 per cent Y-o-Y between January and July 2024, stated S&P Global Commodity Insights

India adds two more ports for export of essential commodities to Maldives

India has announced two additional ports for the export of essential commodities from India to the Maldives for the financial year of 2024-25.The two new ports announced are namely: Kandla Sea (INIXY1) and Vishakhapatnam Sea (INYTZ1)."Government of India has announced the inclusion of two additional ports for export of essential commodities from India to the Maldives for FY 2024-2025," the Indian High Commission in Maldives said in a post on X.Kandla and Vishakhapatnam Customs Sea ports have been added to the list of ports allowed for Export of Essential Commodities. This is in addition to four ports which were already in use."In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 read with Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act. 1992. read with paragraph 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, as amended from time to tone, the Central Government hereby amends Notification No 06/2023 dated 15 04 2024 incorporating (2) additional Ports for Export of

Two armed robberies reported in Indian ports, anchorages in H1 2024

The situation in India's ports and anchorages has remained relatively stable, with two incidents of armed robbery against ships reported from January to June 2024, a regional maritime agency said on Wednesday. Comparatively, there were three incidents in the Indian ports and anchorages last year, said Krishnaswamy Natarajan, executive director of the Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia. He pointed out that all such robberies involved stealing nominal items and in some cases engine spares and scrap metals which are in demand in the black market. A total of 12 incidents of armed robbery against ships took place in the Indian Ocean Region from January to June 2024, he told PTI on Wednesday at the released Half-Year Report (JanuaryJune 2024) on Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships (ARAS) in Asia by the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC). The majority of these incidents, 10, happened in Bangladesh ports and ..

'JSW Infra to reassess strategy for Tajpur port if it comes for re-bidding'

Indicating that the company is still interested in the mega Tajpur deep sea port in West Bengal, JSW Infrastructure Ltd said that it remains open to re-evaluate its strategy for the project "if the project comes for re-bidding", a senior official said. JSW Group had failed to emerge as the winning bidder in the last tendering round, where Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) had emerged as the L1 bidder in October 2022, and a Letter of Intent to Award (LOIA) was handed over to the company. However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's announcement at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in November 2023 that a tender would soon be launched for the development of the port. This has led to a cloud of uncertainty around the mega deep-sea port project. Banerjee had announced that the proposed deep-sea port at Tajpur is ready for tender, which would attract an investment of USD 3 billion or Rs 25,000 crore. JSW Infrastructure Joint Managing Director and CEO Arun Maheswari told PTI: "We will

JSW Infra buys 70.4% stake in logistics firm Navkar Corp for Rs 1,013 cr

An open offer will be made to the rest of the shareholders of Navkar Corporation which will cost around Rs 412.17 cr

Vadhavan Port: India's first mega port set to boost sea-based trade

The Vadhavan port, which the Cabinet cleared this week, will be India's first to begin life as a mega port. What does that mean for the country's share of sea-based trade?

Greenfield port in Maharashtra to be integral part of IMEC: Vaishnaw

Calling the decision a milestone, Vaishnaw stressed that Vadhavan port will have a major multiplier impact on India's economic growth in the future

Cabinet clears Rs 76,200 cr for development of Maha's greenfield major port

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the development of a Rs 76,200 crore all-weather greenfield deep draft major Port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, according to an official statement. The statement said the project will be constructed by Vadhavan Port Project Limited (VPPL), an SPV formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), with a shareholding of 74 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively. The port will be one of the top 10 ports in the world, the statement said. The project will create employment opportunities for 12 lakh people, I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a press briefing. The port will comprise nine container terminals, each 1,000 metres long, four multipurpose berths, including the coastal berth, four liquid cargo berths, a Ro-Ro berth, and a Coast Guard berth.

9 Indian ports among top 100 in Container Port Performance Index 2023

As many as nine ports of India have made it to the global top 100 rankings in the latest edition of Container Port Performance Index, an official statement said on Wednesday. The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), developed by World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, measures the resilience, efficiency and overall performance of the Ports. While Visakhapatnam Port made it to the top 20 ports of the World at 19 in 2023, Mundra Port also climbed up the index at 27 in the current ranking. According to the statement, Visakhapatnam Port has showcased strong performance with 27.5 moves per crane hour, a turnaround time (TRT) of 21.4 hours, and minimal berth idle time. These metrics highlight the port's efficiency in handling container ships and significantly influence customer preference. Seven other Indian ports, which secured ranks in the top 100, are Pipavav (ranked 41 in the list), Kamarajar (47), Cochin (63), Hazira (68), Krishnapatnam (71), Chennai (80) and Jawaharlal .

Rs 76,000-cr Vadhavan Port project in Maharashtra gets Cabinet approval

Rs 7,453 cr viability gap fund for offshore wind energy projects okayed

Adani Ports signs 30-year concession pact to operate Tanzania Port Terminal

The concession agreement for 30 years has been signed with the Tanzania Ports Authority

Centre targets Rs 10,000 crore from monetisation of ports in FY25

Looks to monetise assets worth Rs 10,000 crore in FY25

EAM Jaishankar recalls contribution of Prez Raisi in Chabahar port pact

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that due to the interest and initiative of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, "we were actually able to finalise a long-term agreement" on the crucial Chabahar port. Raisi, Abdollahian and a number of other officials were found dead on Monday, a day after their helicopter crashed in northwest Iran, the country's media reported. In response to a query on the Chabahar port during an interaction held at the Delhi Tamil Education Association-run school here, Jaishankar said, "We have been trying for almost 20 years now... to have an agreement with Iran." "We could have like a short-term agreement... the two people who unfortunately died yesterday in a helicopter crash, the president of Iran and the foreign minister of Iran, because of their interest and their initiative, we were actually able to finalise a long-term agreement which is very important because if you look today, one of the big

Ministry aims for 80% landlord model at major ports by 2030: Ramachandran

The shipping ministry is working to shift to an 80 per cent landlord model by the end of this decade to increase efficiency and reduce logistics costs at major ports, a senior government said on Saturday. In the landlord model, private players take over the operational aspects, while the port authority acts as a regulator and landlord. Speaking at CII Annual Business Summit 2024, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Secretary TK Ramachandran said Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) has become the first major port of the country to become 100 per cent landlord port, having all berths being operated on PPP model. The PPP (public-private partnership) model is considered an effective tool for attracting investment in the port sector. "We have 12 major ports, and we have a huge capacity...we want to shift to an 80 per cent landlord model by the end of this decade," Ramachandran said. He further said the four pillars that the Shipping ministry is working on to improve the cost and ease of doing busin

Shipment of raw materials from AGPL resumes for Vizag steel plant

In a relief for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), shipment of essential raw material from Adani Gangavaram Port Ltd (AGPL) has resumed, said an official on Friday. Shipment of raw materials such as coking coal, limestone and others, which are key for making steel, had been disrupted since April 12. Atul Bhatt, chairman and managing director (CMD), VSP, which is also known as Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), thanked all the stakeholders for resolving the impasse which crippled the industry for more than a month. "Bhatt extended his heartfelt gratitude to all the stakeholders who played a crucial role in resolving the crisis of transportation of essential raw material from AGPL to RINL," a press release from the steel plant said. He said their collective efforts have been instrumental in ensuring the continuity of RINL operations and sustaining economic growth in the region. On May 8, nearly 1,000 RINL employees marched to the nearby Gangavaram port to plead with its agitating emplo