Truckers of Odisha’s mine areas demand freight rate hike

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Truckers of Odisha’s mine areas demand freight rate hike

10th july 2018

Truck owners transporting minerals from Joda mining area of Keonjhar district have sought the intervention of the State Government for upward revision of transportation costs.
Truck and tipper owners have been demanding a rise in freight rates for vehicles engaged in transportation of minerals since February. Even after several rounds of discussion with transporting agencies, mine owners and plant owners, their demand has not been conceded to.
“The present freight rate is practically unfeasible and day by day tipper owners are debilitating financially. The transporters are not in a position to continue operation any more,” said Mining Area Truck Owners Association joint secretary Satyananda Karua.He said the transportation rate was last revised on May 17, 2017. Meanwhile, the diesel price has reached a new high and the cost of vehicle insurance has also increased.
The association has made several representations to Keonjhar Collector, transporting agencies and the mine owners. However, the matter has remained unresolved. Truck and tipper owners suspended transportation of minerals for a couple of days in the first week of this month protesting non-revision of freight rates. However, they resumed operation following assurance from the association that their demands will be met soon.
As many as 3,500 tippers of about 2,100 owners are engaged in mineral transportation which provide livelihood to 7000 families of drivers and helpers. Around 40,000 people residing in the mining areas directly and indirectly depend on the transportation business. The truckers are transporting minerals to railway sidings, sponge iron and steel plants. Drawing the attention of the State Government to the issue, the association has threatened to suspend mineral transportation, if its demand is not fulfilled.
As the Railways has failed to meet the wagon requirement for transportation of minerals, the sponge iron manufacturers of the State have to depend on truckers and this add to their manufacturing cost. Meanwhile, the Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association (SIMA) has urged state government to take up the issue with the Railway Ministry.
Source: THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

Indian government to relax curbs on Indian firms chartering foreign ships

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Indian government to relax curbs on Indian firms chartering foreign ships

10th july 2018

The Ministry of Shipping is clearly in reform mode. On the heels of the recent relaxation of the cabotage law, which allows foreign flag vessels to operate in Indian waters, it is now set to allow Indian players to charter foreign flag carriers without any pre-conditions.
At present, a foreign ship is allowed to be chartered only — among other conditions — if a suitable Indian ship is unavailable for that purpose at reasonable charter rates.
In fact, the entire chartering rule book is set to see a significant simplification. These measures will increase the shipping capacity in the country, bring down the cost of transportation along the coast and eventually encourage coastal shipping. At present, only 100 million tonnes of cargo is moved along the coast in India, and 80 per cent of it comprises petroleum products, coal and iron ore.
“While we were relaxing cabotage rules, we found restrictive practices in the chartering of foreign vessels. We need to correct this quickly,” Shipping Secretary Gopal Krishna told BusinessLine.
At present, the number of ships available at the right price to carry cargo (both domestic and export-import) along the coast is inadequate, thanks to which people take either the road or rail route. “Once we have ships available at cheaper rates, we will encourage coastal shipping and the overall logistics cost will reduce significantly,” Gopal Krishna said.
An ‘Uber’ for ships
The overall easing of chartering rules, he felt, would give a fillip to entrepreneurship in the sector.
“By opening up, we give chance to our entrepreneurs who do not have enough funds to buy ships to come into the business by chartering a vessel,” he said.
The idea is similar to cab aggregation, which does not require an entrepreneur to own vehicles. “Our attempt is to increase shipping capacity, and a lot of cargo will move on our coast,” he said.
Source: THE HINDU BUSINESSLINE

Vessel carrying U.S. coal to China switches destination to Singapore: Eikon data

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Vessel carrying U.S. coal to China switches destination to Singapore: Eikon data

10th july 2018

A vessel carrying a shipment of coal from the United States switched its destination to Singapore on Wednesday afternoon from China, according to ship tracking data, amid an escalating trade row between the world’s top two economies.
The cargo was loaded on the Navios Taurus in Mobile, Alabama, on May 28 and had been due to arrive in China on July 18, but is now due to land in Singapore on July 13, Thomson Reuters Eikon data shows.
It was one of several ships on their way to China that may end up casualties of the escalating trade dispute between China and the United States.
One of the other vessels, called Partnership, reached China on Tuesday.
China has threatened hefty import tariffs on 659 U.S. products. Duties will start on Friday on some 545 items, but the government has not specified when coal and the remaining products could be hit.
Source: REUTERS