GTI launches state of the art 'Talent development centre' on its campus

To speed the momentum of developing world class workforce, GTI has established the 'Talent development centre'- a fully equipped, state of the art training facility on its campus. This center was inaugurated by Mr. Dinesh Lal, Director- Gateway Terminals India. Also present on the occasion were Jose Santiago, Regional HR Head, APMT and Robert Tetteroo, Regional Head Training & Development, APMT.

Set on the GTI campus, the training centre is designed to provide hands on experience of work in the terminal environment for developing world-class maritime professionals. It houses automated systems, latest Audio Video systems, two Training rooms having total seating capacity of 55 people and an IT training laboratory. Designed in vibrant colors, this facility provides motivating ambience to facilitate learning.

“At GTI we believe in bringing out the best in people by providing modern training facilities and programs,” said Arvind Bhatnagar, GTI's CEO.

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Inland waterways to get a boost

Plans are underway to give a big boost to shipping activity in the inland waterways. Cashing on the tourism boom and the numerous mega power projects set to come up the government is putting in place several measures that will also see river tourism taking a higher growth trajectory.

Officials are certain of getting excellent results since water transport is fuel efficient, environment friendly and a cheaper mode of transport than road and rail. Besides, India is richly endowed with navigable waterways, comprising rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. An estimated 14,544 km of the waterways could be used for passenger and cargo movement. At present 44 million tonnes of cargo is being moved annually by inland water transport (IWT) it comprises only 0.5% of the domestic cargo traffic.

But when it comes to cruise tourism, the states in the North East through which the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Yamuna flow and those of the South including Goa and Kerala have stolen a march

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Ships for emergencies

Terrible things sometimes happen on earth. Natural disasters are regrettably a regular feature, and if not all are of the size and scale of the Indian Ocean tsunami, they can cause catastrophic harm to local populations. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, if they are near large populations, can be devastating.

People caught up in these disasters require external help, both in the immediate rescue operation and in the subsequent clear-up as the survivors come to terms with the practical problems of recovery. And while aircraft and helicopters will be useful, it is ships which will be able to provide the real weight and impetus in any such major emergency, if it is reasonably close to the sea.

Thus, with the widespread devastation of the Tsunami, it was ships that were needed to provide large scale medical assistance, the heavy earth moving and lifting equipment that could clear roads and airstrips, and supply the huge tonnages of goods needed by survivors for their daily requirements.

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Designing integrated transport systems

Like motherhood and apple pie, "integrated" transport is seen today to be eminently desirable and we cannot understand why it is so difficult to achieve.

What could be more logical, than to ensure that one's goods are carried from their origin to their destination in a smoothly functioning transport chain, so that the lorry meets the train and the train the ship at the other end of the ocean passage and the same smooth junction is accomplished in reverse?

It is tremendously desirable, not least because of the cost savings and convenience, but it is not as easy as it appears on paper.

Just consider getting to work and the problems that may arise when the bus and train and tube don't mesh smoothly and there is a long wait at station and bus stop, while, to make matters worse, the bus company won't accept the train company tickets.

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Orient Express Ship Management Seminar up-grades Ratings on Safety

Fully committed to providing a career path for its ratings, Orient Express Ship Management (OESM) once again conducted a one-day 'Safety Training Seminar' for its crew members. Unlike other ship manning companies, this is the 3rd time in succession that OESM has organized such an event exclusively for ratings in a luxuriant and lush environment of 'Hotel Oasis' at Chembur on September 26, 2008.

It is a known fact that OESM has always encouraged and motivated ratings to become officers. In fact more than a dozen such candidates have already become officers and are now proudly sailing on OESM vessels as Deck Officers. These and other measure the company has embarked on clearly indicates that OESM is totally devoted to promoting the cause of their floating staff.

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Getting set for the mega container traffic growth

Mr. S.S. Hussain, Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) flagged off the 3rd Southern Asia Ports, Logistics and Shipping 2008 India conference and exhibition at Hotel Leela Kempinski on September 23 and 24, 2008. It brought together a much larger number of participants and exhibitors than the earlier events. Organised by Transport Events the occasion served as a purposeful forum to present the up-to-date global container transportation scenario and its impact on shipping and trade.

In his keynote address Mr. Hussain contended that the port sector has been identified as the prime catalyst to accelerate the process of industrialization, international trade and economic progress. Port development and economic development are mutually related. On the one hand economic development necessitates port development as a part of infrastructure development and on the other, port development itself facilitates import-export and attracts industries to its hinterland, which, in turn, create forward and backward linkages with the rest of the economy.

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Offshore supply vessels

Offshore supply or "support" vessels are absolutely essential to the operations of the offshore oil and gas industry, and without them it just could not exist. These robust and versatile vessels carry all the supplies that an offshore ng or platform needs to keep going, the drilling equipment, the mud, tubulars and cement and the spare machinery, the oil and lubricants and, of course, the food and water a platform with sometimes several hundred men aboard, will consume as it lies several hundred miles beyond the shore.

Supply boats have to be able to keep going in all weathers and have been described as one of the last refuges for old-fashioned seamanship. They are tug-shaped vessels with a high foredeckand usually two powerful diesels.

Cargo is carried on the flat after deck, and in tanks below this , and the job of the master is to back down on a rig or platform, seeking what shelter he can and hold the ship as steady as he is able, while whirly cranes on the rig pluck the cargo off the deck.

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Two piracies in a week

Somali pirates on September 18, morning captured a Sinotrans bulk earner, just hours after the seizure of a Greek ship of the same vessel type in Somali waters.

The latest victim is the 27,000 dwt Great Creation, with a reported 25 seafarers on board, including 24 Chinese nationals and a Sri Lankan master. The Hong Kong Tunisia to Pipavav in India.

That attack came after the earlier hijack of 1977-buiit 12,612 dwt Centauri, carrying a crew of 25 Filhpinos, which was heading for Mombasa after a call in Ethiopia.

The International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur confirmed that both ships have formally been reported as taken by pirates, but was unable to add further details.

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Anchors and anchoring

Anchors represent a vital part of the ship's equipment, enabling a vessel to stop safely in one place, riding to an anchor dug in to the sea bed. It is both operational and safety equipment, being used in the former role when a ship needs to wait off a port until a berth is available, or indeed to load cargo in a road stead where it is not possible to go alongside a quay. The anchor can be used as a brake as a vessel approaches a berth, slowing the ship down while the engines are still pushing water over the rudder and enabling a good control to be kept over movement.

As a safely aid, the anchors might be thought of as the "last resort" of a broken-down ship being blown onto a coast by an onshore wind. Anchors have entered our language - we talk of a reliable friend as our "sheet anchor", our beliefs are "anchored " by fact. They have been used since ancient times and they remain just as important m a modern mechanically propelled ship.

A modern ship will conventionally have two anchors in the bow and often a stern anchor, which is mandatory in the St. Lawrence Seaway and some other navigations.

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Why is shipping such a mystery industry?

Unless you work in the shipping industry , or perhaps have a relalive who does, the chances are you will know very little about the shipping industry.

Ships don't tend to come into the centres of big cities any more, being banished to the deeper terminals out in the estuary on account of their great size. With very few exceptions such as Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 , ships have also become anonymous.

As this series has pointed out, there are more ships and shipping in the world than there ever has been , the industry growing coincidentally and proportionately with world trade, but it has also become some what depopulated.

A single large containership with fewer than 20 people aboard could be replacing, on account of her size and extraordinary productivity up to twenty general cargo ships of thirty years ago , and the thousand seafarers that manned them.

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