Celebrating Piracy and Criminalisation of seafarer

For seafarers who turned up for the National Maritime week celebrations seminar at the auditorium of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Mumbai on 1st April, 2009 their hope of finding some solution to the heart-wrenching problems of piracy and criminalisation of seafarers turned out to be a hoax. The deliberations did not give the slightest hope of the threat abating nor any promise being extended by the government as if signifying what the day April 01,09 was meant to be. No one could fathom what F or seafarers who turned up for the National Maritime week celebrations seminar at the auditorium of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Mumbai on 1st April, 2009 their hope of finding some solution to the heart-wrenching problems of piracy and criminalisation of seafarers turned out to be a hoax. The deliberations did not give the slightest hope of the threat abating nor any promise being extended by the government as if signifying what the day April 01,09 was meant to be. No one could fathom what further relevance these two issues had for the celebration week besides a number of events that had already taken place focusing on the same issues including the one conducted by the Directorate and graced by the union shipping secretary, A. P. V. N. Sarma.

More appalling still was the moderator of the two panels, the Lloyd Lists' correspondent Shirish Nadkarni making a surprise announcement,

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Niche segments can buck economic downtrend

India Maritime 2009 came this year in the very midst of the economic downturn, when most players in the field of shipping and maritime trade are found grappling with divergent and challenging issues, trying to find their bearings and get their feet on the ground. Getting into the vortex of such burning issues, the conference and the networking that later ensued, focused squarely on solutions thrown up by various studies and experiences of experts in the field. The resultant effect was an eye opener.… Eureka!

Held the on March, 5th & 6th 2009 at the Orchid, Mumbai the conference catered mainly to a very select gathering which is focused on getting into the recovery mode. Patterned to help think 'outside the box' most of the deliberations helped to identify virgin territories where the harvest is promising enough to help industry players wriggle out of the recessionary conduit.

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Mediterranean Shipping Company conference holds an edge

The two-day conference of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) held at the J. W Marriott, Mumbai on 30th and 31st January 2009 was akin to a home coming for the officers of the ship board staff where opportunities abounded for exchanging notes and sharing experiences both with fellow colleagues, ship owners and the management. The occasion coincided with the inauguration of the Training Institute held earlier on the 3rd floor of MSC House, on the Andheri-Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai.

At the outset Mr N Petroyannis, the chief guest representing MSC Geneva, Mr Ashok Jha, Managing Director of MSC Ship Management, Capt Nitin S Hardi, Director, MSC Ship Mgmt India and Capt M P Basin, General Manager, MSC Ship Mgmt India and other top dignitaries lit the traditional lamp.

Thereafter, an enthusiastic welcome was extended by Capt Hardi who was moved by the warm response from the dignitaries, guests and all seafarers who had made it convenient to attend the programme from various parts of India and Hong Kong.

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Dufferin, Rajendra and Chanakya Ex Cadets Association's magnetic power of reunion

Home coming brings in cheer for it is time to renew friendships, catch up from where one left off, but when it comes to DRACEA's annual meet it is indeed a walk down memory lane for the alumnus 'buddies' of their alma mater who make it a point to come together over cocktails and dinner at the Willingdon Sports Club, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai.

With their tribe growing, despite the continuing recession and the economic downturn, members of the Dufferin, Rajendra and Chanakya Ex Cadets Association (DRACEA) have always looked forward to the big union generally held on the last Saturday of November of each year but last year's function had to be re-scheduled to the 17th of January of this year on account of the terrorist holocaust that brought most of the perennial social and commercial activities in Mumbai to a temporar y standstill.

Though DRACEA's membership has shot up to around 6,000 it is remarkable to see several of these ex-cadets despite having settled in various quarters of the globe, making it to the venue year after year whatever the distance they have to traverse.

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Spar Shipping Officer's Conference at Goa

Spar Shipping Officers' conference took place on 20th and 21st November 2008 at Hotel Cidade- de Goa, located in North Goa. This was a part of the continuous effort of Spar Shipping to upgrade the quality of performance in order to provide a totally client-driven service.

Dignitaries from Spar Shipping, Fleet Management and others attended the two day agenda which was interspersed with business sessions cultural and leisure programmes to regale the participants and to provide them with a very different interaction platform where they could freely discuss their views on various issues. Amongst the top brass dignitaries who attended the seminar, were Capt Pritish Deshpande (Marine Operations Manager) and Mr. Magnar Bratholmen (Operations Manager) from Spar Shipping AS, Norway, Mr Dilip Nair (Director Technical) and Capt M Sathya, (Manager Quality & Safety) from Fleet Management Ltd., Hong Kong and Capt Prashant Rangnekar (General Manager) from Ebony Ship Management Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, India.

Commencing the programme with his opening address and introduction Capt. P . S. Rangnekar explained the role and the objective of the company.

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MV Stolt Valor hijacked - 18 Indians on board

As a families of 18 Indians aboard hijacked vessel MV Stolt Valor wait with fingers crossed, the ships Mumbai based manning agent said the ship's master had sent email on Thursday informing that " the crew had been confined to the ship's wheelhouse but were being allowed to attend to their daily needs. But, only under the close supervision of the hijackers.

According to the family of the Dehradun-based master, P k Goyal he had also called his residence on Thursday.

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Castrol Competition takes centre stage at MERI

The country' only Competition extravaganza in the maritimes sector took centre stage at the Marine Engineering & Research Institute, Mumbai on September 16, 2008. Keenly contest by cadets from leading marine engineering institutes the contest was organised by the MERI, Mumbai in collaboration with M/s. Castrol India Ltd. Over the years the annual event has seen the competition gaining in popularity drawing in larger numbers of participants and spectators.

The chief guest and chief judge for the occasion Mr. M.V.Ramamurthy, president of Reliance Shipping lauded the participants who made excellent presentations of Technical Papers.

All the judges noted the high standard of the presentation and expressed happiness over the quality of the papers. The contest has seen a marked improvement over the previous years besides greater participation. However they insisted that the cadets should put in more efforts to keep improving the presentations further.

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Awareness on safety and training

Important issues came up for consideration at the recent meetings of the various committees of the International Maritime Organisation. India made a strong bid to bring in several constructive changes especially with regard to STCW convention and the maritime safety. In order to bring people of the trade up to date on the decisions taken an Awareness Seminar was organised at the MTI auditorium of the Shipping Corporation of India, Powai, Mumbai, on June 2 1, 2008.

Mr. Dilip Mehrotra, Deputy Chief Surveyor with the Government of India head of the delegation presented a broad outline about the amendments that were made and other issues that came up for discussion. He explained why the STCW needed to be updated and what was the final outcome.

The amendments on training were presented by Capt M. C. Yaday, Director (Training) of FOSMA. He informed that the major concern of the member countries was with regard some seafarers who were possessing fraudulent certificates. The 27 countries representing the European Union insisted that the certificates be endorsed and attested by the flag states. India desired that in the event of any detection of fraudulent certificates the flag state should be informed. This proposal was accepted.

Capt Yaday informed that a review of the principles for establishing the safe manning levels of ships would be undertaken but there was no likelihood of any major change being effected. On the offshore side the certification of tugs, dredgers, work boat, etc. was proposed and it has been agreed that competency standards would be fixed for electrical, electronic, electro technical officers and taken up at the next meeting. He also mentioned that Model Training courses with regard LNG, ship ballast water, communication & leadership skills, fatigue prevention, mitigation and management, ship sanitation, marme environment awareness and on security matter were on the anvil.

A major issue that came up for discussion was consumption of alcohol and drugs. Since the ship was not only a work place but also a home for the seafarers, countries insisted that alcohol consumption not be banned however, drugs have been banned.

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ProLogis rnakes entry through JV with K Raheja

The logistics sector is set to get a major boost with ProLogis the world's largest logistic and warehousing developer having made an entry into India through a 50:50 joint venture with leading real estate developer, K Rajeha Corp, for the development of warehousing and logistic Infrastructure in the country. The JV intends to invest around Rs 2300 crore over the next 3 years for acquisition of land, development of properties and management of assets.

The venture will initially focus on securing development opportunities in the cities Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Pune which are among the fastest growing locations for distribution operations in India. It is expected to develop 7.5 million sq. ft. in the next 3 years and a total of 25 million sq. ft. with the next 5 years.

The logistics sector is set to get a major boost with ProLogis - the work's largest logistic and warehousing developer having made an entry into India through a 50:50 joint venture with leading real estate developer, K Raheja Corp, for the development of warehousing and logistic Infrastructure in the country.

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45th National Maritime day goes into history

The main function of the 45th National Maritime Day held at the YB Chavan Centre on April 05, 2008 in Mumbai became an auspicious event with soul searching for the players in the shipping arena while garnering the opportunities which the economic boom offered. Mr. Anwar-Ul-Hoda, Member, Planning Commission, the chief guest at the function came out in support of the Indian maritime sector offering a new direction which he felt, if pursued with renewed vigour would serve as a driver to the Indian economy.

"India is on the way to becoming an economic power, and the situation has changed in the past 40 years. Today, we know that India is a super power in the making," stated Mr Ul-Hoda.

"Shipping belongs to the service sector and this has grown at the rate of 9%, well ahead of the industrial growth which was pegged at around 8.5%. India is regarded as a leading exporter of commercial services which have grown three fold over the four years spanning 2002 to 2006, when it registered 3.72% growth. Shipping being an important constituent sector of transport, economists have come to the conclusion that India does not have a competitive edge in transport.

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The need to hype sea life glamour

The dire shortage of ship board officers world wide which is set to increase literally got the captains of the Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions who came together for the GlobalMET seminar racking their brains trying to figure out how best to overcome the problem. The organisers - the Global Maritime Education and Training Association (GlobalMET) - prudently selected the theme 'A Rewarding Career at Sea and Beyond ...a Challenge for MET' for the March I5, Mumbai seminar with the hope of coming up with some satisfactory answers.

The captains of the Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions who came together for the GlobalMET seminar which was held at the MTI auditorium of Shipping Corporation of India at Powai, Mumbai discussed the dire straits the shipping industry finds itself in with the officer shortage.

GlobalMET also known as the Global Maritime Education & Training Association comprises of over 100 members in 33 countries formed with the objective to promote,

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