Maritime Gateway Submits Recommendations to Ministry

Maritime Gateway,as part of fulfilling its commitment made during India Maritime Week,submitted recommendations to the Union Minister for Shipping Shri G K Vasan,at his office in New Delhi on March 1,2012.The recommendations,covering key concerns of the maritime industry,were compiled by the steering committee from the focused discussions held at India Maritime Week in New Delhi from January 17-21,2012.

The three-member delegation consisted Mr A Janardhana Rao,Managing Director,Indian Ports Association (IPA),Capt Dinesh Gautama,Advisor, Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA) and Mr Ramprasad Executive Director,Gateway Media.On the occasion,Minister was also presented with the special issue of India Maritime Week and proceedings DVD.

The Minister assured the delegation that the ministry would look into the recommendations and initiate appropriate action to address the issues raised.

Indian ports capacity up 1160 million tonne, says Minister as he reiterates that the government is all geared up for capacity creation for the future.

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India Maritime Week Takes Off in a Big Way

As India charts its voyage as the port of call for world trade, ports and terminals see the dire need to meet the growing demand in both infrastructure and capacity for vessels crisscrossing between the West and the East, said Union Minister of Shipping Shri G K Vasan. About 95 per cent of our overseas cargo by volume and 75 per cent by value are carried by sea.The major ports thus play a key role in facilitating external trade. Development of India's port and shipping industry is therefore critical to sustaining current levels and achieving higher levels of growth in the years to come,The minister reiterated at the inaugural of India Maritime Week in New Delhi.

The capacity of Indian ports stood at 1 billion metric tonnes per annum in the month of January, last year. The capacity has risen to 1160 million metric tonnes as on December 31, 2011.

Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, K Mohandas spoke about how the various maritime sectors in India need to come together under a common umbrella and how the government would respond and take matters further to cogent references from such a large platform. The country, of course, wants more investment, more technology, more ports and therefore, more maritime strength, he noted.

Capt P V K Mohan led the audience through a dynamic extempore delivery in his inimitable style, based on his vast range of experiences as a seafarer, technologist, domestic and global businessman and now as part of the establishment. No two countries could have a similar model, and what India needs, he said, was a reasonable mix of captive capacity and common user facilities in port infrastructure.

India Maritime Week provided the perfect platform for policy makers, decision makers and industry captains working across diverse spheres to share a common cause of development of the maritime sector. The conference deliberated on a number of issues ranging from equipment for handling huge loads and capacities, leverage technologies, enterprise resource planning to the international port perspective, the inland dimension, trends and changes in global freight flows.

The event that concluded on January 21 brought together national and global leaders, experts, policymakers, investors and all stakeholders in the field of maritime activity.