Mangaluru, May 1 () The New Mangalore Port Trust(NMPT) has extended a helping hand to daily wage labourersworking for the Indian Coast Guard here by providing reliefmaterials during the lockdown period.Coast Guard commander DIG S B Venkatesh, a member ofthe CSR committee of NMPT, thanked the port trust chairman A VRamana for the noble gesture.Venkatesh said the officers and personnel of the ICGwill contribute one day's basic pay from their monthly salaryfrom March till September towards the PM-CARES Fund.The public sector iron ore company KIOCL Limitedcontributed Rs 10.10 crore to the PM-Cares Fund as part of itscorporate social responsibility and also one-day salarycollectively by all the employees amounting to Rs 23.72 lakh,company chairman-cum-managing director M V Subba Rao said in arelease here.Besides this, the company deposited Rs 4.46 lakh tothe Food Corporation India for procuring 200 quintals of ricefor providing to migrant labourers in Dakshina Kannadadistrict, on a request from the DK Deputy Commissioner.KIOCL also distributed personal protectiveequipment(PPE) to healthcare workers and sponsored groceryitems to BPL card holders in the district. MVG SS

NMPT, KIOCL extend help to needy during lockdown

(Eds: Adding details) New Delhi, Mar 11 () India on Wednesday prohibited entry of any international cruise ship, crew or passenger with a travel history to coronavirus-hit countries post February 1, 2020 to its major ports till March 31. To prevent the spread of the deadly virus, the Ministry of Shipping said it will allow only such international cruise ships which had intimated their call to ports by January 1, 2020. "Only those international cruise ships which had planned and intimated their call to an Indian Port not later than 1st January, 2020 will be allowed to call on such port. "Any international cruise ship or any member of its crew or any passenger therein having a travel history of visiting any of the Covid-19 affected countries... since 1st Feb, 2020; will not be permitted to enter any Indian port till 31st March, 2020," the Ministry of Shipping said. The government said international cruise ships will be allowed only at ports having thermal screening facilities for passengers and crew members. If any passenger/crew member shows symptoms of coronavirus, disembarking will not be permitted, it added. Announcing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all international cruise ships which had intimated their call to major domestic ports in advance, the government said the shipping agent/master of vessel will have to submit all documents related to crew and passengers regarding their travel to/from Covid-19 affected countries. "All passengers and crew members will have to fill the Self Reporting Form as prescribed by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and submitted to Port Health Officer. PHO will carry out thermal screening of all the passengers and crew members on board ship. Until clearance by PHO, passengers will not be allowed ashore," the government said. No sick passengers/crew will be allowed to board the ship by shipping agent/master of vessel, it added. "If any passengers/crew show symptoms of the disease, disembarking of such passengers/crew will not be permitted. The passenger will be quarantined on the ship. "Samples of the patient will be collected and sent to designated hospital/lab for testing. If sample is tested positive, the passenger will be taken to the isolation facility attached to the Port and the ship will be asked to move out," the government said. If the sample is negative, the passengers and crew will be allowed to disembark. A declaration to follow this procedure will be taken from all ships before they are allowed to enter the port, it added. Further, it stressed that cruise ships need to take special measures to prevent coronavirus-affected patients to board the ships in the first place. This includes automatically denying boarding to cruise guests who have travelled through China, Hong Kong, Iran, South Korea and Italy and other affected countries in the past 14 days. It also stressed on mandatory screenings of persons with influenza-like illnesses at boarding port terminals and said all guests onboard have to fill out self-declaration health forms. It also underlined the need for regular sanitisation of ships. India has 12 major ports -- Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia). The government last month had directed all 12 major ports to immediately put in place screening, detection and quarantine system for disembarking seafarers and cruise passengers as a preventive measure against the coronavirus outbreak. The Ministry of Shipping had issued necessary directions to the 12 major ports to "place a screening, detection and quarantine system immediately for disembarking Seafarers or Cruise Passengers". Directions had also been issued to ports to procure N-95 masks as well as thermal scanners to screen passengers, besides obtaining self-declaration from arriving crews/passengers. India has reported 60 coronavirus cases so far. NAM ABM

India prohibits entry of cruise ships with travel history to coronavirus-hit nations till Mar 31

New Delhi, Apr 19 () To ensure smooth cargo operations at India's ports amid the coronavirus pandemic, the shipping ministry has sought the commerce ministry's intervention for issuing advisory for recognition of electronic trading documents instead of "manual trade documentation" still required by many departments and financial institutions. Citing bottlenecks caused in handling EXIM cargo on account of the current manual process, it sought the commerce ministry's intervention for issuing advisory to departments, including customs, and the Indian Banks Association for accepting 'electronically generated trade documentation'. India has 12 major ports -- Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) that handled nearly 705 million tonnes (MT) cargo in 2019-20. Citing challenges faced in handling of EXIM cargo, Shipping Secretary Gopal Krishna in a letter to Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said the inability of service providers such as courier agencies, general lockdown restrictions and the requirement of social distancing are causing severe impediment in issuance, delivery and despatch of physical format based trade documentation, which is directly impacting the release of import containers and cargo. Stating that the current manual process that requires surrender of original bill of lading (BL) at the shipping lines office, collection of paper invoice and payment by cash and collection of paper delivery order issued by then shipping line add up to 11.5 hours of person-to-person contact on an average, Krishna said it not only creates a high level of risk with the contagious nature of COVID-19 but results in considerable delays in release of cargo. Considering the present circumstances on account of COVID-19, the Indian Ports Association (IPA) under the aegis of the Ministry of Shipping has taken steps towards digitising some of trade related process through implementation of Port Community System (PCS), the letter said. PCS was launched in December 2018 and has managed to digitise the major part in port related activities including e-invoice, e-payment and and electronic delivery order (e-DO). Bill of lading (BL), a critical component, however is still missing and trade bodies under the umbrella of the Federation of Indian Logistics Association (FILA) have supported the IPA initiative of eBL and identified providers like CargoX, the letter mentions. "I would request you to consider issuing suitable guidelines and advisory consistent with international conventions on the subject to Departments as well as to Indian Bank Association for banks in India by accepting 'electronically generated trade documentation'. "Also, the 'stakeholders of the trade industry' such as carriers, exporters and importers can also be issued mandate to adopt and use such platforms for 'electronically generated trade documentation' including Bill of Lading (document of title) across stakeholders and across nations," the shipping secretary said. "Such a measure shall help ease the economic and humanitarian challenges and also encourage continuity of trade and also enable trade revival in future. This will also support the Ministry of Shipping and Ministry of Commerce in their efforts to ensure smooth flow of Export Import trade and release of import containers/cargo at various ports in India. Should the stakeholder or financial institutions or Departments require any support or assistance, they can reach out to Ministry of Shipping or the IPA," he added. The ministry also requested considering CargoX, a public block chain platform that provides the eBL solution and added that other solution providers of eBL like Tradelens, Wave, Bolero etc are explored for maritime EXIM cargo. The number of vessels handled by ports during 2019-20 was around 20,837, whereas during 2018-19, number of vessels handled was 20,853. The vessel traffic declined slightly by 0.08 per cent in comparison to last year. The major ports handle about 60 per cent of the country's total cargo traffic. NAM NAM ABMABM

COVID-19: Shipping Min seeks govt intervention for recognition of electronic trade documents

New Delhi, Apr 1 () To ensure adequate supply of cooking oil in the country, industry body SEA on Wednesday suggested various measures such as fast customs clearances for imported crude edible oil by exempting mandatory testing in food regulator FSS's approved lab at Baroda, Gujarat. It has sought electronic passes for transportation of crude and refined edible oils across the country without any hurdles at state borders. Ban on sale of loose edible oil, permission to buy oilseeds directly from farmers at factory gate and smooth movement of packaging and other raw materials required by processing units were also recommended by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA).The association's President Atul Chaturvedi has written a letter to Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Kumar Agarwal, suggesting ways to boost supply of edible oils.India's total consumption of edible oils is about 230 lakh tonnes, out of which domestic production is about 75 lakh tonnes and imports about 150 lakh tonnes. "Any dislocation in smooth flow of imported oils can have serious repercussions in the country," Chaturvedi said. He mentioned that a large quantity of crude edible oil is being imported at Kandla and Mundra ports on west coast."The issue is that FSSAI designated customs officers draw samples from ship tanks and send for testing at FSSAI approved laboratory at Baroda where the FSSAI designated laboratory tests the samples and provides reports."Only after the reports are received the imported oil is cleared by customs.With complete lockdown and restrictions on movement this situation results in inordinate delay disturbing supply chain big time," the letter said. To overcome this problem, Chaturvedi suggested that all crude edible oil vessels should be cleared immediately on a simple undertaking from importers that it would be sold only after refining.Alternately, he said there are certain NABL accredited laboratories at Kandla/Mundra whose services can be utilised to expedite things.The SEA said Kandla and Mundra ports handle 30-40 per cent imported crude edible oils and refined at processing units around these ports. Chaturvedi demanded national permit for multi-state transport of cooking oil, by issuing the electronic pass which should be respected by all state authorities."As a matter of fact we would suggest e-pass should be issued to all port based refineries likeKakinada, Krishnapatnam, Mumbai, Hazira, Haldia, Mangalore, Haldia, Kolkata, Tuticorin, Chennai and Paradeep etc," he said. Talking about domestic supplies, the SEA said currently edible oil units are partially functioning with 40-50 per cent capacity with all due precautions. "Demand has shifted to household )consumption ( small packs) hence supply of raw material/packing material to these units should be resolved," he said.The SEA President said that it was important that state border check posts should be adequately sensitised to allow passage of edible oil lorries /tankers without harassment. Empty returning lorries should also be allowed to pass unhindered."We would also suggest banning sales of loose edible oils to consumers to ensure safety in these difficult times," Chaturvedi said. "Currently, all marketing yards ( mandies ) are closed leading to shortage of raw material. We suggest, exempt oilseeds crushing /processing units (oil millers and solvent extraction units) from APMC to enable them to purchase oilseeds at their factory gate directly from farmers. This help the farmer to market his produce," the letter said. The SEA President opposed decisions by local authorities in some states to fix prices of cooking oils. MJH MKJMKJ

SEA suggests measures to ensure adequate cooking oil supply in country

NEW DELHI: <keyword id="45417" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Power">Adani Power</keyword> has acquired <keyword id="192578" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lanco-Infratech">Lanco Infratech</keyword>’s 1,200 mw Udupi thermal power plant in a Rs 6,000-crore transaction, marking the second mega deal in twoand-a-half weeks for the sector that is seeing a spurt of fund-raising and M&amp;A activity after being down in the dumps for years. 
 The deal, the largest in thermal power in terms of value and capacity, catapults the <keyword id="6367820" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Group">Adani Group</keyword>, already India’s biggest private sector power producer, to a bigger league with a capacity of nearly 10,000 mw while helping Lanco reduce debt. 
 
Lanco Infratech, which has a market capitalisation of Rs 2,054 crore, said it will receive Rs 2,000 crore in cash and transfer debt of about Rs 4,000 crore to Adani. 
 Adani pipped other bidders including Mumbai-based <keyword id="83507" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sajjan-Jindal">Sajjan Jindal</keyword> in the acquisition of the Udupi plant, which runs on imported coal and sells 90 per cent of the power to Karnataka and 10 per cent to Punjab. 
 Adani was also in the race for the Jaypee group’s hydropower portfolio, India’s largest, but lost out to <keyword id="9171" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anil-Ambani">Anil Ambani</keyword>’s <keyword id="6360089" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Power">Reliance Power</keyword> which signed the initial pact for the Rs 12,000-crore deal. After the Jaypee deal, ET had reported that Adani was aiming to acquire 5,000 mw of capacity. 
 
The sellers, in both cases, were driven by the need to pare debt that had ballooned in recent years when the power sector was in deep trouble, with many plants stranded due to lack of fuel, low tariffs and distribution bottlenecks. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40252663.cms" style="margin: 4px; float: left;" />However, the sector’s outlook has improved significantly after the change in government in May this year, increasing the appetite of potential buyers and prompting some sellers to seek higher valuation for their assets. 
 
In recent months, infrastructure firms raised about Rs 5,000 crore from qualified institutional placement (QIP), or share sales to institutional buyers. The flurry of transactions augur well for the sector and is expected to breathe life into so-called stranded assets -- power plants that are running below capacity on account of fuel shortages -- and repair distressed balance sheets of sellers. 
 Lanco and Adani said in a statement that the deal is valued at more than Rs 6,000 crore. Even before the transaction, Lanco had signed an agreement with the <keyword id="58906" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karnataka-government">Karnataka government</keyword> to expand capacity by a further 1,320 mw, to a total of 2,500 mw. 
 
Udupi is India’s first independent power project in the country based on 100 per cent imported coal with a captive jetty of 4 million tonnes per annum and an external coal-handling system located at Mangalore Port. The capacity can be expanded to handle another 4 million tonnes, Lanco said. 
 
"For Lanco Infratech, this transaction will support the company in reducing its debt and will enable Lanco to receive about Rs 2,000 crore as cash and additionally, Adani Power will take Udupi Power’s long-time debt of around Rs 4,000 crore," the statement said. 
 
As reported by ET, experts and industry players expect infrastructure companies to raise Rs 8,000-10,000 crore more through QIPs, initial public offering (IPO) and other equity sale. They also believe more deals in the renewable energy, thermal power and road sectors are in the pipeline as highly leveraged companies have been looking to sell stake in projects.

You Searched For "New Mangalore Port" and got 5 results

NMPT, KIOCL extend help to needy during lockdown

PTI

India prohibits entry of cruise ships with travel history to coronavirus-hit nations till Mar 31

PTI

COVID-19: Shipping Min seeks govt intervention for recognition of electronic trade documents

PTI

SEA suggests measures to ensure adequate cooking oil supply in country

PTI

Adani Power Buys Lanco Infratech’s Udupi Thermal Power Plant

ET