Shipping

New ports provide impetus for industry growth

SLFFA wants value added services:

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

The shipping industry growth will be fuelled by the development of port infrastructure which has been given high priority in the recent years.

A number of port development projects was in progress in 2009 such as the Colombo South Harbour Project, the Hambantota Port, the Oluvil Port and the Galle Port Development Project.

These will provide an impetus for the shipping industry growth, Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders Association (SLFFA) Chairman Tony de Livera said.

According to Central Bank statistics, the Colombo port handled 3.5 million (TEUs) and this was a contraction of 6 percent. Total cargo handled also decreased by 3.6 percent.

However, with the expanded operations in the ports during the fourth quarter, the sub-sector indicated signs of recovery, he said.

It is necessary to simultaneously ensure the development of value added services related to these ports like multi-country consolidation, transhipment and distribution hub centres that provide a host of services such as pick and pack, restoration, repacking and sorting.

This is the strategy that Singapore and Dubai have pursued with success as the mere development of airports will take many years to yield positive results to the country, he said.

The SLFFA through its commercial arm has already taken one small step in this area in the airport in the past 16 years and is very keen to work closely with the Government to help develop these value added areas.

As an industry we note that the USA and Europe markets have still to recover fully.

Consequently we are also concerned as to the potential adverse impacts that the withdrawal of GSP+ would have on our customers and ultimately on our industry. As an industry we would like to suggest that all stakeholders namely ports, airports, airlines, shipping lines, local transport and Customs work together to ensure that costs are reduced which would help the garment industry to be able to still compete effectively even if the GSP+ is withdrawn.

SLFFA is now operating through its own Secretariat located at the SLFFA Cargo Services premises.

The SLFFA re-launched its website and to coincide with the web launch, the Association also re-launched the newly designed and structured web-based system of the debtors’ database.

Members now have the opportunity of uploading their monthly debtors’ information directly to the database by using an individual password allocated to each member.

With this system, members can obtain relevant debtors’ information swiftly by using the allocated password, rather than having to coordinate with the Secretariat.

Over 50 percent of the membership is now uploading their debtors’ information through this web-based system which is a big increase in the number of members using this system when compared to the previous one, de Livera said.

CITL hunts for more women professionals

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport will form a young member association to attract more youth to the industry.

The industry has 550 qualified professionals which is an advantage to many sectors including manufacturing and distributing.

We have a program to attract school leavers and the young member association will facilitate this effort, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CITL) Sri Lanka Chairman Saliya Senanayake said.

There is a dearth in women professionals in the transport and logistics industry and it is necessary to increase their numbers by encouraging more women to this sector.

There will be 12 centres set up in India in the cities such as Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and koata building linkages with Sri Lanka’s CITL.

The institute works closely with the Government to bring professionalism to the industry.

The progress in the aviation industry will benefit the transport and logistics industry and a closer relationship will be of mutual benefit for both industries.

The CITL views Jaffna as a lucrative market and measures will be taken to produce more professionals from the region.

This will help capture the Indian market as well.

The institute strives to produce home based home grown professionals exposed to different geographies to enable Sri Lanka to be the launching pad for trade and logistics related activities, he said.

The country will be positioned as a logistics and transport centre and the institute will be proactive to the needs of the industry.

It will focus on corporate members and will initiate a corporate membership drive with a view to attract thirty members initially.

The institute will conduct productive interaction sessions to build a network where the CITL will act as the voice of the industry.

The CITL Sri Lanka will host the international management committee meeting this year. SJ

Global piracy down in 2010 but attackers’ range widens

High-seas attacks have declined this year thanks to international naval patrols, but Somali pirates are responding by venturing further afield, a maritime watchdog said Thursday.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recorded 196 incidents worldwide in the first six months of 2010, down from 240 in the same period a year ago, with 31 vessels hijacked, 48 fired upon and 70 boarded.

Attacks in the Gulf of Aden dropped from 86 in 2009 to 33 in the first half of this year, but incidents in the Somali basin and the wider Indian Ocean increased from 44 to 51.

“The actions of the navies in the Gulf of Aden have been instrumental in bringing down the attacks there. The Indian Ocean poses a different challenge,” IMB Director Captain P. Mukundan said in a statement.

Mukundan said Somali pirates have “continued to demonstrate their increased capability” by hijacking vessels further east and south of their usual hunting grounds.

An international armada patrols the Gulf of Aden — one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes — and the Indian Ocean in a bid to stop pirates from hijacking commercial vessels.

The IMB chief said that Indian Ocean patrols “should be applauded and sustained” but that it was also vital for vessels to help themselves by adopting industry recommendations to avoid attacks.

The IMB reported a significant drop in the number of reported incidents in Nigerian waters, where only six incidents were reported in the half-year although at least 10 others were suspected.

However, attacks in the South China Sea more than doubled during the period to 15. One vessel was hijacked, two fired upon and nine boarded, in addition to three attempted attacks.

“The IMB congratulates the Indonesian Navy for taking positive action in this area which has resulted in the cessation of the attacks. The IMB continues to monitor the situation,” it said. Piracy on the high seas rose to its highest level in six years in 2009, with 406 reported incidents, up from 293 in 2008. Kuala Lumpur, AFP

UAE boosts Seychelles anti-piracy force

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed a 15-million-dollar deal to boost the Seychelles’ coast guard and help combat Somali piracy, a statement said Thursday.

The UAE has agreed to fund the construction of new base on a reclamation area off the main island of Mahe for the Seychelles coast guard and provide it with five patrol boats, more than doubling the size of its fleet.

“Seychelles will be better equipped to fight pirates, and the new radar surveillance system will ensure the safe passage of fishermen and other maritime traffic,” Seychellois President James Michel said in the statement.

“We will be more capable in the detection of pirate skiffs and our readiness to respond will be amplified,” Michel said.

The announcement comes after an international symposium on piracy held in the Seychelles earlier this week.

Since the world’s naval powers started deploying warships to the Gulf of Aden in 2008 to protect the crucial waterway, Somali pirates have extended their reach further out in the Indian Ocean, notably affecting the Seychelles.

With international backing, the Seychelles — which has a population of 85,000 spread out over 115 islands — has taken a leading role in combatting Somali piracy, which threatens its vital fishing and tourism sectors. UAE, AFP