Shipping players benefit from new biz apart from 10-year high Baltic Dry
With Baltic Dry Index having hit 10-year high recently, Indian
shipping companies are
not just benefitting from high freight but also from increased trade with
Bangladesh and Vietnam, industry experts said today.
“Construction activity has picked up significantly in Bangladesh
as the country is focusing on infrastructure growth. Due to this, Indian
shipping companies are
witnessing increased cargo volumes with a lot of bulk raw material getting
shipped. This is going to be a long term trend as infrastructure push is
expected to continue,” Captain Rahul Bhargava, chief operating officer at Essar
Shipping told Business Standard.
Shipping Corporation of India, Great Eastern Shipping, Tolani
Shipping and Essar Shipping are into bulk carriers along with other segment
fleet in the domestic market.
“All vessels on spot charter will earn more and most companies keep a
combination of spot and contracted vessels, so the benefit would vary depending
upon the portfolio,” informed Anil Devli, chief executive officer at Indian
National Shipowner’s Association.
Another trade route, which has strengthened for India though a
seasonal one is export of rice to both Bangladesh and Vietnam.
“Export of rice has emerged as a new business for domestic
shipping companies in the last few weeks. We have already shipped close to
200,000 tonne rice to Vietnam and Bangladesh and another 150,000 tonne would be
shipped soon. This trend, however, is expected to be short-lived and would last
for another 2 months. But its new commodity for domestic shipping companies,” informed
Bhargava.
Meanwhile, with China switching its trading partners due to
geo-political issues, increased trade between the dragon country and South
Africa for bauxite and with the US for coal is also auguring well with tonne
miles going up.
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