The Maritime States Development Council has proposed to set up a committee comprising members of Ministry of Shipping, the Indian navy, coast guard, state police etc for sharing information on port-related issues November 12, 2009, New Delhi: The Maritime States Development Council (MSDC) has decided to set up a committee comprising members of the Indian navy, concerned maritime state, members of the state maritime boards, coast guard, state police, customs and the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) for sharing information on traffic, port and ship security related issues. It has also decided to establish a protocol for periodic sharing of information by the maritime states on existing as well as upcoming non-major ports with the MoS, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Indian navy and the coast guard to effectively address the coastal security concerns. This was decided on November 12, 2009, in the 11th meeting of the MSDC presided over by the Union minister for shipping, Shri G K Vasan.
In his opening remarks, the Union shipping minister said that the priority for the Indian ports is to gear up to keep pace with challenges posed by the growing economy and India’s burgeoning international trade. This would involve emphasis on increasing the operational efficiency of Indian ports so that they are competitive and at par with other ports in the region and in the world. Modern cargo handling techniques would be introduced to improve port performance, not just for containerised cargo but also for the dry bulk and conventional cargo. Proper policies and other steps would also be taken to deal with these vital issues of port efficiency, productivity, manpower planning, equipment and its performance, the minister added.
Mr Vasan further recalled the potential of maritime trade in the country, underlining the fact that the ports handle around 95% of India’s total trade in terms of volume and 70% in terms of value. Major ports handled 70% of the total cargo traffic, while the minor or non-major ports accounted for the remaining 30% during 2008-09. With the emergence of large private investments, the cargo handling capacity at minor ports has increased significantly.
Shri Mukul Roy, minister of state, MoS, also emphasised the important role played by ports in India in the development of the country’s maritime trade and its economy, particularly in the age of liberalisation and globalisation. He said that the progressive liberalisation/globalisation of the Indian economy since the early 90’s has brought into focus the need for improving efficiency, productivity and quality of service as well as bringing in competitiveness in the port services. The role of ports is being redefined from mere trade gateways to integral components of the global logistics and transportation chain. The maritime sector will have to fulfil its role in realising this objective, the minister mentioned.
Secretary of MoS, Kiran Dhingra underlined the objectives of the MSDC, which has been playing a pivotal role in coordinating the issues of concern between the Centre and the maritime states for better handling of traffic by the Indian ports, thereby augmenting the traffic handling capacity and addressing the security concerns more effectively ever since its inception in 1997. The following resolutions were adopted unanimously at the end of the meeting:
· All the members of the maritime states would provide data on monthly basis on regular traffic handled by the ports and on quarterly and annual basis on capacity enhancement achieved, to the MoS as a first step to an integrated planning for exim traffic across the seaboard.
· Maritime states that had not yet restructured their port administrations – namely, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Orissa and West Bengal would endeavour to form their state maritime boards by March 2010.
· Safety norms for passenger boats and barges running/plying in coastal area, backwater and rivers would be reviewed, revised and strictly implemented in consultation with director-general (shipping), MoS.
· Priority would be given by all maritime states to install vessel traffic management system (VTMS) in their ports.
· All the members of MSDC would notify the model rules on the basis of draft rule circulated by director-general (shipping) by March 31, 2010.
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