SMM India 2009
The new Indian government has committed itself to massive support for shipping and shipbuilding in a drive to improve the country’s infrastructure- much to the joy of the Indian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA) and its Secretary General Mr S.S. Kulkarni. Good conditions for SMM India, which is to be held for the first time at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from 12 to 14 November 2009. Port International India is an integrated thematic area at SMM India. The Indian Ministry of Shipping, headed by the new Minister G.K. Vasan, also wants to create two internationally competitive shipyards in the framework of the gigantic National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP), one of them at the west coast and the other at the east coast of the country.
As indicated by the British service company Clarkson Research at the beginning of 2009, the Indian shipbuilding industry takes 7th place in the order book ranking for world shipbuilding, with 250 orders for newbuildings and 2.35 million CGT (Compensated Gross Tons, i.e. the tonnage weighted with the amount of shipbuilding work required in the specific category). The status on 1 June 2009 was still 248 orders with 4.9 million dwt. Clarkson Research figures show that no newbuilding orders were placed in 2009, even with the largest Indian shipbuilding companies, such as AGB Shipyard, which has an order book of 87 newbuildings (1.85 million dwt), or Bharati S.Y., India’s number two shipyard with 43 orders – and the situation is no better for the other shipyards on the sub-continent.
Nevertheless, Kulkarni is convinced that shipping and shipbuilding will continue to be of vital importance for the Indian economy in the future, because they involve many sections of industry, almost as many as the automotive industry. The maritime sectors are of vital importance to logistics for a country with 7,000 km of coastline and 14,000 km of inland waterways. About 70% of the total volume of Indian imports and exports is carried by sea. Kulkarni is confident that major infrastructure projects such as development of the large ports will rapidly be launched by the new Minister of Shipping G.K. Vasan.