Spotlight

Roswel Dsouza / Shutterstock . com

India seeks VSA ‘ tradeoffs ’

Amid an ongoing wave of ocean carrier alliance realignments , Indian shipping regulators are seeking a “ tradeoff ” approach to continue treating vessel-sharing agreements ( VSAs ), led by carriers operating foreign-flagged fleets , outside of national competition law provisions . The Directorate General of Shipping ( DG Shipping ) has released provisional guidelines intended to grant such VSAs an extended exemption from antitrust regulations in exchange for Indian companies gaining consortium participation rights . The previous exemption order expired in July . Broadly , a fresh three-year immunity will be provided contingent upon carrier groupings allocating 5 % of the total declared space to both Indian-flagged vessels and domestic non-vessel-operating common carriers ( NVOs ) under their alliance or consortium arrangements . The move is being viewed as a government strategy to rebuild some stakes for local container shipping industry interests , a segment that has become deeply marginalized with no tonnage capabilities .

Breakbulk reefer sector survives , evolves

After serving as a breakbulk cargo pinch-hitter during the COVID-19 pandemic , the specialized refrigerated ( reefer ) breakbulk segment is surviving and even finding a few new footholds . “ Commentators have been forecasting the end of specialized reefer vessels and operators for the last 10 to 20 years , but they are still here ,” Toby Moors , a director with New Zealand-based broker and ship agency Oceanic Navigation , told the Journal of Commerce . However , an evolution away from perishables brokers and toward smaller-volume , direct buyer-seller relationships is increasing the share of produce traveling by reefer containers , and the aging breakbulk reefer fleet will struggle to meet modern emissions regulations . A handful of ports around the world are investing in dockside cold storage to take advantage of breakbulk reefer cargo opportunities , and there are signs of a breakbulk reefer renaissance in China , where ports including Dalian , Taizhou and Guangzhou are building on-dock cold storage facilities . In the US , the ports of Mobile , New Orleans and Wilmington , Del ., are primed toward handling reefer vessels because they have the prerequisite cold storage capacity . England ’ s Port of Dover is emerging as a significant European reefer gateway after opening a major quayside multi-temperature warehouse in 2019 .

Shutterstock . com

Webcasts

Join expert industry leaders in exceptional business-critical conversation with Journal of Commerce webcasts .

72024

Shutterstock . com www . joc . com October 21 , 2024 | Journal of Commerce 7