Centre pushes for Alang to emerge as vehicle scrappage hub

NEW DELHI - Apart from senior officials of the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and representatives of the Gujarat Maritime Board and Ship Recycling Industries Association (India), the January meetingwaschairedbyoneoftheUnionMinisters.

Itwasalsodecided atthemeeting thataBISteamshall visitAlang–thecountry’slargest shipbreaking centre–to study the ground activity of the Ship Recycling. “The team will discuss the issue and way forward with the Ship Recycling Industries Association and Gujarat Maritime Boardofficials.StandardOperatingProcedure(SOP)tobe placed for testing of raw material for re-rolling mills,” the minutesofthemeetingsaid.

Steel scrap from the demolished ships is a major source of raw material for the re-rolling mills in our country. Normally at least 70 per cent of the total light displacement tonnage of a ship broken constitute of rerollable scrap. These are then converted into bars and rods that are used in the construction sector. The other raw materials to produce bars and rods are re-rollable scrap from Railways, pencil ingots from induction furnaces, semis from the integrated plants and imported scrapofferings.

The Ship Recycling Industries Association in a submissionmadeearlierthisyearhadreferredtoa“nonviable norms of quality control order and BIS standard” impactingrecyclers.

As a result of these revised norms that came into effectin2012,activityatAlanghasbeenhit.“We…arenot able to sell our materials directly to rerollers”, it said adding that 90 per cent of the plots at the yard have achieved HKC compliance certification from internationally recognised agencies. The HKC certification stands for Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound RecyclingofShips,2009.

Container xChange : Amidst container surplus, good time to buy containers, enter smaller trade routes & avoid detention charges with SOCs

HAMBURG : Container xChange, an online container logistics platform, has published its annual ‘shipper-owned containers (SOCs) undercover study’.Thereport throws light on how SOCs are fitting into the overall container sourcing strategy for global shippers and freight forwarders, considering the sliding consumer confidence and eventually, free-fallingshippingratesin2023.

The report studies the real quotes offered by top 50 global carriers toarriveatacomparison ofhowSOC(shipper owned containers) vs COC (carrier owned containers) rates fare eventually for freight forwarders. While the prices for COCs continue to free fall ow-ing to declining demand and an influx of new build containers; SOCs still help in two key areas for freight forwarders – one, to avoid demurrage and detention charges (and other hidden costs) which is expected to increase this year as the newly build containers will enter the market and second, to add reliability and control in the container inventory mix. Especially when shipping against thecontainerflow.

The report highlights that out of the 50 carriers that we reached out to, 42% responded. Out of the carriers who responded,82%wereabletoofferbothSOCandCOCcontainer moves.

Furthermore, some respondents showed a lack of crosscollaboration and well-rounded knowledge, with a few only caring about the container and not considering the ocean freightaspect.

Moreover, carriers are becoming less and less accepting of email correspondence, because they “have made considerable progress in [their] digital landscape and capabilities” as well as to “ensure that all [their] customers enjoyanimprovedexperience.

“As the market adapts, SOCs will continue to thrive, and the movement of goods will continue. The drop in pickup charges is also a good sign, and building online booking systems for SOCs is an area of interest for development.” speaking on the future of SOCs, Adrian Degode, Senior Product Engineer, Container xChange, said. In a recent webinar hosted by Container xChange to launch the report, a strong panel of experts discussed the SOC market and marketopportunities.

“From an NVOCC perspective, the biggest advantage we find for SOCs is that it’s priced highly competitively, and we can success-fully eliminate the detention charges risk, especially in the US and Canada side. With the current situation of yard congestions caused by chassis shortage, and notbeingabletosecure returnappointments withcarrierson the normal COC procedures, SOCs offer ease of mind when it comes to holding off containers longer than necessary,” commentedWilsonLefromPudongPrime,Vi-etnam.

At the webinar, it was noted that the surplus has sparked changesincontainersupplieroperations,andagrowingtrendof Shipping Operating Containers (SOCs) managing the excess inventory.

“Thecontainers arestillindemandontheinternalmarket and the containers are still used for the shipping sector. What’sreallychangedistheplacewherethesecontainers are in demand. And so mainly, the way it affects us is the volumes that we must move, of course” added Francisco Portela, Global Repositioning Manager, Silver Sea, a Container supplier based in Barcelona, Spain. A good idea for said move might betoinvest incontainers, Francisco thinks: “Ofcourse, one of the points from the excess of contain-ers worldwide means there’ll be more places containers to buy containers from,andatbetterprices.”

Furthering the opportunities for freight forwarders, Alfonso Vassalo – Founder & CEO – Tagustainer, a container trader, said, “in moving COC containers even more, operational costs will become more expensive. And depots are charging; I would guess they’ll double what they would usually charge to balance out money lost amidst the rate war. And that they’ll start to sustain their profits by increasing D&D charges, and that’s really where we can help our customer with SOCs. In addition, SOCs have always been older historically. But with this sudden surplus, container traders will now be able to buy and provide younger containers”whichofcourseisattractiveforlongevity.

However, let’s not forget the hurdles that come with SOC management at present: “It is the time-consuming process of booking SOCs. Communication with freight forwarders is essential from the beginning of the booking process to avoid back-and-forth emails and phone calls. Traders must understand the requirements of the freight forwarders, such as the need for the CSC certificate or any required year of manufacture, to provide a more precise and efficient response.”Afonsoadds.

In conclusion, the container industry is reacting to address the surplus equipment and price volatility. Companies must be adaptable to these changes to remain competitive and should focus on diversifying their markets while keeping an eye on domestic demand. Additionally, customers are increasingly seeking more visibility into containerprices,availability,anddemandtopreparefortimes ofuncertainty.