Bunkering activity has decreased at Kochi port in India due to a variety of reasons, according to The Times of India.
The implementation of government service tax (GST) of 18% in July 2017 and a vessel collision involving Panama-registered bulk carrier Amber L with a fishing boat in June 2017 saw bunker calls at the port decrease from 20-25 ships to as low as five a month in September 2017, it says.
The Amber L collided with a fishing vessel which had its tracking device turned off; owners of fishing vessels switch off their ship’s tracking system to outsmart other fishermen. This practise increases the chances of fishing vessels getting hit by passing ships.
A GST reduction to 5% in October 2017, however, saw bunker calls at Kochi increase to 15 ships a month.
“Before GST implementation, bunkering activity was flourishing. However, realising the cheaper availability of fuel in ports like Colombo, many ships moved away,” explains a local shipping agent.
“In June, following the Amber L collision incident, the coastline got a bad reputation courtesy the legal tangle.
“Hence, ships skipped the coast completely avoiding the ports in Kerala. After GST was reduced, ships started coming in due to active canvassing.”
Photo credit: Cochin Port Trust
Published: 15 March, 2018
Managing Director of KPI OceanConnect Singapore shares about the value of having a transparent bunkering partner for marine fuel procurement strategies.
Network now includes 27 ports in Greece, 7 ports in Egypt, and 20 ports in Turkey with special non-contact procedures when specialists work with vessel crew.
‘Being a neighbouring port to Rotterdam, the setup of our new Hamburg operation is a great fit for our further expansion into the North Western market,’ says Head of Bunkering.
Sellers' terms often incorporate fixed limits on sellers’ liability, exclusions for certain losses, short time bars for buyers’ claims, and legal clauses in sellers' favour.
Total bunker sales at Panama was 337,035 metric tonnes (mt) in July, compared to sales of 484,144 mt during the similar period in 2019.
Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation planning to import low sulphur bunker fuel to local market.
‘The JMs have failed to discharge their duties by blindly helping the Banks mount a false case against the Defendant,’ wrote defence lawyers representing former IPP Director Dr Goh Jian Hian in court statement.
Lead prosecutor Andreas Myllerup Laursen aims for a fine and a prison sentence in the so-called Syria case scheduled to commence in Odense, Denmark on 26 October, writes the Danish publication.
In a modern re-telling of the story of David versus Goliath, local bunker barge owners/charterers successfully resisted claims brought in the Singapore courts by Phillips 66 for misdelivery of bunkers.
Bunker barge owners and operators; traders and suppliers; banks, including players in other countries, will have to re-examine respective operations, advises Helmsman Associate Director Jonathan Tan.
Vopak BL was a non-essential document with no contractual force and had no effect as a contract of carriage or as a document of title, states written Judgement issued by Singapore Court of Appeal.
Dwivedi Vivek Kumar ended his tenure as Global Head – Bitumen & Shipping & Regional Head – APAC at GP Global APAC on 10 November 2020 due to internal structuring of the GP Global Group.
