Research and Markets: India Shipping Report Q3 2011 - India's Shipbuilding Sector Is Reportedly Set To Benefit from Investment from SCI

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d43b16/india_shipping_rep) has announced the addition of the "India Shipping Report Q3 2011" report to their offering.

The India Shipping Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, shipping associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on India's shipping industry.

BMI View India's shipping sector continues to expand at a frenetic pace, with a combination of increasing consumer demand and overseas trade volumes boosting shipping volumes to and from the country's ports. The country's growing trade relationship with China is expected to provide fuel for growth over the next few years, while the country is also establishing itself as an important transhipment hub on Europe-Asia trade routes. The industry remains blighted by numerous problems, however, with Q211 witnessing a flare-up in congestion at major seaports. Meanwhile, the country's shipping fleet still remains undeveloped by global standards and ill-equipped to cope with the country's surging trade needs. To make matters worse, many companies' expansion programmes are being hit by the current slump in international freight rates.

Headline Industry Data

• 2011 port of JNPT tonnage throughput forecast to grow 9.2%, over the mid-term BMI project an 11.6% increase.
• 2011 port of Chennai container throughput forecast to grow 12%, over the mid-term BMI project a 13.3% increase.
• 2011 trade growth forecast at 11.3%.

Key Industry Trends

Foreign investment driving port sector expansion: India's port sector remains an attractive destination for investment, and Q211 was no exception. India's impressive economic growth is fuelling the rapid development of the country's container ports in particular, as income levels and demand for consumer goods expands. In April it was reported that APM Terminals (APMT), the terminals-operating arm of Danish shipping and oil and gas conglomerate AP Moller Maersk, had signed an agreement to set up a container-handling facility at the new private Indian port of Dhamra, located in the north-east of the country. Meanwhile, Philippines-based terminals operator International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) also revealed that it is to make its first foray into the Indian ports sector through a recently signed agreement to develop a new container terminal in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Shipping lines adopt contrasting growth strategies: Indian shipping company Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is to dramatically increase the size of its fleet over the next decade. Most of the vessels are tankers - oil, product, chemical and gas, making up roughly 70% of SCI's deadweight tonnage (DWT) - alongside a number of bulk tankers and container vessels. The company has now announced a plan to acquire 110 vessels over the next 10 years at an estimated cost of INR27,668 crore (US$6.13bn), which would more than double the size of the company's fleet. While one of India's major players is expanding its capacity, however, one of its major rivals, Great Eastern Shipping (GE), has announced it is to sell three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that it has not even taken delivery of yet. The ships, each with a deadweight tonnage of 318,000 tonnes are due for delivery in Q112. They will now pass directly from the shipyard to the undisclosed buyer.

Companies Mentioned:

• Mercator Lines
• Varun Shipping
• Shipping Corporation of India (SCI)
• Great Eastern Shipping (GE Shipping)
• Maersk Line
• Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)
• CMA CGM
• Hapag-Lloyd
• Evergreen Line
• APL
• CSAV
• COSCO Container Lines Company Limited (COSCON)
• Hanjin Shipping (Container Operations)
• China Shipping (CSCL)

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d43b16/india_shipping_rep