Indian fleet owners need a level playing field to grow, Sabyasachi Hajara, former Chairman and Managing Director of state-owned Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI) and an industry veteran said amid reports that the government was weighing plans to ease the so-called cabotage rules to promote coastal shipping.
‘Unfortunately, as it stands today, there is very little level playing field for the Indian ship owners,” Hajara said on the sidelines of the INMEX SMM India exhibition and conference held in Mumbai, reports ET Infra
“We should have a situation where you say ‘ok, at least in your own backyard, you are the most preferred lot’. That is not the case in India. In coastal shipping, only about 40 percent of the cargo is carried by Indian flag ships,” Hajara said.
According to Hajara, recently it was “wrongly projected” that cabotage is being relaxed.
“There is no cabotage law in India. It was only a question of preference that was being given (to Indian flag ships) and a question of no objection certificate (from the Indian owners) and permission from the Director General of Shipping (to permit foreign flag ships to ply along the coast). Even that is proposed to be taken off,” Hajara lamented.
Shipping, he said, is akin to aviation.
“But there is a huge difference. In aviation, no foreign carrier is allowed to bring a foreign aircraft into India unless the Director General of Civil Aviation gives the so-called landing right. It is bilateral; it is restricted. Whereas, in shipping, there is absolutely no barrier, and no permission is needed for foreign ships to come to India as long as they comply with the technical standards prescribed by the International Maritime Organisation. They can ply anywhere in the world. So, shipping being that way the most free industry, unless you provide a so-called level playing field, which is unfortunately not there, how do you expect shipping to progress? That is what is happening in India,” he averred.
