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Santanu Sanyal

Kolkata, May 14 The Indian ship owners are not unduly worried over the Director General of Shipping’s order banning chartering of ships older than 25 years.

This is because the ship owners have urged the Director General to keep the Indian flag carriers out of the purview of the ban and are hopeful of a positive response from the authorities concerned. “We’ve reasons to believe that our plea to Director General of Shipping will not go unheeded,” shipping industry sources say.

The argument of the Indian ship-owners is: No Indian flag carriers can ply in international waters without the permission of the Director General of Shipping, which gives sea-worthiness certificates after a thorough survey of each vessel. In other words, if there is any ship which is more than 25-years old and still in operation it is because the authorities concerned in India are convinced of the vessel’s sea-worthiness.

The ban was prompted by the Director General of Shipping’s concern over a number of ship disasters in Indian waters last year and the vessels involved in the accidents were all foreign flag and very old.

The industry sources point out that most of the ships which are more than 25-year old are bulk carriers, followed by tankers. Their withdrawal will have only marginal impact on the market because there is no dearth of tonnage in the market. The bulk carriers and tankers which have not yet completed 25 years are available in plenty, they point out.

Next, while the age of a ship is important, far more important is the condition of the vessel, i.e. how well it is maintained. There may be ships which have reached the stipulated age limit but continue to be sea-worthy because of the good condition in which they are maintained.

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