• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

New Delhi May 27 The port of Halifax, located in the east coast of Canada, is in talks with various Indian ports including Tuticorin to enter into a co-branding agreement.

The move is an attempt by the Halifax port authorities to increase traffic from the Indian subcontinent.

Compared to ports on the North America's west coast, like Seattle and Vancouver, Halifax - a deep, wide, ice-free harbour - is closer to Mumbai by 1,867 nautical miles via the Suez Canal.

"The co-branding initiative would imply both ports promoting each other at various platforms and knowledge sharing (technical and market)," Ms Karen Oldfield, CEO of Halifax Port Authority told Business Line.

It may also translate into some benefits for bulk customers at a later stage.

Apart from Tuticorin, Halifax is in talks with other Indian ports (located on the Western coast) as well, she said, but refused to divulge details.

Lower charges

"In terms of transit time and price, we are competitive by hundreds of dollars for moving goods to Montreal, Toronto, Chicago and the US mid-West region," Ms Oldfield claimed, adding that the port provides hinterland connectivity through the Canadian National rail and road services.

The exact extent of cost gains would depend on the shipping line that Indian exporters opt for, since shipping lines get different levels of discount from the port as well as rail service providers.

"But the total cost of transportation could be cheaper by below $500 per container (twenty feet equivalent unit or TEU)."

Stating that Halifax does not face any capacity constraints, Ms Oldfield said: "While the port can handle about 1.2 million TEUs per year, we handled about 0.55 million TEUs."

INCREASING STAKE

On whether Halifax would be interested in entering into joint ventures or investing in Indian ports, she said: "Not right now. We are ready to offer technical co-operation but before increasing our stakes here, we would first like to get business going between the Indian subcontinent and our port."

Canada's trade with the Asia-Pacific is traditionally a West Coast affair due to the geographic proximity of markets and ports.

However, a combination of factors, ranging from West Coast port congestion to risk aversion by importers, is giving Halifax, the first port of call from Europe across the North Atlantic, the opportunity to capture a growing share of Asian trade, according to Asia Pacific Resource Foundation, a body funded by the Canadian Government.

In June 2006, Halifax Port signed a memorandum of agreement with Jeena & Company, a freight-forwarding firm in India.

More Stories on : Shipping | Brands | Shipping

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Clouds gather as stage is set for onset of monsoon

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line