The Committee for Development of Avenues for Ship Acquisition, Financing and Leasing from GIFT IFSC – a panel constituted by International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) – submitted a report recently to the regulator on how India continues to have a smaller share in the international shipping sector and is rather turning into a net importer of shipping services, especially ship finance. It clearly takes into consideration crucial factors including far-spreading coastline, deep-rooted maritime traditions and skilled seafarers.
The panel – headed by Vandana Aggarwal and constituted in June this year – executed a thorough examination of the existing legal and regulatory regime in IFSC in India and in contrast with global performance-based on ship acquisition, financing and leasing.
The Report identified the bottlenecks in the growth of the sector by developing various financial models to realize the gap in costs of doing business in IFSC and top-ranking global hubs. Exclusive stakeholder consultations were also conducted, emphasizing changes required for seeding a stark Ship Acquisition, Financing And Leasing (SAFAL) regime in India. The focal point, although, was facilitating cost-effective and competitive delivery of shipping services on ships owned and leased from India-offshore IFSC. The Report also suggested increasing global cross trade, promoting de-carbonisation and promoting ocean health so as to achieve Maritime India Vision 2030.
Source: logistics insider
