Indian shipping entrepreneur announces plans for $10M maritime college
Mumbai, India headquartered Pentagon Marine Services, one of India’s leading maritime businesses, is unveiling plans for a new $10million, state-of-the-art maritime training college in the Patna district of Bihar State in India, PMS press service reported.
Pentagon chairman and managing director, Capt Nalin Pandey, made the announcement as he collected an award for services to the Indian and international maritime community at the Link India UK Business Awards in London. The award was presented by the Indian Deputy High Commissioner to the UK Dr Virander Paul.
Capt Pandey, who is a well-known philanthropist in India, said the latest Pentagon Maritime Training & Research Institute (PMTRI) would start construction in the autumn. It will complement a sister college run by Pentagon in Mumbai.
Both colleges will be headed up Capt Pandey’s wife Pratibha Pandey, a chemical engineer. Bihar is one of India’s poorest and most populous states with a population of 83 million. It is situated in the North East of the country neighbouring Nepal.
Capt Pandey thanked the Government of Bihar for its ‘energetic support’ for the new maritime college.
At the Link Awards ceremony Capt Pandey was acknowledged for his success in business as well as his philanthropic work. The judges made special reference for his contribution to the welfare of Indian seafarers after he successfully campaigned for better working conditions at sea. This saw Narendra Modi's Government amend India’s Merchant Shipping Act to acknowledge the MLC-2006 IMO convention in the interest of Indian seafarers.
The judges also paid tribute to the growth of Pentagon Marine Services, the ship management division of the business. PMS was founded in 2004 and now employs 45 people across its headquarters in Mumbai and regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai. It further employs 350 seafarers and operates a subsidiary in Singapore. Its clients include Stolt Tankers, Finaval and the Shipping Corporation of India.
Capt Pandey was further acknowledged at the awards for his tireless work helping the poor and the sick. Over the last decade he has sponsored more than 150 students from poor backgrounds to study at his maritime college in Mumbai. The majority have come from Bihar state together with students from across India. All have gone on to work in the maritime industry. Elsewhere he has provided accommodation, food, transport and hospital treatment for four to five poverty stricken cancer victims a year from Bihar. He said he plans to extend this work by building a 200 bed guest house for cancer patients from Bihar in Mumbai later this year. This work will be undertaken through his work with the Bihar Foundation – a Government of Bihar backed NGO.
Capt Pandey served in the Indian Merchant Navy in senior positions in India and Europe for 23 years before becoming an entrepreneur and launching Pentagon Marine Services. Capt Pandey plays an active role in Indian maritime politics. He is the chairman of the Maritime Training and Research Foundation which was set up by India's shipping trade body, MASSA – Maritime Association of Shipowners, Shipmanagers and Agents of which Capt Pandey is a board member. He is honorary officer bearer of number of NGOs both private and government including the Bihar Foundation. He spends his weekend undertaking social works.
About Sagar Mala
With India’s road and rail infrastructure in most high-traffic areas running at full capacity, the government plans to raise Rs 1 lakh crore ($15.6 billion) to develop ports and improve inland waterways. The Sagar Mala (necklace) plan envisages a series of ports and coastal and inland-shipping routes that will not just move cargo but also reduce India’s carbon footprint and save energy. Coastal shipping is the cheapest and least polluting mode of transport, 63% cheaper than road and 38% cheaper than rail: Rs 0.55 per tonne-km versus Rs 0.90 for rail and over Rs 1.50 for road, according to the estimates by the erstwhile Planning Commission. The project aims to develop ports and make them drivers of economic activity by linking them to road, rail, inland and coastal waterways.
India’s port efficiency is low and work moves slowly, compared to leading international ports. India has 12 major ports and 200 minor ports. Ports in India carry 95% of India’s total trade in volume and 68% by value. Coastal shipping in India transports just 7% of domestic cargo, compared to 42% in Japan and 20% in China. India’s sea-borne traffic is 950 million tonnes with a total coastline of 7,500 km compared with China’s 9 billion tonnes with a coastline of 15,000 km. Another important drawback for coastal shipping is the slow turn-around time, the time a ship spends entering the port, loading, unloading, and departing. The average turn-around time for India, as of April-November 2014, was reported to be 2.1 days (50 hours).
Singapore port, recognised as one of the best in Asia and globally, turns around ships in less than 12 hours. In Hong Kong port, container ships are turned around within 10 hours. A two-day wait for a coastal container ship increases costs in India by close to 10% for short voyages.
Roads transport 57% of India’s domestic cargo and railways 30%. India’s inland water-transport is also poorly developed. Of 14,500 km of navigable inland waterways, only 5,200 km (36%) of major rivers and 485 km (3%) of canals can handle mechanised vessels. Only 0.5% of India’s cargo traffic is handled by inland water-transport, compared to China at 8.7%, the US at 8.3% and Europe at 7%, according to this KPMG report.
An agreement was signed recently for a satellite port in Dahanu between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Maharashtra Maritime Board. The port is expected to reduce the traffic at Jawaharlal Nehru Port. Similarly, the central government is planning six ports including the Rs 12,000-crore deep-water Sagar port in West Bengal, Colachel in Tamil Nadu, the Rs 6,000-crore Vadhavan port in Maharashtra and the Rs 1,200-crore Haldia dock 2.
The capacity of all major ports was 800.52 million tonnes (MT) as on March 31, 2014, and cargo traffic was 555.54 MT. Kandla with more than 87 MT in cargo traffic in 2013-14 was India’s busiest port. Its average turn-around time was 2.9 days (69.6 hours).
Further reading Government of India Ministry of Shipping Sagar Mala briefing paper: http://www.ipa.nic.in/Conceptnote.pdf
About Pentagon Marine Services
Pentagon Marine Services Private Limited (PMS) was founded in Mumbai in 2004. Pentagon Marine Services provides ship agency services for Mumbai and other major and minor ports in India. Its services Include: Ship Management, Crew Management, Ship Agency & Stevedoring At All Indian Ports, Logistic, Chartering & Fixture, Ship Inspection for Buying & Selling, Vetting, Chartering & Fixture, Ship Repairs, Supplies of Stores, Spares, Provisions, Vessel Inspections, Prepare For Surveys, Handle PSC, Provide Technical Attendance, Cargo and Ship Broking
India, with its long-standing seafaring tradition, is the haven for ship manning operations in Asia. Pentagon understands the needs and budgets to provide ship owners and operators with quality officers and crew and to realize operational savings. PMS provides services as crew manning agent for a number of well known companies all over the world clients include Finaval, Tekne, SAM, MonteCarlo, Fingas. The company is also providing value added trainings to the crew and vetting services for its clients. PMS is member of MASSA group of companies. It is an ISO 9001: 2008 accredited organisation certified by the RINA Authorities. Recently the company was presented with the Excellence Award and Trans World Gold Star award by the Institute of Economic Studies for its innovativeness of quality products and services.
Mumbai (India) based PMS & its group of companies manages chemical, oil, gas and dry bulkers. Pentagon has its branch offices at Navi Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai.