Centre may give local vessels time before fixing age caps

Even as the government is considering fixing an age limit for ships operating in the Indian waters to ensure overall safety, and protecting the marine environment from pollution due to accidents, the ministry of ports shipping and waterways is also open to proposals seeking more time for existing vessels to conform to the new regulations.

Two government officials aware of the development said while the Centre is planning to introduce a stringent fitness regime for ships, it may also allow older vessels to operate if they pass the required fitness certification, giving more time to operators to upgrade their fleets.

In a representation to Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry suggested a calibrated introduction of age limits for ships. It said strict health check rules may be formulated in consultation with the industry and class authorities for the vessels, which are above a certain cut-off age.

“The vessels should be allowed to operate as long as they meet the stringent health check regime. This will result in incentivizing the companies to spend money on older ships to ensure that the vessels can be operated safely without causing any risk,” the industry body added.

At present, the age limit for registration of vessels operating in Indian waters is 25 years. But, there is no age restriction once the ships are registered. The government is looking to plug this loophole.

The discussion is to bring down the age of registration, and fix some age restriction for both Indian and foreign vessels operating here. The industry body has also suggested the introduction of a sunset clause for phasing out old vessels, say, three or four years from the date of the age circular coming to force. This will give enough time to ship owners to make contingency plans and renew the fleets, it added.

Considering that the shipping business is capital-intensive, it may not be possible for companies to renew fleets if they are not allowed to have enough time to replace older vessels, it said. If ship operators are forced to replace old vessels within a short period of time, second-hand vessels will be in greater demand, which in turn will be harmful to industry, the lobby added.

According to a second official, new ships take 18-30 months to build depending on the kind of ship. Therefore, the sunset clause before operationalising age restrictions will give the required breather to ship owners, he added.