However, as of now, container availability has not been seen as an issue as adequate empties are available. The Red Sea strait is vital for 30 per cent of global container traffic and 12 per cent of global trade.
A court in Kochi granted the Narcotics Control Bureau 14-day custody of the Pakistani national arrested in connection with the seizure of over 2,500 kg of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters off the port city.
'None of these three countries -- Turkey, Iran or Malaysia -- ever made a hostile move against India to support the Pakistan-based terrorist elements,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'If attacks escalate, there is a risk the Suez Canal may be closed.'
The world needs to wake up to this new dimension of war at sea and be prepared to face the 'unknown enemy' who have the advantage of attacking at their choice of location and time, cautions Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The court was considering the petition of the NCB seeking the custody of Pakistan national accused Zubair Derakshshandeh for five days from today.
State Bank of India, the nation's largest lender, has stopped processing transactions of Russian entities that have been sanctioned by the West over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, sources said. To effect this, SBI has issued a circular as it fears that any transaction with entities or sectors under sanction will invite sanction on it as well, sources said. No transactions involving entities, banks, ports or vessels appearing on a US, European Union or United Nations sanctions list would be processed irrespective of the currency of the transaction, they said. Payments due to such entities have to be processed by other mechanism rather than through the banking channel, sources added.
'The coronavirus impact is much bigger than what the market had predicted. We are helpless and simply watching the market at present. Nothing can be done,' said Anil Devli, chief executive officer (CEO) of Indian National Shipowners' Association (INSA).
Chances are any such disruption will not occur on the major shipping lanes but on some edge of the ocean between India and China. Even if there is no actual disruption, the costs of averting one can be punitive. The setting for this is provided by the energy shortage both countries face, says Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
Modi government expects cargo traffic at its ports to jump by two-thirds by 2021 as India ramps up exports of goods including cars and other machinery.
This is the joint statement issued by the ministry of external affairs on the visit of US President Barack Obama to India.
