Govt against cargo reservation policy

The Union government is against any cargo reservation policy to facilitate carriage of most of Indian cargo in national bottoms, Mr A.P.V.N. Sarma, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping (MoS), said to Exim News Service.
There is no point in coming up with a cargo reservation policy, as it doesn’t happen globally, he pointed out.
Shipping companies in the country have been seeking such a policy.
The share of the national bottoms in carrying ex-im cargo was around 40 per cent in the 1980s, but has declined to just 12-13 per cent now.
Mr Sarma explained that such a step would affect even Indian companies because other countries may then come up with their own reservation policies.
Mr Sarma pointed out that Indian shipping companies enjoyed a coastal shipping policy.
The coastal shipping policy is a protection measure for the shipping industry where only Indian ships were involved in cargo movement.
Only when there is a shortage of Indian ships, is a special licence given to a foreign shipping company for cargo movement in the coastal waters, he emphasised.

Source: Transportweekly