CASA holds 52nd Annual General Meeting
Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA), the apex body that represents shipping in Sri Lanka, held its 52nd Annual General Meeting on July 25, 2018, at the Balmoral hall of The Kingsbury Hotel amidst a large gathering of over 400 participants.
Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe graced the occasion as the chief guest and Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake attended as the guest of honour.
Ports and Shipping Deputy Minister Nishantha Muthuhettigama, Secretary to the Ministry L.P. Jayampathy and many other distinguished invitees from the public and private sector were also present.
Hayleys Advantis Ltd Managing Director Ruwan Waidyaratne was re-elected for the second consecutive year as the chairman for the period 2018/2019 whilst Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd Director/ceo Iqram Cuttilan and Mclarens Shipping Ltd Joint Managing Director Shehara Jayawardena were elected vice chairman and treasurer respectively.
The Executive Committee elected for the period 2018/2019 comprises of Marine International Agencies (Pvt.) Ltd, Asha Shipping Ltd, Ceyline Agencies (Pvt.) Ltd, Ceylon Shipping Corporation Ltd, BTL Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd, Hemas Maritime (Pvt.) Ltd, Malship (Ceylon) Ltd, Simatech Marine Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd and ABC Shipping (Pvt.) Ltd.
Expediting the East Container Terminal, the need of the hour
Speaking at the event Ruwan Waidyaratne emphasised the importance of increasing capacity by investing in port infrastructure, highlighting the urgent need of expediting the operations of the East Container Terminal.
“With more and more new generation ships rolling out, we can anticipate greater demand for deep water terminals. Therefore, we appeal to the authorities to make use of this opportunity by expediting the operations of the East terminal as soon as possible,” he said.
He further highlighted the importance and urgency of digitalisation to improve ease of doing business and facilitating trade in Sri Lanka and mentioned that CASA supported many initiatives of digitalisation such as the E vessel clearance, National Single Window, National Trade Information Portal and many other paperless initiatives introduced by the government.
“The competitiveness of Sri Lankan firms depend on their ability to get products to international markets in a timely and cost effective manner. To this end, improving access, enabling infrastructure, cutting down costly and burdensome trade related procedures, and simplified and transparent processes are some of the essential factors involved,” he added.
He explained how CASA provided a leadership role by addressing matters of concern at a policy level and in matters affecting the day-to-day operations of member companies. He also stated that representatives from CASA played an important role in drafting and formulating the Maritime Policy under the direction of the Ports and Shipping Minister and Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman. He also explained the importance of the shipping industry and stated that the transportation and logistics industry alone accounts for nine percent of the country’s GDP which is over US$ 9 billion.
“Cargo transportation accounts for a large portion even after we discount the earnings of passenger transportation and related services,” he said.
Meanwhile, Waidyaratne also said that although many parties tried to portray a false picture of relaxing the foreign ownership policy on shipping agency business as the one solution to make Sri Lanka a Maritime Hub, CASA as an industry body enlightened the government on the actual requirements for making Sri Lanka a true maritime hub.
“We highlighted that although almost all aspects of shipping and logistics can be fully owned and operated by foreigners, it is issues like policy inconsistency, delays in port capacity expansion, low ranking in ease of doing business, delays in simplifying the Customs ordinance and lack of automation that has discouraged investment in this sector,” he further said.
Embracing Change
Speaking at the event the guest of honour Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake emphasised the importance of embracing change. In his speech he highlighted that the total global ship board capacity is 21.9 million TEUS and the top five carriers will control over 80 percent of this capacity very soon. Bringing an example from a leading shipping line he stated that the operating profit of this line has reduced from US$ 75/TEU in 2015 to US$ 35/TEU in 2017. With these performances he predicts that the landscape of carrier partnerships will change where there will be no need for alliances in the future.
He highlighted that all large shipping lines are ordering more ships which will further increase capacity, creating a surplus. He also said that half of the bookings are handled manually and with disruptive technologies such as block chain if all bookings can be automated, the role of shipping agents would be challenged.
He also commended CASA for facing the test of time and adapting to changes successfully. He reflected back to year 2001 where he was the Spokesperson for CASA when Port of Colombo was subjected to an additional war risk premium and reminded how the association fought against this.
Protecting the Local Entrepreneurs
Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that encouraging local entrepreneurs with special consideration on SMES is a top priority of the government and it is always discussed at the national economic council.
Speaking on liberalisation the minister mentioned that the president is of the firm opinion that nothing should be done without consulting CASA and its members whose dedication has brought the industry to where it is today.
“The companies who are interested in investing should underscore their bona fides to prove that they are bringing substantial investment to the economy. We are open for discussion on this model,” he said.
He went on to say that the intention is not to sabotage the open economic model but to ask foreign companies to bring in a minimum investment without compromising Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and national interest.
Speaking on monopolisation, he said that global shipping lines are free to choose their agents in Sri Lanka and they will do so after careful consideration of the performance of the agents. He said that the government doesn’t want to intervene in such decisions as it is a decision which should be made by the shipping lines and the agents should compete with each other based on their strengths.
Further, speaking on the developments in the ports sector he mentioned that the East Container Terminal will be operational this year and categorically stated that it will be owned and operated by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority as a State Owned Enterprise. He said that the West Container Terminal is open for a public private partnerships and that he will request for a feasibility study to be undertaken shortly. He also briefed the development plan in the port sector which was beneficial for all the participants.
CINEC Scholarships
As a recognition of the long association between CINEC and CASA, two full scholarships in the Professional Diploma in Shipping Management programme were awarded to Ashwani Dissanayake and Kajini Ediriweera. The recipients were selected on the basis of their performance at the CASA Basic Ship Agency Functions Course - 26th Batch.
Through regular dialogue with partners, government institutions, regulatory bodies and agencies, CASA seeks to effect an interchange of ideas and information, represent and advocate the views of the association in all official forums and shape the future of the industry by investing in education and training for its members and working with maritime training academies to train sea farers.