Marine logistics - Toilers of the sea

Ankur Bhardwaj, 21, chose marine logistics as his career not just because he wanted to connect with the rest of the world but also because he says this business will last as long as man trades. In his words, “As long as dollar or rupee transactions take place or export-import happens, this industry will stay lucrative than most of the others.”

An MBA in marketing and international business, Bharadwaj has gathered information about and remains updated on all the major destinations (read ports) in the world where he ships his clients’ goods. To this assistant manager-marketing and sales, Tiger Logistics India Pvt Ltd, “this profession is all about interactions, meeting corporate people and a lifetime opportunity to learn about world trade as it is related to export-import.”

To Sudhir Vasudeva, director (offshore), ONGC, New Delhi, “Transportation of goods via water defines marine logistics. It is the cheapest mode of transport — and nothing else can match the volume of cargo transported by sea.”

The importance

The importance of marine logistics can be evaluated in the context of other forms of transportation for the movement of goods – via rail, road, air and pipeline. “The choice of mode of transportation is a function of the costs involved and time factors,” says Subrata Nandi, head, logistics and supply chain management department, JK Business School, Gurgaon.

In the international context, there is, however, a limitation in terms of the use of surface transportation, as rail and road movement across international borders is subject to the geo-political environment. Air transportation, on the other hand, is costly. “In this given context, shipping or marine logistics offers the best option of moving goods at an economical cost,” says Nandi.

The scope of work

The scope of work in this field is varied. “It varies from managing ships to managing the ports, to marketing of many related services,” says SL Ganapathi of Logistics Plus India Pvt Ltd. According to Vasudeva, “the scope of work includes meticulous planning, operation and management of terminals, safe transportation of cargo from one point to another (completing port and customs formalities), loading/ unloading of cargo etc.”

With the number of Indian companies engaged in international business increasing, the need to export as also to import goods is on the rise. Add to this the entry of multinational companies, which has increased the demand for maritime services because some of these companies either import inputs for the production process or trade, or export goods sourced from India. “The services of marine logistics are employed by firms which deal in diverse products like steal, auto, petroleum, engineering goods, food grains, chemicals, etc,” says Nandi. And a marine logistician plays a crucial role in ensuring that the goods originating in one country reach another country within the committed time period. “Therefore we must acknowledge their contribution in the smooth conduct of international trade,” says Nandi.

The future prospects

The importance of the shipping industry in India can be gauged from the fact that the sea accounts for the bulk of the country’s international cargo movement. “Maritime trade plays a very large role in India’s international freight movement — as much as 90 per cent,” says Ganapathi.

And the future looks bright. “With the gross registered tonnage of the shipping industry in India expected to reach 15 million by 2012, the industry is going to witness tremendous growth in the coming years,” says Nandi. The demand for marine personnel is increasing. “The growth in remuneration of personnel in the marine sector in the last four-five years by almost 200-300 per cent indicates the rising demand for marine personnel across the board,” says Vasudeva. “And India is well placed because of excellent education and training facilities it has.”

The manpower

There is, however, a shortage of readily employable skilled personnel in the field. There are more generalists than specialists in the market. “Unfortunately, there is this perception that the requirement of manpower (at the entry level) can be filled by generalists who can be trained on the job,” says Ganapathi. “This has resulted in people being typecast in one particular segment of operation,” he adds. However, times are changing and organisations are moving away from evaluating individual elements of logistics to look at their overall supply chain. As a result, “a person with specialised training in this area has bright career prospects in the industry,” says Nandi.

How do I get there?

• There are two streams in marine logistics: nautical science and engineering. Admission to maritime training institutes is through a test after Class XII (only for science students). For nautical science, do a three-year BSc programme and for marine engineering, a four-year BTech. After graduation, join as apprentice and appear in different levels of competency exams after requisite sailing experience.
• A graduate in any discipline may get into marine logistics after doing a related MBA programme from a reputable institute
  
  Source : http://campus.shine.com/Campus-Article/Campus-Article/Marine-logistics-Toilers-of-the-sea/4624/cid973.aspx