Capt. Isbah Syed, who also hold a law degree, has spent more than 15 years in the shipping industry. He has sailed on board one of the largest tankers and has a wide experience of working on chemical and oil tankers as well as bulk and container ships. He has held various posts in major shipping companies before establishing BHNSC. Capt Syed is among the few mariners to hold a law degree. He is a member of the Central Advisory Board to Shipping and Marine World Expo and also a guest lecturer in a number of prestigious maritime institutes.

How is BHN placed in the various segments it is present?
We have expanded our scope from being purely in the offshore sector to being an active player in the main fleet ships as well. In the recent past we have enterBHNed into port management as well as shipyards. We are very active in the shipyard sector and are partnering some well knows yards in India. Most recently we have started trading in bulk commodities like sugar, iron ore and coal.

Please elaborate on your plans for port management business?
India has still not exploited its vast coastline and the potential is very high. To secure its future growth prospects India has to urgently address the need to build world class deep water ports with good connecting infrastructure. India has a long coastline extending over 6000 km. The country has 11 major, 11 intermediate and 168 minor ports. Nearly 95 per cent of the countries transportation of goods is by sea, making development of ports critical for nation's progress. The major ports in India are maintained by the Central government, while all the other ports come in the concurrence list. The list of ports controlled and maintained by private players is growing rapidly and this is where the future lies.
The Indian government has planned to increase the cargo management capability of major ports to 1.5 billion metric tons (MT) by the year 2012.This would be feasible only if Private groups are allowed to participate and this is what BHN is also targeting. According to recent estimates, the growth rate of Indian ports would be around 160 per cent in 2011-12. Cargo handling in major ports is expected to grow at 7.7 per cent till 2011-12 and cargo movement is estimated to reach 877 million tons by 2011-12. The New Foreign Trade Policy forecasts the doubling of India's share in global exports to Rs 675000 crores ($150 billion) in the next five years. So small port management is going to be the next big thing.

Please let us know something about DP vessels and their scope in India.
With the recession almost over the oil prices bound to increase and continue to fuel expansion in the offshore industry, the worldwide offshore construction vessel fleet is no exception. The next few years will see more DP-enabled construction vessels and derrick barges with heavy lift capacities of 2,500 tonnes and above entering the market. Offshore installation activity will be going strong at least over the next two years, construction vessels are expected to remain busy, as significant numbers of offshore development programs are planned by the world's oil and gas companies in India. Also with ONGC planning to make DP Mode mandatory there is going to be a boom in this sector.

How do you rate the Indian shipping Industry in comparison to global shipping industry?
Shipping is a global industry and its prospects are closely tied to the level of economic activity in the world. A higher level of economic growth would generally lead to higher demand for industrial raw materials, which in turn will boost imports and exports. The shipping market is cyclical in nature and freight rates generally tend to be volatile. The capacity of the Indian shipping industry is estimated at 8.8 million grt (gross registered tonnage). The average age of the Indian shipping fleet is around 18.9 years. The share of Indian shipping in overseas sea borne trade is estimated at around 14%. With the Indian economy looking up and Indian Ship-owners bullish the Indian Shipping Industry is looking towards rapid expansion of its fleet. But it is to be noted that many Indian Ship-owners are now not registering their ships in India.

What are the latest trends in the offshore industries?
Companies active in the offshore oil and gas industry in India are enjoying a vibrant market, with all offshore rigs in the region under contract and rig demand forecast to grow.
Rising oil prices and pro-active government leasing policies will allow oil and gas companies to tap into areas which would have been uneconomical not too long ago, and this will result in increased business for the various contractors and suppliers that service the offshore market. Each new commercially successful discovery leads to additional demand for offshore construction and support services including Offshore Vessels to support them. Also in the recent past India Ship-owners in the Offshore Sector have become more aggressive and have been upgrading their ageing fleet with newer vessels. Due to this reason and with the help of Government policies they have a definitive edge over foreign players. Indian Owners have become very competitive and are now also getting contracts in European waters and South America which till recently was almost out of bounds for Indian Offshore companies.

What solutions you would like to suggest in order to overcome the problem of shortage of seafarers?
The shipping industry is forecast to face an acute shortage of manpower if appropriate measures are not taken to produce well-trained and experienced seafarers. Unfortunately, the majority of industry players do not seem to be addressing the problem, and the current deficit of about 10,000 seafarers can increase to unprecedented levels in the next couple of years. The worldwide number of seafarers is estimated at about 1.2 million currently. The crew shortage is apparent in relation to the number of ships currently on order, totalling 8,000 vessels, with deliveries averaging 2,000 ships annually over the next three years. And the number of seamen needed can be potentially more if attrition from those currently employed is also taken into account,” It takes more than ten years to produce a well-trained ship captain while a new ship could be designed and delivered in less than two years. Given the current rate of growth of the shipping industry, there is no easy solution for the crewing crisis that will affect the industry in the next couple of years. The issue of how to solve the problem is becoming a subject of debate worldwide, and India being one of the global suppliers of seafarers must be the leader in discussing the matter to help avert a potential crisis that could envelop the entire industry with dire consequences.The temptation to take any shortcut to fulfil the standards in training and certification in meeting the shortages of seafarers should be avoided at all costs.It is hoped that more shipping companies in India will take the initiative in sponsoring students for maritime cadetship programmes. The least assistance the companies can offer is to provide Sea time for the students on board their ships Currently, only a handful of shipping companies participate in cadet sponsorship programme and provide sea training time. There is also a need to explore to what extent Indian Government will be able to play a role in helping the industry overcome the issue of supply of seafarers. It will be worth the while to look into governmental policy on the training of seafarers apart from the expanded role needed from the industry.

What are your future plans?
We are currently occupied with providing marine support to the offshore industry, but we have plans to expand into offshore construction and maintenance field.
Also we are looking at expanding our main fleet portfolio to accommodate dry bulk carriers along with our tanker fleet. We had also lined up few DP vessels for acquisition but because of the sudden recession we had to put these plans on hold. Now with oil exploration back in force we plan to revisit this option.