Minister traces Sagar Sandesh feats on 1st Anniversary

Source: http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/minister-traces-sagar-sandesh-feats-on-1st-anniversary/

Sagar Sandesh Maritime tabloid English Weekly Newspaper, the undisputed ‘Voice of Indian Shipping,’ celebrated its First Anniversary on Feb. 8 in Chennai.
Union Minister of Shipping G K Vasan, who launched Sagar Sandesh exactly one year ago in Mumbai, was the Chief Guest at the glittering ceremony to release the anniversary special issue in the presence of Dr. R. Lakshmipathy, the Publisher and Editor of Sagar Sandesh; Mr. L. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, JNPT, Mumbai; Mr. Atulya Misra, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust; Mr. M. A. Bhaskarachar, CMD, Ennore Port Limited (EPL); Mr. S Natarajan, Chairman (in-charge) of V O Chidambaranar Port Trust, Tuticorin and Dr. R. Krishnamurthy, Printer of Sagar Sandesh.
On the occasion, the Minister also launched an exclusive online portal (www.porttoport.in), a dedicated web service for exporters and importers from the house of Sagar Sandesh on daily vessel movement and updates in Indian ports.
Port to Port is an open database of ships sailing schedules all over India that provides the EXIM fraternity with a real-time view of the forward sailing schedules, from national overview to single port.
Mr. Vasan commented: “I compliment the Publisher Dr. Lakshmipathy and his dedicated team on the completion of one year of its publication and wish them good luck for years ahead.”
Outlining the importance of newspaper and media, the Minister said: “Print and electronic media plays a critical role in bringing the focus on public issues and highlighting the various steps taken by the Government for the development and welfare of people.”
He noted: “The objective of Sagar Sandesh, which was launched last year, is indeed laudable. Its aim is to address the problems faced by various stakeholders in the maritime sector and draw attention to the Government for the policy issues that help in resolving those problems.”

Sagar Sandesh has been playing the role of connecting to the Ministry of Shipping, the Directorate General of Shipping and various other Government agencies like the port trusts with the industry, agents, port users and academia, the Minister observed.
As a guide to shipping industry, Sagar Sandesh and its online version endeavoured to cover wide range of subjects like shipping, ports, logistics, seafaring and entire gamut of maritime sector leaving no aspect untouched, the Minister remarked.

Speaking about the importance of communication, Mr. Vasan pointed out: “With the advent of information and communication technology, the world has shrunk into a global village where voice, video and data are transmitted at an unimaginable pace. Internet is a powerful tool which can be used for communicating information throughout the world in a matter of second or even less.”
Having successfully established Sagar Sandesh and its online edition, Dr Lakshmipathy and his team are now venturing into web-based services with the launch of exclusive online portal on daily vessel movement and updates in Indian ports, the Minister said.

“The website www.porttoport.in, I am sure that it would definitely serve the professionals engaged in maritime sector in India and across the world in the quest for instant access to emerging developments,” he added.
Encouraged over the presence of heavyweights of EXIM trade at the anniversary celebrations, Mr. Vasan stated: “Today, we have with us wide representations of container terminal operators, freight forwarders, container freight stations (CFSs), steamer agents and also from the Railways. It shows the keen interest the launch of the website has evinced among various stakeholders.”

“I feel it is appropriate that the Chairmen of four major ports have chosen to present here at the launch of this website, which is another vehicle for information dissemination,” the Minister quipped.
Patting the maritime weekly from his heart, the Minister declared: “You would agree with me that Sagar Sandesh has stepped in to fill a void in the maritime sector. I am sure that in future Sagar Sandesh will not only bring mariners and logistics managers together but also bring more awareness about the role and contribution of maritime sector to the common people of the country.”
Earlier, Dr. R. Lakshmipathy welcomed the gathering.
Besides others, Mr. Ennarasu Karunesan, CEO & Director, DP World, Chennai; Mr. A.V. Vijayakumar, Vice-President of the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI); Mr. Arul A Joseph, Vice-Chairman of FEDSAI; Mr. N. Sreekumar, IRTS, Chief General Manager, CONCOR/ Southern Region; Mr. M. S. Arun, Chairman, NACFS–Chennai Chapter, and Mr. M. Subramanian, Principal, RL Institute of Nautical Sciences, Madurai, offered their felicitations.
 Mr. R. Mohan Kanaga Kumar, Executive Editor of Sagar Sandesh, proposed a vote of thanks.