India facing vessel age crisis

India facing vessel age crisis    The Indian shipping industry will need at least $4 billion in the near future to replace 414 of the country's 739 ships as they will complete their average life, the Mumbai Mirror reported Tuesday.
   The report said that about 40 percent of Indian ships have are 20 years or older and can't be stretched for more than 25 years of service, according to the Indian National Ship-owners' Association. About 56 percent of Indian fleets need to be phased out soon under IMO guidelines.
   'Replacement is hardly an easy option for ship owners because even the prices of secondhand vessels have shot up by over 60 percent during the last five years,' Pratap Padode, chief executive officer of Construction World, said in the story. 'These are testing times for the Indian shipping industry and it remains to be seen how many of the fleet will survive journey through rough waters.'