Maritime Cluster

Why in news?

• The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), a nodal agency of the Gujarat government, has been trying to develop a Maritime cluster at GIFT City, Gujarat.

About Maritime Clusters:

• A maritime cluster is an agglomeration of firms, institutions, and businesses in the maritime sector that are geographically located close to each other.
• They are part of most competitive ports of the world like Rotterdam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Oslo, Shanghai, and London.

About the cluster in Gujarat:

• The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), a nodal agency of the Gujarat government, has been trying to develop such a cluster at GIFT City in the state capital Gandhinagar through its subsidiary Gujarat Ports Infrastructure and Development Company Ltd (GPIDCL).
• This cluster will initially consist of Gujarat-based shipping lines, freight forwarders, shipping agents, bunker suppliers, stevedores, and ship brokers with chartering requirements.
• In the second stage, the cluster would attempt to bring Indian ship owners, ship operators, Indian charterers and technical consultants scattered in cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi to Gujarat.
• Thereafter it would target to attract global players in the maritime sphere.

What is the need for a maritime cluster?

• This project will try to bring back businesses that have migrated over the years to foreign locations due to the absence of the right ecosystem in the country.
• Landlocked countries like Switzerland and Luxembourg have developed a number of maritime services that are not currently available in India.
• Gujarat has a lot of ports and handles 40 per cent of the country’s cargo and hence is ideal for development of a cluster.
• Many Large Indian corporates like the Aditya Birla Group and Tata Group currently tap clusters in Dubai and Singapore for their maritime needs.

Alternate Dispute Resolution:

• The centre will also have an Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre that will be set up under the aegis of the Gujarat Maritime University, which will come up at the maritime cluster.
• This centre will function like the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC) at the Dubai Maritime Cluster, China Maritime Arbitration Commission in the Greater Bay Area in China, and the Singapore Centre for Maritime Arbitration in the Singapore Maritime Cluster, among others.
• This centre in Gujarat will provide an option to Indian players seeking to avoid availing the services of international alternate dispute resolution hubs which entail huge costs, time, and travel.
• The cluster is also expected to house the office of the Director General of Shipping.
• The maritime cluster is largely expected to in the SEZ area of GIFT City where charterers, ship brokers, and maritime lawyers dealing in foreign currency will be based.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements regarding GIFT City, Gujarat: 
1.It is located on the banks of the Sabarmati River.
2.It is India's first operational smart city and international financial services centre.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question