INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
WASHINGTON: In a perfect world, India would be rushing aid to a broke and beleaguered Pakistan as it teeters on the edge of insolvency and
Absent that, an Indian-owned ship, MV Lila Chennai, has steamed into Gwadar port bring 50,000 metric tons of wheat from Russia in the middle
of reports of 40% inflation and growing food lacks in the nation
The consignment is part of the 450,000 mt of wheat being imported by Pakistan
MV Lila Chennai is one of the 40 ships owned by Global Marketing Systems Inc (GMS Inc), said to be the worlds largest purchaser of ships and
overseas properties for recycling, founded by Dr Anil Sharma, a previous United States service school teacher, who is currently based in
Dubai.Shipping and marine tracking records show that MV Lila Chennai, cruising under a Liberian flag, left the Russian port of Novorossiysk
on February 10 and berthing at Gwadar port on March 1
The imports are expected to continue through March on nine ships
Originally from Gujarat, Sharma earned both a Masters and a Doctorate in Business Administration and spent the first 10 years of his career
in academic community as a teacher in the United States before establishing GMS in 1992 and ending up being a leader in the international
ship recycling community.Lloyds has actually noted him among the Top 100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry for 13 straight
years, and he was awarded the prominent CEO of the Year at the ShipTek 2022 International Conference - & Awards in 2022
Dr Sharma is also the owner of Delhi Dynamos, the Indian Super League team (given that relabelled Odisha FC after transferring to Odisha),
choosing to purchase football rather than cricket at the wish of his boy Rohan
In an interview to a marine journal, Dr Sharma attributed his thinking about shipping to his Bhavnagar, Gujarat origins, that provided him
extensive ties with good friends and service partners associated with the ship recycling and steel industries
The start would have to be the period when U.S
Navy ships were being offered by means of tender by the U.S
Maritime Administration (MARAD) in the early 1990s ..
The Indian market was extremely interested
Due to requirements that limited global participation in such tenders, Indian recyclers struggled to bid for and protect these vessels
It was then I realized that a business opportunity existed
I decided to acquire these vessels on behalf of the Indian recyclers and after that resell to them
Ultimately, GMS turned into one of the biggest purchasers of MARAD vessels in the 1990s, he recalled.He also remembered helping the Russian
government in getting rid of a surplus marine tonnage, exposing that GMS was invited by Moscow to assist in the safe disposal of vessels
from its Northern and Far Eastern fleets
Aside from owning 40 ships currently, GMS states it is the first and just buyer on the planet to work out nearly 4,000 ships and offshore
systems for recycling, a passion that Sharma states goes back to his Indian heritage and a granny who utilized to recycle everything--
clothes, papers, bags, shoes, utensils and so on
Recycling in India is not a brand-new or distinct principle
Business individuals recycled whatever from industrial equipment to office devices and products
Recycling, fixing and recycling are practices I matured with in everyday life
I would love to see India set the requirement in green recycling for the rest of the world, he says, including he feels a sort of
responsibility to provide back to the nation I was born in since there is a lot of potential there
