A major fire that broke out on the Colombo-bound merchant vessel M V Amsterdam Bridge off Mumbai coast has been contained but the presence of dangerous cargo continues to make things critical, Coast Guard officials said.

The ship, carrying hazardous cargo, caught fire near the Prongs Reef Lighthouse in South Mumbai on Sunday.

The captain of a Singapore-flagged ship, suspected to have collided with a boat off Kerala coast killing five fishermen, was arrested and brought to the shore in Chennai on Tuesday.

Twenty one Indian sailors aboard the ship MV Fairchem Bogey, which was hijacked last August, have been released by the pirates, the Directorate General of Shipping said on Saturday. This is the second piece of good news for the Indian seafaring community within a fortnight. Seventeen sailors from a hijacked Iranian ship had been released late in December. "All the 21 sailors are safe and the ship is now on its way to a safe port," said Director General of Shipping.

An oil tanker with 21 Indian crew members on board was hijacked on Saturday off the coast of Oman, Directorate General of Shipping said in Mumbai.

Mumbai-based OMCI Ship Management, the owners of the ship, on Saturday clarified that all the crew members of the ill-fated vessel were Indians and seven of them were still being held.

A regional power struggle between India and China, however muted be it, will be more and more evident as China pushes the envelope to be a greater global player. India must prepare for it, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).

To get back into reckoning and ensure India's interests are given their due in Afghanistan, we need to evaluate a new mix of soft and hard options, writes Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).

Indian carmaker Tata Motors gave the world its cheapest car in the form of Nano.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is scheduled to visit India next week, will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon, Minister for International Trade Stockwell Day and Parliamentary Secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Deepak Obhrai. "Such a high powered delegation should speak volumes that we, our government, are laying all emphasis possible on our relations with India, solidifying our relations with India," said Obhrai.

These small-scale entrepreneurs offer luxury goods and services that eager customers are still willing to pay for.

Mike H. Stewart breeds $12,000 dogs that can hunt and play.

The Nano is developed to meet all the safety features that are applicable for passenger cars in India -- which is not saying much. What we like is the fact that the car will be able to meet the upcoming safety norms too. Current norms stipulate that the cars sold in India should meet norms set for full frontal crash, head impact on steering wheel, body block impact on steering system and seat belt anchorage strength, etc.

Port administrations are planning to install IT gadgets like Radio Frequency Identification tags in trucks, scanners and also use speedboats for patrolling. The boats alone are likely to cost around Rs 40-50 crore (Rs 400-500 million). Union Minister of Shipping T R Baalu has also asked the directorate general of shipping to undertake a special audit on security in all the major ports to ensure compliance with all security measures.

In the wake of Mumbai attacks by terrorists who came by the sea route, the Centre on Friday decided to authorise the Coast Guard to check all the "suspicious merchant vessels" prior to entry at the country's ports.

Cities with a strong presence in health care, education, law, energy, and the government will feel the impact of a downturn less.

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Mumbai police not to release passports of two British nationals, who were acquitted in a case of paedophilia recently. The apex court issued notices to Britons -- Duncan Grant and Allan Waters -- on an appeal filed by an NGO challenging their acquittal by the Bombay high court.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by the state government to stay the acquittal order of two Britons and an Indian in a paedophilia case.

"Once the pipeline becomes operational, HDC will lose an annual cargo inflow of 18 million tonne in petroleum and POL products. Given that HDC earns about Rs 100 per metric tonne, the loss works up to Rs 180 crore," Secretary of the Haldia Dock Officers' Forum R K Burman told PTI. Besides, the three oil jetties at HDC, set up at a cost of about Rs 75 crore (Rs 750 million), would become underutilised, Burman said.

For a direct indication of the premium attached to efficiently-run ports in India, one need look no further than the recent stock market listing of Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone.

Authorities in Dhaka on Wednesday night ordered a massive evacuation in the coastlines with the Met office issuing "great danger signal" for southwestern Mongla and danger signal for south-eastern Chittagong and Cox's Bazar ports in view of the severe cyclonic storm created over Bay of Bengal.

A division Bench of Justices S Radhakrishnan and Roshan Dalvi took exception to the letter by a British NGO 'Fair Trials Abroad' to the chief justice. The NGO had stated that they wanted to engage British lawyers to represent Grant (63) and Waters (59) before the High Court. "We don't want communication from other agencies. You can't write such letters to the court," Justice Radhakrishnan noted and added, "Tell your clients that we are no more their colony."

A mariner's perspective of the Sethu Samudram Shipping Canal Project.

Apartments that come attached with a hefty price tag are catching everyone's fancy. But is this for real?

"A standing environmental safety committee has carried out a detailed survey of the Chennai port and cleared the anchorage of USS Nimitz from the radition hazard point of view," a defence ministry spokesman said in Delhi.

The Centre is yet to authorise the entry of the ship into Indian waters.

Some reports in the Indian media have also quoted Prof Murthy as warning that the project may result in Kerala being affected 'fiercely' in the event of a tsunami in the Indian Ocean in the future.

The fastest growth's in Asia, but the U.S. still dominates among the top 20.

The ship weighing 46,000 tons, bought by Haryana Ship Demolition Private Ltd, will be dismantled at the Alang ship-breaking yard off the coast of Bhavnagar district.

According to the naval authorities, arrangements have been made at the Gateway of India from where boats will take people to the the naval anchorage area for a guided tour.

It's amazing that Calcutta Port is reinventing Calcutta city without anyone really knowing or caring

Grant was deported to the UK from Tanzania, where he had fought extradition to India.

'The whole system needs to be changed. New captain, new coach, some new faces need to be there in the team.'