Ocean Sparkle II

Summary of Proposed Investment

This Summary of Proposed Investment is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of the IFC Board of Directors’ consideration of the proposed transaction. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities, and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board decision. Board dates are estimates only.

Project number	25169
Company name	Ocean Sparkle Limited
Country	India
Sector	Transportation and Warehousing
Environmental category	B
Department	Infrastructure
Status	Active

Date SPI disclosed	September 5, 2006
Projected board date	October 5, 2006
Previous Events	Invested: February 9, 2007 Signed: January 30, 2007 Approved: January 29, 2007

View Environmental & Social Review Summary (ESRS), click here

Overview

Sponsor/Cost/Location

Development Impact

Contacts

Attachments

Project description

Ocean Sparkle Ltd. (OSL or the company) is the leading Indian provider of comprehensive port management services such as harbor towage, mooring, pilotage, ship-to-ship transfer of cargo, and control tower operations. It currently owns and manages one of India’s largest fleets of harbor vessels (including 28 tugs and 17 other vessels) and provides port services to eight key ports across India. Over the next three years, OSL expects to invest in several additional new/second-hand vessels for operations at ports, energy and offshore terminals in the country, which OSL does not now serve. This project involves an IFC loan to support these investments.

Anticipated development impact of the project

The project will support the continued expansion of a low-cost provider of port management services. As such, the project will provide benefits to port operators and port authorities, who can focus on core activities rather than the allied services that can be more efficiently provided by Ocean Sparkle. The project will also generate additional employment opportunities at the new locations to be serviced as part of the expansion.

IFC's expected development contribution

- Provision of long-term fixed rate local currency financing (matching with Ocean Sparkle’s revenue streams), which is generally currently not available locally;
- Support for a well-run mid-tier company in its continued expansion;
- Assistance in strengthening the company’s environmental, health and social systems.

Environmental and social issues - Category B

This is a Category B project because a limited number of specific environmental and social impacts may result which can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria.

Mitigation measures can be readily designed and any adverse impacts:

- are not likely to be diverse;
- are not likely to be irreversible;
- most likely will be limited to project site; and
- not likely to impact environmentally sensitive areas.

The key social, environmental, health and safety impacts associated with the project include:

- Environmental, Health and Safety Management Systems;
- Labor working conditions, including occupational health and safety;
- Vessel safety and pollution control; and
- Oil/chemical spill containment and recovery.

Ocean Sparkle has presented plans to address these impacts to ensure that the proposed project will, upon implementation of the specific agreed measures, comply with relevant environmental, health and safety and social requirements, including:

- International maritime standards under MARPOL, SOLAS, and IMO;
- Indian Merchant Shipping Rules and environmental, health and safety laws; and
- The IFC Social and Environmental Performance Standards.

A discussion on the company’s plans to mitigate/minimize identified environmental and social impacts has been provided in the Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) and an Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP). The company has publicly disclosed the ESRS and the ESAP in a manner and at locations specified later in this document.

IFC PROJECTS