The Hindu Business Line : Shipping Ministry plans roadshows abroad

THE Union Shipping Ministry is to conduct road shows abroad for all the shipyards in the country to explore the emerging markets in the shipbuilding industry, the Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Mr T.R. Baalu, has said.

The roadshows, to be held within a month, will initially be conducted in the West Asian and East Asian countries. There are possibilities of getting more orders from these countries considering the tremendous opportunities for shipbuilding and repairs in the changed global shipping scenario, he told presspersons during his visit to Cochin Shipyard Ltd on Thursday.

Earlier, the Minister accepted a dividend cheque of Rs 8.33 crore paid by the shipyard for the first time from its Chairman and Managing Director, Cmde M.K. Murthy.

Speaking on the occasion, Cmde Murthy said that the yard, which was consistently loss making till a decade ago, has made continuous profits in the last 10 years due to some proactive measures for improvement of productivity, aggressive marketing for securing export orders, diversification into offshore works, financial prudence and cost-cutting measures. CSL has achieved a profit before tax of Rs 30.52 crore and a net profit of Rs 17.78 crore in the last financial year. It also achieved the highest ship repair turnover of Rs 189 crore in the previous fiscal.

Currently, it is constructing six bulk carriers of 30000 DWT for Clipper of Denmark and also nine tugs for the Jeddah Port Authority, Saudi Arabia. In the future, the yard hopes to benefit from the policy support of the Government under the National Maritime Development Programme, which envisages liberalised taxation and other benefits to the industry.

With a view to ensuring sustained corporate growth, Cmde Murthy said the shipyard seeks to strengthen its core business such as shipbuilding and ship repair and pursue a policy of diversification into high value-added products/services, adoption of latest technology and modernisation.